Springfield, OH: Railroad Hub and Junction Towers

(Update: DT&I coaling tower; Cold Springs (CS) Tower; Maitland (NY) Tower)

Rick Giles posted five tower photos with the comment:

Between 1955 and 1969 I lived and grew up in Springfield, Ohio, a town of about 73,000 people at the time. Springfield had four railroads, the Big Four(NYC), the Pennsylvania, the Detroit, Toledo, and Ironton(D,T,& I) and the Erie. The Big Four was by far the major player in town, followed by the DT&I, then the PRR, and finally the Erie. Both the Big Four and the DT&I ran through town and had significant facilites their including yards, and engine servicing facilities. The PRR served Springfield by way of a branchline from Xenia, Ohio and had a small passenger depot(until passenger service was discontinued sometime in the 1950s) and a two track freight house. The Erie's Dayton branch from Marion cut diagonally across the northwest quadrant just outside Springfield city limits. Springfield had five towers in or near the city. Starting from east to west in the attached photos were Carney(call letters AK), East St. (YK), Cold Springs(CS) all on the Big Four. North of town on the Big Four was Glen Echo(CH) and at the crossing of the Erie and the DT&I northwest of town was Maitland(NY).

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George Derenburger posted
Northbound New York Central train passes Maitland tower at the crossing of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton in Springfield, Ohio, October 1955
Frank J Flörianz Jr. shared

Jeremy Deasley: Love the RF16 sharks

Kevin P. Keefe: A little fairness, please. This great image didn't just fall out of the sky. It's a J. Parker Lamb photo, (c) Center for Railroad Photography & Art.

Brett Cruxton: Looks like the DT&I had some bad ties.

William Mia posted

Northbound New York Central train passes Maitland tower at the crossing of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton in Springfield, Ohio, October 1955

Jim Kelling shared

Springfield Ohio (NYC/DT&I crossing)

Looking at a 2005 SPV railroad map, most of this trackage still exists. Unfortunately, some of Rick's tower names are not on that map. So I'm not going to annotate a map with the tower locations. But I will note that the main east/west Big Four route is NS. Most of the Big Four branch lines, the DT&I and the southwest segment of the Erie are now Indiana & Ohio Central Railroad (IOCR) or Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY), both subsidiaries of RailAmerica. The northeast segment of Erie and the PRR line were abandoned by Conrail. Since the SPV map is a copyrighted book, I include an old topo map to show the railroads.

1955 Springfield Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

Second photo in posting

Rick Giles posted some details about Glen Echo including these water towers. The tall one would be the one used to fill the tenders. The two on the ground must have been storage towers. The pump house in the middle probably pumped from a well into the storage tanks. Then it would pump water from the storage tanks to the train tower to keep it full. The flow from the well must have been slow so the well pump needed to periodically pump 24 hours a day. But the arrival of trains may have been bunched to create a big demand during a small interval of time. The auxiliary storage tanks would accommodate the surge in demand.

Needed research: a better satellite location for Cold Springs and the West End Tower.

Des Planes, IL: C&NW's Depot and Water Tower

Dave Weber posted

I'm no longer saving many of the depot pictures I find. I assume the big dormer is over the agent's bay window. But I could not resist the water tower. Evidently they added water to commuter trains while they were stopped at the station. Recall that UP/C&NW is left-hand running. That is why the engine would be on the east side of the station while the train is stopped at the station. Also note the train order semaphores on the right.

The middle of the current depot is so much different that I assume it is a complete rebuild. At least they used brick to pay homage to the earlier station.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Ridgeway, OH: Junction Tower: CSX/Big Four vs. CSX/Toledo & Ohio Central

Charlie Whipp updated his cover photo
Southbound Conrail 8005 passes the Ridgeway, Ohio interlocking tower on a nice March day. Ridgeway tower was located in the tiny town of Ridgeway, Ohio and is long gone from the track side rail scene.

Satellite

The north/south route is the former TOC and the east/west route is the former Big Four. Both routes still exist. Only the tower is gone.

5 photos

Charlie DeWeese: Wasn't this location called Hayes on the Ohio Division of the NYC?

