The purpose of the Chicago & Illinois Midland was to carry coal from Illinois Midland's coal mines to Havana for transloading onto barges. These barges served the eleven power plants Com Ed had in the Chicago area.
It has been repurposed to transload wind turbine parts.
26 1990s photos
Tom Ratsch posted two images with the comment: "I was finally getting around to reframing some photos I have had for a few years and got pictures without glass. 1st pic is while dock b is under construction. It almost looks like cars on bridge were staged."
Ryan Crawford Neat pics Tom. In reference to the automobiles, it almost looks like the cars were parked on the bridge as you can see some people standing on the bridge checking things out. That same bridge exists today and I can tell you it’s not very wide.
Steven J. Brown posted four pictures of the coal transloading operation with the comment: "Chicago and Illinois Midland coal dock at Havana, Illinois pics from my dad, Martin Brown. Slide mounts dated August 1967."
Mike Coker posted the above photo again along with the following two and the comment: "Coal cars would run up this hill after being turned upside down to unload coal and then by gravity go to an empty track in the coal yard and attach to one another. When the car hit each other you could hear the noise all over town."
David Ingram Wellman rotary dumper
Michael Minetti There may be videos of NW on east coast doing same on YouTube.
Adam Powell There is a similar set up at the Bailey Generating Station.
The above shows the west end. The building in the background is the coal dump by the river. Below is the east end with the steam locomotive leaving the hard and the beginning of the ramp up to the coal dump.
This facility still exists. According to a comment, the coal now comes from Pekin because it was mined in Wyoming.
Phillip Prior posted nine pictures with the comment: "C&IM's rail to barge transfer facility in Havana, Il. These pictures were taken in 1995."
Steve Drassler posted 24 photos with the comment:
Michael Itssecret Dont think they use this anymore.. last time i saw a PHH (Peoria-Havana- Hennepin) coal load was 2015. Now all we got is PHP (Havana Power) PEK (Kincaid) and PEB (Cilco)
JeffandLinda Dirks In 1994 coal stopped going through the dock up to the 3 power plants at Chicago. The coal started coming through Chicago on the BN and unloaded at a dumper close to the power plants. A year or so later it was reopened with a contract to get western coal unloaded at Havana and handled to a power plant at Hennepin. They would get a train a week. Southern Coal Handling was the outfit to unload the trains. Railroad employees no longer worked there since CWE sold the dock after it was shut down in 94. Before I retired in 2013 a 2nd outfit took it over unloading trains at the dock. I found out a couple of years ago the dock was shut down and the trains for Hennepin are dumped south of Havana at the Dynegy plant that gets their own trains. Dynegy which was I'll Power started getting western coal and built a dumper there in the mid 90s. They use to get Kentucky coal that came up the I'll river and was unloaded there. I assume the Hennepin coal is dumped and put on barges and sent to Hennepin. It is also a Dynegy plant. If you go across the 136 bridge and look south you can see where the barges are spotted and loaded. I could be wrong on some of this stuff. I haven't talked to anybody from the railroad for a while.
Phillip Prior posted 14 photos with the comment: "Havana Transfer Facility sometime in the 90's."
John Pescitelli Still in operation?
Paul Tincher No. Shuttered last year. [2019]
Paul Tincher The car pushers were still there when I hired out in ‘01. They were cut up shortly after.
JeffandLinda Dirks It was quite a place to work the 3 different times I worked there. Very dangerous work. I worked as a laborer the 3 times I was there. Mostly on the empty tracks making sure cars were coupled and had to lace all the airhoses on each car when they rolled down the empty tracks. Sometimes the cars would still be moving very slowly.
Ryan Crawford JeffandLinda Dirks Bug Eye told me that one time a loaded car got away from the dumper operator, rolled through the kick back and went like hell into the empty tracks, no one hurt but I’m sure it was a loud coupling!
