Mayville, ND: Big Wood Grain Elevator Burns

(Satellite)

Chris Hennebry posted four photos with the comment: "The smoldering rubble of one of the grain elevators that burned down in Mayville ND earlier this week."
[Posted Nov 22, 2025]

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Dennis DeBruler commented on Chris' post
Wow. That was a big wood elevator, https://maps.app.goo.gl/G6MzYE221LFV9Wob9.

This town has a lot of grain elevators and some fertilizer supply companies. From north to south, these are satellite images of the companies I found.

Satellite

This is what is in the background of Photo 1 above.

Satellite

This is the one that burned. I wonder who receives tank cars.

Satellite

Satellite

While verifying that the United Grain Corp. elevator has a fall protector, I noticed that it also has a large wood elevator. The one that burned is in the left background of this view. This elevator has four different storage technologies: wood, slip-form, jump form and steel bins.

Street View, Jul 2025

Is this more of United Grain Corp.? I used a street view to determine that the two round foundations were for bins that were removed since Oct 2021.

Satellite

In the lower-right corner we see that this Kelley Bean elevator gets carload rail service.

Satellite

The railroad was the Great Northern.

1952/67 Grand Forks Quad @ 250,000

A lot of grain elevators explains why BNSF still operates the former-GN route to the north. And BNSF maintains this bridge trestle just for Kelley Bean.

BNSF

Wyoming, NY: Lost/B&O/B$&P Depot

(Satellite, I presume it was near Lamb Road.)

BR&P = Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh

This route is now operated by the Rochester & Southern.

The Buffalo Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Company posted
Wyoming depot looking northeast in the 1920’s. Located 38 miles south of Rochester, the community still has working gas lamps. The station burned in the 1960’s.

Most of the community was on the other side of the river.

1951/51 Wyoming Quad @ 24,000

Buckingham, IL: IC's Kankakee and SouthWest forked into North and South Branches

(Satellite, it was in the southeast quadrant of Elm Street and the tracks. The land has been reused by the pinned building.)

This town was on the IC branch of Kankakee & SouthWest (K&SW).

Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Railroad Depot at Buckingham, Illinois. C1910
Richard Fiedler shared

Larry Candilas commented on Andy's post
MP 75.7 Bloomington District; junction with a short branch going NW then north to Clarke City and Tracy to local coal mines; July 1939 aerial

"K. & S. W." stands for Kankakee & SouthWest. And the Tracy branch (twig) was added later to serve coal mines.

Predecessor_Lines via Dennis DeBruler

From the key on the above map:

Predecessor_Lines via Dennis DeBruler

North Haven, CT: "North Haven" Junction Tower: New Haven vs. New Haven

(Satellite)

Darren Reynolds posted four images with the comment:

NYH&HRR 

S.S.G-290 (BJ)

"North Haven" Cabin 

North Haven, Connecticut

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A Passenger train Passes by "North Haven" Cabin c.1955

Photo by: T.J.Donahue

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A train sheet from "North Haven" Cabin

May 19, 1949 all 3 shifts....

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A look at the interlocking at " North Haven" Cabin

c.1955

Photo by: T.J.Donahue

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A look at the interlocking at "North Haven" Cabin

c.1955

Photo by: T.J.Donahue

Phil Bonin: Love them switch stands

1954/58 Mount Carmel and Wallingford Quads @ 24,000

Cohoes, NY: Harmony (Cotton) Mills and 1915 42mw School Street Hydroelectric Plant

Mills: (Satellite and Satellite)

Powerplant: (Satellite)

Adam Dubec posted via Dennis DeBruler

Lock no. 17 Birds Eye View of Cohoes NY in 1859 showing Cohoes Falls Erie Canal & Harmony Mills

This postcard view of the Harmony Mills in 1859 shows the enlarged Erie Canal, with several canal boats traveling along it, in the foreground. Lock No. 15 of the canal is near the center of the image, and Lock No. 16 is on the left. Harmony Mill No. 1 is on the far left, directly behind Lock No. 16, with Mill No. 2 to the right. The bridge crossing the canal between Mills Nos. 1 and 2 is where Vliet Street is today. 

This image also shows one of the power canals for the mills, located between the Erie Canal and the Mohawk River. Note that Harmony Mill No. 3 had not yet been constructed at this time. The Cohoes Falls are in the upper left of the image. The bridge between Cohoes and Waterford can be seen downriver from the falls. The span at that time was a covered toll bridge.

TimesUnion, Cindy Schultz / Times Union
Because the millrace taps the river upstream and it discharges below the falls, the head is 92' (28m).