James Kehn: We had a saying in the Columbus office that no one should worry about the Russians invading us, as NOTHING got by Ridgeway without stopping. If there was a northbound and a southbound on the T&OC and an eastbound and a westbound on the Big Four, they would all show up at Ridgeway at the same time. There was a huge magnetic field that pulled all the trains toward Ridgeway. Anyway, that's my story.

Decatur, IL: Largest wet corn mill in the world (ADM/Staley)

(Satellite)

Photo by Jackie Anderson, ADM from MissouriFarmerToday

The largest wet corn mill in the world is operated by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in Decatur.

“Most of the corn we use here comes from within 150 miles,” said Steve Merritt, plant manager, who has worked here for 37 of the plant’s 40 years of existence.

At the Decatur wet mill, the main operation separates the corn kernel into four main components: gluten meal, corn germ, gluten feed pellets and valuable liquid starch.
The corn germ is 50 percent corn oil by weight. Gluten feed pellets are lower in protein, and the gluten meal is often used in pet foods.
The liquid starch is where a lot of the profit lies, producing fructose, sorbitol, crystalline and ethanol, Merritt said.
High fructose corn syrup is produced here, which is primarily used in carbonated soda beverages but also in a wide variety of other food products. Sorbitol, a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener in sugar-free gum, toothpaste and mouthwash is another key product. It has no nutritional value, but adds the sweet flavor, Merritt explained.

ADM has three corn dry mill plants that only produce ethanol and dried distillers grain (DDGs) a mixture of byproducts often used for animal feed. Instead, at this Central Illinois corn wet mill in Macon County, the focus is mostly on the liquid starch products.
Because demand can be somewhat seasonal for beverage products, there is room to make some adjustments in the percentage of which products is produced at certain times, Merritt said.

About 25 percent of corn grown in Illinois alone is used in the production of ethanol, explained Phil Thornton, Illinois Corn Growers Association’s value enhanced project director. He says of the 966 million bushels of corn projected to be produced in Illinois this year, about 544 million will go into ethanol production. [MissouriFarmerToday]

A confirmation that I have the correct plant.

3D Satellite

 

Mid-Century Decatur posted

This aerial view of ADM operations along Brush College Road was taken 55 years ago tomorrow on March 13, 1969.

ADM relocated its headquarters from Minneapolis to Decatur that year in a move that was greatly beneficial to the Decatur community. ADM thus became the fourth public company then headquartered in the community, joining Mueller, Staley, and Illinois Power.

The view looks southwest. Brush College Road runs across the lower left corner, while Faries Parkway cuts across the lower right.

Photo: Decatur Public Library

Mid-Century Decatur posted two photos with the comment:

Aerial views of ADM's East and West Decatur plants taken on November 12, 1969, exactly 54 years ago today [Nov 12].

Photos: Collection of Decatur Public Library

Chuck Boehm: My folks always referred to the west plant as Spencer-Kellogg which I believe it was before ADM took over.

Tom Bradley: Wow East plant has grown so much since those pictures were taken!!

John Dallas: Interesting to think the west plant was at one time larger than the east.

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Ralph Griffiths commented on Photo 1 above
This occurred in 1967.
Mid-Century Decatur: (we're looking s.w.) the lead tank closest to the railyard is old tank #10 & the next in line is #9. Later they would float 1 more - tank #8. #8s still in use, 9 is out of service and 10 has been flattened and rebuilt with more storage capacity.
Rick Boland: That is NS's Brush tower on the right. Brush College Road is in the top right corner.

William A. Shaffer posted
The "Wabash Cannon Ball" is approaching Wabic Tower in Decatur, IL. Staley Tower is in the background. Check out the string of Illinois Terminal Hoppers, too! Back in the Day when Decatur was "The Place to Be"!
(Photo by William A. Shaffer)
[Staley was one of the corporate predecessors to ADM.]