Carlton Crasher posted nine photos with the comment:
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| Mike Coker posted Looking east at the Havana Illinois coal docks on the river. Mike posted again Mike Coker White building (center) is where they rolled the coal cars upside down and dumped the coal. A comment on a Gary Talsky posting provides a detailed history of closures and alternate routes. Mike posted again Coal Docks Havana C&IM David Ingram Lots of things have changed Larry Senalik also posted
Havana - C&IM Coal Transfer Terminal - 8/29/1950 #sangamonvalleycollection
Steve Drassler No giant stacker/reclaimer machine on the left. Wonder what year that was put in? |
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| Larry Senalik posted
Havana - C&IM Coal Transfer Terminal - 10/24/1951 #sangamonvalleycollection
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| Jack Tanner Towing posted The M/V Robert W. Lea headed North into the Coal Docks at Havana, Illinois. The M/V Robert W. Lea was originally named the M/V Onward when owned by O. F. Shearer and Sons. Only a few months after it was built it was sold to Ohio River Co. Out of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was built by Hillman Barge and Construction Co., in 1947, in Brownsville, PA. At 145 ft long by 28 ft wide it drafted around 9 ft. The 2 GM 8 cyl. Diesels put out 1600 HP and had kort nozzles with a Falk reduction gear. (Photo thanks to Slim Whitmore ) |
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| Mike Coker posted Havana Illinois Coal Docks after dumping coal the car would roll down and up this ramp and then to mate with the other waiting coal cars. When they connected you could hear a loud band noise all over town. Gabe Argenta Must've used a spring switch? |
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| Larry Joe Jenkel posted |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Larry's post Was this the Havana facility? I see the land has been repurposed as a lay-down yard for wind turbines, https://maps.app.goo.gl/CXawcm5K5oeT5QU19 |
Tom Ratsch posted two images with the comment: "I was finally getting around to reframing some photos I have had for a few years and got pictures without glass. 1st pic is while dock b is under construction. It almost looks like cars on bridge were staged."
Ryan Crawford Neat pics Tom. In reference to the automobiles, it almost looks like the cars were parked on the bridge as you can see some people standing on the bridge checking things out. That same bridge exists today and I can tell you it’s not very wide.
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| Larry Senalik posted Aerial view of the C&IM transloading facility at Havana Illinois - c1950s. |
Steven J. Brown posted four pictures of the coal transloading operation with the comment: "Chicago and Illinois Midland coal dock at Havana, Illinois pics from my dad, Martin Brown. Slide mounts dated August 1967."
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Mike Coker posted the above photo again along with the following two and the comment: "Coal cars would run up this hill after being turned upside down to unload coal and then by gravity go to an empty track in the coal yard and attach to one another. When the car hit each other you could hear the noise all over town."
David Ingram Wellman rotary dumper
Michael Minetti There may be videos of NW on east coast doing same on YouTube.
Adam Powell There is a similar set up at the Bailey Generating Station.
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| 1 Jacob Hortenstine shared bob Coker post Matthew Fliege's father had me digitize several images from the beginning of the Havana Coal Docks. Many C&IM railroad pics. The images looke like they were taken yesterday! To see the rest, Click Here. http://www.cokerphotos.com/.../Matthew-Fliege-Restoration/ |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Adam Powell's comment on Mike's post According to Google Maps, this plant is now closed. https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m8!1m2!2m1... |
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| Mike Coker posted Coal Dock Havana Illinois car says it had to be in late 30's - 40's |
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| Mike Coker posted |
This facility still exists. According to a comment, the coal now comes from Pekin because it was mined in Wyoming.
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| Gary Talsky posted Another one from "The Midland Story" a C&IM PR publication booklet with a neat view of the automatic coal transfer system from rail to barge in Havana. |
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| Gary Talsky posted The final step of the rail to barge transfer process in Havana, IL. From "The Midland Story" a C&IM PR publication booklet. |
Steve Drassler posted 24 photos with the comment:
These are photos I took a long time ago (2006) in Havana, Illinois at the old C&IM coal transfer facility. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any photos (buried somewhere I suppose) of the little electric slave locos that were used to shove cars up the hill to the dumper prior to the installation of the auto-arm. I presume this facility is still in operation; years ago this location was a very busy yard/dock.