The first unit went online in 1915, and the plant reached its designed capacity of 42mw in 1925. The 16' (5m) high, 1,280' (390m) long diversion dam is 4000' (1.2km) upstream. The dam was built in 1831 because the "power canal" was originally used for hydropower by mills along the river. [hydroreform]

The waterfall itself has a 75' (23m) drop. [ErieCanalway]

TimesUnion, Cindy Schultz / Times Union
The fifth unit is out-of-frame towards the right foreground.

The mill building is now lofts.

GN B, Oct 2024

"Harmony Mill No. 3 was designed by D.H. Van Auken, the Cohoes architect and engineer who was also the engineer for the Cohoes Company, which supplied waterpower to various Cohoes mills including the Harmony Mill. The mill became popularly known as the "Mastodon Mill" after the skeleton of a mastodon mammoth was discovered during the excavation for the foundations of the north section of the building." [albany]

brownstoner

PhinneyDesign

lots of floorplans

Now I understand why the town has the nickname of "Spindle City." It was because of the cotton mill.

passageport, p1

passageport, p2

As the postcard at the top of these notes shows, before the powerhouse was built, the mill race used to go a lot further downstream to provide hydro power to the mills built along the river.

1893/93 Cohoes Quad @ 62,500 via Dennis DeBruler

hydro
Cohoe Falls is the second highest waterfall in the northeast. Second only to Niagara Falls.

EdisonTechCenter
"Water falls 60-90 feet depending on the season and width of water coverage as it is squeezed between two cliffs....The 1831 dam also powered Harmony Mills which became the largest cotton mill in the US at the time."

Santa Barbara, CA: Roundhouse and Depot

Roundhouse: (Satellite, torn down to make room for the hotel.)

Depot: (Satellite)

Tim Starr posted
As far as I know, the 10-stall roundhouse at Santa Barbara was the only one in the US to mimic a Spanish bull fighting arena. After the original brick roundhouse was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1925, the city asked Southern Pacific to rebuild it with a little more curb appeal. By the time this picture was taken in 1969, it was being used as a lumber warehouse, then torn down in 1982 by actor Fess Parker to build a hotel. Photo by Charles Lange.

Brian Aunger: I hung some temporary lights in that building the summer before it was torn down. The structure had some massive 12” x 12” posts and beams.

The background on the unique architecture is that just prior to that 1925 earth quake that leavened many framed structures in Santa Barbara Pearl Buck, the well known author and Santa Barbara resident lead a multi year effort to preserve the Spanish pueblo architectural history and feel of the town that was being rapidly replaced with wooden framed buildings and red brick rather than the traditional white washed adobe.

Her efforts culminated in a City ordinance that required new buildings to be built in a style that reflected the red tiled roofed buildings that were being replaced. The earthquake leveled a significant part of downtown and was the beginning of the dominant style that persists today.

Another significant impact the railroad had was that the original engine facility, rail yard, and icing facilities were all built on infilled land that was tidal marshes before the coast route reached Santa Barbara. This cut a significant portion of the previously uninhabited area east of the downtown off from tidal flooding well inland and added to the availability of buildable area of the city although some of that area not ever occupied by the railroad improvements are still at or below sea level but protected by the significant amount of fill that SP brought in.

David Lange: Brian Aunger One correction, it was Pearl Chase who suggested the Spanish architecture.

Jeff Stein commented on Tim's post
Here’s a RPPC (“Real Picture Post Card”) of the SB roundhouse…date unk?

Depot

Street View, Mar 2012

Barak Yaakobovitz, Sep 2021

Amtrak still uses it. Not only is the waiting room preserved, but so is the ticket counter.

Felix Y, Dec 2022

かわかみたいち, Oct 2019

I found the preserved passenger car.

Street View, Mar 2012

This map taught me where to look for the depot as well as the roundhouse.

1952/53 Santa Barbara Quad @ 24,000

Montpelier, VT: Turntable Park and Amtrak/Central Vermont Depot

Turntable: (Satellite)

Depot: (Satellite)

Street View, Sep 2022

Larry Smith posted three images with the comment:

Montpelier VT. 

turntable park

Christopher Laflam: Busy place in the day. I remember when that parking lot was an active yard with an enginehouse. I regret never stopping by to check it out before it was taken out.....but it was just always there - never expected it to be just gone one day!

Michael Fox: Flooded a year or so ago.. [written Nov 2025]

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The railroad that is on the west side of town was the Central Vermont. The Montpelier & Barre terminated in this town. That would explain why there was a turntable without a roundhouse.

1944/44 Montpelier Quad @ 62,500

Depot

Street View, Jul 2023

Dave Trono, Dec 2023