History of the Heartland posted
The steadily expanding Staley factory adds a new kiln building in 1919. The factory then employed 1500 workers.
Photo: Staley Journal

Mid-Century Decatur posted
In this image, taken 70 years ago today in 1952, grain still moved by traditional 40' boxcars. Loading and unloading was labor intensive and slow. Staley implemented an innovative new process to make grain unloading more efficient at its Decatur elevator complex. A "car dumper" would lift a boxcar off the track with the two clamps shown in the foreground and background. The car would be tilted against the automatic door opener, which would slide the door open and allow the grain to spill out.
Within a decade, custom purpose grain cars would make this cumbersome process unnecessary.
(H&R photo 9-7-1952)
Leonard Perlmutter shared
Not exactly Wabash, but since it is Staley, and thought it was cool, I thought I would share here

 

Mid-Century Decatur posted

Staley employees demonstrate the company's newest piece of gear, a Whiting "Trackmobile" to help with railcar movements, on May 18, 1951, exactly 73 years ago today.  The employees, from left to right, are Ralph Shinneman, Glen Hartman and Lewis Smith.

Photo: H&R

Brandon Allison: Are those still used today?

Phil Wiegman: Brandon Allison Yes. Now with cabs, heat, AC, radio communications, tracking. Road and rail ready. Much bigger now.

Richard Fiedler shared

They had (have?) their own power plant.

Kurt Schroeck posted
A.E. Staley, Decatur, IL 1988-1989
(2) Riley Multi-Solid Fluidized Bed Boilers
I was the Lead Start-up Engineer. I had an apt. in Decatur for about a year. Worked with some really good guys.
Cleve Whatley: What is the benefit of a Fluidized Bed Boiler?
Brad Piatt: Cleve Whatley Burns nearly anything with lower emissions

It looks like all of their coal handling is enclosed.

3D Satellite

 

Mid-Century Decatur posted

In 1954, railroad grain hopper cars were still years away from large-scale production. Grain processors, like A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, had to manually unload grain from boxcars by shovel.

But Staley still exhibited the characteristic urgency and engineering creativity of its entrepreunerial founding earlier fifty years earlier. The company developed and implemented this automated system for tipping, opening doors, and rotating boxcars so grain could spill out by gravity, saving the company millions in unloading costs.

Photo: The Staley Museum

Harry Ferguson: In 1965 I had to empty grain cars like this with a shovel and auger. 2 employees were to empty one half of a box car per shift. On my first night on my summer job at Staley's before my sophomore years at EIU I was assigned that job, but I was the only man assigned to the boxcar and nobody told me I didn't have to empty the whole car. By the time my shift was about over, a foreman stopped by and asked me where the other man was. I said I was the only one and when he looked into the car it was almost empty. He said to sit down and rest for the remaining shift. For my remaing time that summer I looked up the foreman for any job to get the parameters of that job before I started!
Shannon Schroeder: I helped put the cardboard temporary doors in then scoop the grain to the ends. Milo was the worst, with dried corn dust next.
Jeff Schwartz: Covered hoppers eliminated significant loading/unloading expense, so why continue with box cars? Was the ICC to expensive to negotiate the change? Labor union opposition? RR unwillingness to pay for new cars? Collective intellectual inertia about how things just are? I teach kids to think, and I look to understand what underpins this kind of situation. I welcome your insight.
Mid-Century Decatur: Jeff Schwartz the earliest Wabash covered hoppers came in 1954. They required physical changes and major capital investments by their customers. Change came slowly. Not every customer had the deep pockets and willingness to innovate, and such changes were opposed by unions.
Ben McBride: Back in the day... I actually operated it! The "RAM ARM" that busted the wood out of the door way was fun to see it work and then all the grain started flowing out of the car.
Leonard Perlmutter shared

The title of the article is "ADM corn mill buys local, sells global." The global sales indicates a lot of their product would be shipped in containers. That is probably why ADM helped develop an intermodal yard in Decatur.

Dry mills can produce ethanol more efficiently than wet mills, but they cannot adjust their product mix depending on the current demand for corn products. I assume that is why ADM wanted to sell 2 of their 3 plants.

Note from the satellite image that Continental Carbonic Products is co-located. We learned while studying the ethanol plant in Greenville, OH that they convert the by-product CO2 into dry ice. This provides another revenue stream.

Unlike many "railroad hub" towns we have seen, ADM and Caterpillar have caused Decatur to retain a lot of its railroad service.