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Michael Itssecret Dont think they use this anymore.. last time i saw a PHH (Peoria-Havana- Hennepin) coal load was 2015. Now all we got is PHP (Havana Power) PEK (Kincaid) and PEB (Cilco)
JeffandLinda Dirks In 1994 coal stopped going through the dock up to the 3 power plants at Chicago. The coal started coming through Chicago on the BN and unloaded at a dumper close to the power plants. A year or so later it was reopened with a contract to get western coal unloaded at Havana and handled to a power plant at Hennepin. They would get a train a week. Southern Coal Handling was the outfit to unload the trains. Railroad employees no longer worked there since CWE sold the dock after it was shut down in 94. Before I retired in 2013 a 2nd outfit took it over unloading trains at the dock. I found out a couple of years ago the dock was shut down and the trains for Hennepin are dumped south of Havana at the Dynegy plant that gets their own trains. Dynegy which was I'll Power started getting western coal and built a dumper there in the mid 90s. They use to get Kentucky coal that came up the I'll river and was unloaded there. I assume the Hennepin coal is dumped and put on barges and sent to Hennepin. It is also a Dynegy plant. If you go across the 136 bridge and look south you can see where the barges are spotted and loaded. I could be wrong on some of this stuff. I haven't talked to anybody from the railroad for a while.
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Steve's post Dennis DeBruler There is a barge and three tracks have coal hoppers on them in a contemporary satellite image. |
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| Sam Carlson posted A pair of Atlas car pullers at Havanna, IL on June 7, 1995. The C&IM (now I&M) serves this transloading operation. |
John Pescitelli Still in operation?
Paul Tincher No. Shuttered last year. [2019]
Paul Tincher The car pushers were still there when I hired out in ‘01. They were cut up shortly after.
JeffandLinda Dirks It was quite a place to work the 3 different times I worked there. Very dangerous work. I worked as a laborer the 3 times I was there. Mostly on the empty tracks making sure cars were coupled and had to lace all the airhoses on each car when they rolled down the empty tracks. Sometimes the cars would still be moving very slowly.
Ryan Crawford JeffandLinda Dirks Bug Eye told me that one time a loaded car got away from the dumper operator, rolled through the kick back and went like hell into the empty tracks, no one hurt but I’m sure it was a loud coupling!
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| Mark Erps posted Cars are kicked downhill out of the unloader through the spring switch (spring lined for the turnout) up the ramp and back through the turnout to a retarder to slow it down before being built back as an empty coal train. [Taken 2011ish.] |
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| Carlton Crasher commented on Mark's post Taken right before 2021 |
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| Mark commented on his post |
Carlton Crasher posted nine photos with the comment:
Mark Erps
posted some older photos from Havana, IL that are pretty cool. These are from December 28, 2020. The stacker reclaimer is gone, many of the rails have been abandoned possibly even before Mark's photos. Would have got better shots of the ramp but construction equipment was operating between the ramp and the building.For more information this is a good link. http://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/.../havana-il-c-coal...
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Denny Fortney posted three photos with the comment: "old coal docks train car ramp on the il river at havana."
Adam Davis shared
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Havana Dock & Rail
The port has been repurposed to transload wind turbine components from both barge and rail to trucks.
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| Jack Tanner Tower posted Havana making the Waterway Journal this week! |
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| Jack commented on his post |
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| Posted Nacelles Towers Blades |
Jack Tanner Towing posted two photos with the comment: "The Joseph Patrick Eckstein is headed to Havana, and should show up this evening around 5:30P.M. (5/17/23). If you take a drive down to Riverfront Park you might just get a chance to see him come by with his load of 42 blades!!"
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| Jack Tanner Towing posted Leading the blind is something new as the M/V Danny H. attempts to assist the M/V Joseph Patrick Eckstein into Havana Dock & Rail with 42 windmill blades. Bill Blessman: We saw them come through. I wondered how the pilot could navigate without a good sight line. Jack Tanner Towing: Bill Blessman a full camera system all across the bow. He can see over 180° with it. However he does have his deck crew out on the head when going through bridges and fleets. |