Update: we learned that a significant byproduct of making ethanol is CO2. ADM is building a commercial scale application of research results with DOE, Richland Community College and the University of Illinois. They will capture and pump the CO2 into a saline reservoir in a sandstone formation that is 1.5 miles away. [GrainNet]

Dixon, IL: IC Depots & Freight House and "Rustic" CGB Grain Elevator

North Depot: (Satellite, land reused by tan salon? "Near Oliver's Market" )

South Depot: (Satellite, land reused. It was unused after Apr 1939.)

Freight House: (Satellite, land reused. It was unused after track abandonment in 1986.)

If you are here because of the C&NW Depot, then you need to go there.

Larry Foht posted
Illinois Central Railroad Depot and Freight Depot Dixon Illinois IC's Charter Line Larry Foht collection : Chet French: Passenger depot was just south of 7th street crossing on the east side of the tracks. Freight house was north of 7th street on the west side of the tracks. Passenger depot was razed sometime after passenger service was discontinued in April 1939. Freight house was in service until the line was abandoned in 1986.

North depot area:

02003

South depot and freight house area:

C&NW tracks go across the bottom of this excerpt.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Chet's comment
Thanks for the confirmation. I was rather confident of the depot (green rectangle) because of the shadow of the roof line. But the freight house (red rectangle) was more of mystery. The yellow rectangle is the 1850 C&NW freight house, which still exists. 1939 aerial photo [02024]

Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Freight Station in Dixon, Illinois. 1972

I was surprised that the grain elevator was owned by Consolidated Grain & Barge (CGB). Normally, they own big elevators served by a railroad and/or barges. An example is Dwight, IL. But this one is not only small, it is a hodge-podge of storage technologies.

Street View, May 2018

This photo has been moved to "C&NW."

This photo has been moved to "C&NW."

This photo has been moved to "C&NW."

Bellevue, OH: NS/NKP Moorman Yard

(Satellite, arrival and departure tracks extend much further to the east.)

This yard was an expansion of the Bellevue operation. According to a couple of topo maps, this yard was built between 1959 and 1969. The previous yard was closer to the town.

(Update: on page 10 of the Sep 2020 Trains magazine there is a half-page article about shutting down the hump yard and switching to flat switching.)

Shawn Cook posted

Moorman classification yard Bellevue Ohio

Largest classification yard in America. Idled now.

[Actually, it is the largest in the East. UP's Bailey Yard is larger.]

Shawn Cook

Author

The left side is part of the $113 million dollar extension. It used to be a two track single hump but with the extension the turned it into a double hump I believe.

James A. Heydt

It’s a 2 Hump...Chump

JB Ward

Payback is a MF. We at CR's Buckeye called Moorman "Disneyland." When NS took over Buckeye yard in Columbus, we knew we were doomed. As an employee that started on the PC, went the distance with CR and survive Nazi Southern, anytime a NS yard is idled, a big cheer goes up from former CR employees.

Brad Butcher

Didn't they just expand that? Why is it idle?

Andrew Byler

Shawn Cook

 Because all the sorting done there can be done at Elkhart and Conway, while the work at Elkhart and Conway cannot be done at Bellevue.

It looked like a smart place for a yard as a major junction area (like Enola), but it wasn’t actually.

Will G Benson

So what are they gonna do with it? I firmley believe that NS is going to combine Toledo and Cleveland IMFs into one larger Bellvue IMF.

Frank Williams

PSR stupidity.

Andrew Byler

Frank Williams

 What do you think the purpose of Bellevue should be? What traffic should move there and be sorted?

The western roads will make 2 northern blocks for NS, which NS selects as Elkhart and Conway. If you get a Bellevue block instead, you add another handling to Pittsburgh region traffic.

Bellevue’s region isn’t a major source of traffic., so it doesn’t have a natural flow of many locals.

Bellevue looks like a system node on the map, but in reality, anything you’d sort there is just as easily sorted at Conway or Elkhart, or already has been sorted at a Conway or Elkhart.

[It sounds like railyards are like airports --- just because you build them doesn't mean traffic will come to them.]

Shawn Cook posted
Moorman hump extension that NS just idled 5 years after the $113 million 60 track extension.

Tom Seimet

Ns never used bellevue to its full potential before the expansion , adding the expansion set up the yard for more dwell time and really didn't speed anything up because of yard Management's lack of planning and shabby crew usage , if they would have built something on the chicago line and set up bypass tracks around the existing yard , freight would have been moving on time and not cause crew problems.

Michael Welborn

Doesn't Moorman allow them to classify all Chicago Line traffic in addition to all Nickel Plate traffic? I wonder if a larger modern Enola hump could take the place of Conway and the already reduced Allentown.

Tom Seimet

Michael Welborn

 not really alot of Chicago line freight goes right past the bellevue connector and goes to Cleveland and conway.

Tom Seimet

Rockport yard and conway do more work than moorman.

Andrew Byler

Tom Seimet

 Because that’s where the traffic wants to go.

Andrew Byler

Michael Welborn

 Allentown serves a very large local industrial base stretching as far as Scranton, Reading, and north Jersey, so there will always be a large yard there. It’s system function can be handled by an enlarged Enola if desired. Allentown would just be a very large version of Abrams then.

Tom Seimet

Andrew Byler

 exactly no reason to go to bellevue.

[I wonder if the NS executives who decided to build the expansion got a bonus and then got another bonus when they decided to close it. The shareholders, as well as the employees, should be outraged by this level of incompetence. I guess a problem is that management-by-walking-around would require the executives to leave their air conditioned office and travel to towns that don't have 5-star restaurants.]

Craig Hensley Photography posted
The sprawling 620 acre, 5.5 mile Moorman yard in Bellevue, Ohio.   Opened by Norfolk & Western in 1967 following its acquisition of the Nickel Plate and Wabash three years earlier, in 2014 underwent a $160 million expansion that doubled its capacity. The project involved adding a second hump track and a classification bowl with 38 tracks, boosting its maximum daily classification to 3,600 cars from 1,800. NS main lines converge on Bellevue from five directions, making it the perfect spot to classify merchandise traffic bound to every corner of the NS system. The facility was renamed Moorman Yard in 2015, when CEO Wick Moorman retired.
DJI Mavic Air2s - 2/11/22 - Bellevue, OH
John Fry: That place looks like it has changed a lot.
I hated staying at the dorm that used to be near where the fuel tanks are now. Used to have to listen to the hump 24/7 while trying to rest and waiting for the call to go back out. There was nowhere around to walk to so it felt like prison

Viral Media posted six images with the comment:

NS Moorman Yard Overview

These slides from the Norfolk Southern 2014 Investor conference detail the $160 million investment into Moorman Yard in Bellevue, Ohio. They show: Overall view, Receiving Tracks, Hump, Classification Tracks, Pullback Tracks, and Forwarding Tracks.

In 1966 when N&W built the classification yard in Bellevue they set aside property to double its size when business warranted it. The 2014 $160 million Norfolk Southern Bellevue expansion project added 39 miles of track. The project encompassed 38 new classification tracks, a five-mile mainline track around the yard, three forwarding tracks, two receiving tracks, one pullback track and a new hump lead track for the classification expansion. Bellevue has a total of 80 classification tracks and is the only yard in the NS network to containing two humps. When a train pulls into Bellevue, it enters one of 12 two-mile-long receiving tracks. From there, the cars are pushed over the hump and released one or a few at a time to one of two lead tracks. 

Moorman Yard is midway between Chicago and New York. Five NS main lines converge there.  In 2012 NS reconfigured and added more capacity to Moorman yard’s interlocking system. Known as “Mini-Plant,” the interlocking is an interchange where trains enter and leave the yard. The NS Bellevue Terminal District, which encompasses the complex junction of five lines and NS Moorman Yard. Additionally, a one-mile connection between the yard and the NS Sandusky line was constructed as a part of the project.

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Logan Detwiler posted
In 1971, an unidentified photographer captured a remarkable scene at the Norfolk & Western yard in Bellevue. The hump, a crucial part of the railroad's operations, was home to three locomotives: an Alco RS11 and two ex-Wabash re-engined FM Trainmasters. These powerful machines were responsible for moving trains around the yard, ensuring that cargo and passengers reached their destinations on time.
Joe Krepps: Wait!! What?? Re-engined Trainmasters??? What did they re-engine them with? EMD? Alco? That would be a MAJOR redo of the MU system too, right?
Ken Miller: Joe Krepps Alco.

This photo has been moved to "Bellevue, OH: 1882+1947 NS/NW/NKP Roundhouse (Remnants)"

This photo has been moved to "Bellevue, OH: 1882+1947 NS/NW/NKP Roundhouse (Remnants)"

This photo has been moved to "Bellevue, OH: 1882+1947 NS/NW/NKP Roundhouse (Remnants)"

This photo has been moved to "Bellevue, OH: 1882+1947 NS/NW/NKP Roundhouse (Remnants)"

This photo has been moved to "Bellevue, OH: 1882+1947 NS/NW/NKP Roundhouse (Remnants)"

This photo has been moved to "Bellevue, OH: 1882+1947 NS/NW/NKP Roundhouse (Remnants)"

2:19 video @ 0:24

Moorman Yard: "80 different classification tracks....The heart of NS." Posted by NS to Facebook.
A second post of the video. This was posted after they closed the new hump.

Brandon Lee

Shawn Cook

 nowhere near as many trains as a year or two ago though.

Shawn Cook

Author

Brandon Lee

 not even close. A year ago you were seeing upwards of a 100 trains a day and now maybe 40-50.

Brandon Lee

Shawn Cook

 I believe only 9 trains originate there now.

Shawn Cook

Author

Brandon Lee

 damn.. worst than I thought. I grew up there actually right next to the tracks south entrance but haven't lived there in years now. I go down and visit now and again but I usually talk with friends and they fill me in on the updates. I was saying total traffic in and out tho. But if its down to only 9 then they are hurting bad. Losing the railroad will all but sink that town!!

Brandon Lee

Shawn Cook

 I'm a contractor for NS in Columbus. I hear all the Doom and Gloom from the guys up there.

Viral Media posted three images with the comment:

Norfolk Southern in Bellevue

In 1882, the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad built its main line through Bellevue, Ohio. Nickel Plate joined the Norfolk & Western Railway system in 1964. In 1982, the N&W and Southern merged to form Norfolk Southern. 

Five Norfolk Southern Districts converge in Bellevue:

NS Bellevue Terminal – The site has been a major yard for NKP and N&W, although it role is now diminished.

NS Sandusky District - Former Pennsylvania Railroad line acquired by predecessor Norfolk and Western in the early 1960s. The line runs from Sandusky to Columbus where it meets the NS Columbus District.

NS Fostoria District - Runs from Bellevue to Fort Wayne, Indiana. This was a major Nickel Plate mainline that continued on to Chicago.

NS Cleveland District - Heads east off of the Bellevue Terminal District.  This is the continuation of the former Nickel Plate mainline from Fort Wayne continuing to Cleveland.

NS Toledo District - Runs 50 miles from Toledo to Bellevue on former Wheeling & Lake Erie track. The W&LE was leased by the Nickel Plate in 1949 for 99 years. In 1990, NS sold the W&LE to a new company that operates as the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway, but retained the tracks from Bellevue to Toledo.

Wheeling and Lake Erie heads east to Pittsburgh, PA. This line was Nickel Plate but was sold by NS in 1990.

Tyler Dixon: Some parts of your map isn’t quite accurate but cool needless to say. None of the former NYC is still present on the NS side going west on the Toledo District, the NKP had the double main even back in their day. The actual NYC is the gravel lot across the line from the museum grounds.

Cory T. Branham: Tyler Dixon I'm pretty sure what the museum operates on is part of the NYC.

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Tyler Dixon commented on the above post

2:31:45 video @ 3:19, I didn't watch the whole thing

This link has views of the Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, PA and the Horseshoe Curve as well as the Moorman Yard view.

5 photos

2:19 video about the hump (source)

Two years after they closed the hump in 2020, they reopened it again! [FreightWaves] The hump in the Brosnan Yard in Macon, GA, is another one that was closed in 2020 and reopened in 2022.