Maize, KS: Alfalfa Pellet Plant

(see below for satellite)

Bob Summers posted
Until the 1970's alfalfa dehy plants were dehydrating and pelletizing alfalfa to ship like grain to dairys and feeders across the country. This is what is left of the Bert & Wetta facility just west of Maize Kansas on the former Missouri Pacific railroad.
Marc Mcclure A lot of them across Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma at one time.Bob Summers Yes. As a grain trader we did not trade alfalfa pellets but would see their markets in the Grain & Feed Journal regularly.David Budka Back in the 1990s there was still an operating alfalfa dehydrator in Fremont, Nebraska south of East Jackson Street, and west of Union Street. It is gone now.Michael R Morris I remember the aroma of alfalfa mills along US-30 in Nebraska in the 1960s when I was a kid on vacation.
Decades later in the Detroit suburbs I was perplexed as to why many of my friends would return from parties having done nothing but dehydrate alfalfa.
I was so naive.John Harker There was one in Lake Park Iowa. For a long time. A peculiar aroma that I kinda rediscovered in later years. 
One still in operation in Priam Minnesota just outside of Wilmar Minnesota.Dennis DeBruler So what stopped this market? Switching from hay to corn because of deep-well "circle" irrigation?Bob Summers Probably energy costs to dehydrate (the '70's were the days of the OPEC embargo and natural gas was being rationed) and railroads began favoring large multi car shipments in their tariffs. Still a lot of alfalfa used as need ruffage in the feed rations, but is now mostly chopped and trucked to feeders in the region.

3D Satellite

Pretty Prairie, KS: Former Security Branch Elevator with bolted steel construction

(Satellite)

Bob Summers posted
Another pre WWII affordable fireproof alternative to wood elevators was bolted steel. The former Security Elevator branch in Pretty Prairie Kansas was on a branch line of the Santa Fe (we affectionately referred to as the "South Hutchinson to Indian Territory") which has been abandoned for many years.
Dennis DeBruler Thanks for including the name of the railroad that used to service the elevators in your descriptions. I see this is now a storage part Pretty Prairie Coop.
Judging from the satellite images, they have a feed mill a couple of blocks north and a slip-form storage elevator in the next block north.

The farmers should have decent cell phone coverage in the fields because the headhouse makes a great cell phone antennae tower.

Using Street View, I could not find a decent sized grain dryer in this town.
Bob Summers We do not use grain driers for wheat, so will only find driers where handle significant quantity of corn or grain sorghum. What you see in the satellite image is a warehouse for bagged feed and/or lubrication products. No feedmill at this location, which is a branch location headquartered in Garden Plain Kansas.
Dennis DeBruler Bob Summers I was thinking it was a feedmill because of all of the small bins. But when I view it with Street View, I see the "bins" are tanks.

It is interesting to learn the differences between Plain States and the Midwest elevators.

I was not aware that wheat did not need drying. Wheat is no longer raised in the Midwest.

In the Midwest, it is common for a small town to have a feedmill, but no storage service. Stroh is a good example:
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...

Bob Summers In this region most of the co-ops were just one or two locations prior to the trend toward mergers picked up momentum in the '70's. Most had feedmills, at least at their main location. Now the typical multi location co-op will have one large feedmill serving all of their locations. Here in winter wheat country we harvest in early summer and the grain dries naturally before it is harvested. Our fall harvested crops may require drying unless it goes to the large commercial feedlots. They accept a higher moisture content grain that they can put in large "trench silos" and put into their feed rations throughout the season.

Rusty Rex Great shot Bob. A lot of these in our area are getting torn down by a scrap dealer. This one in Pretty Prairie looked almost identical to the Ramona, KS one that was recently razed.
Bob Summers I think this elevator and the one in Kingman that has been repurposed into a ready mix plant are identical. We (Security) acquired it from Collingwood Grain "back in the day" because they had acquired it in a package and Mrs. Collingwood thought they should have a competitor in the communities they had facilities. A different mindset from what one finds nowadays!

Street View

Bob Summers posted
Current view [5/26/19] of nearly 50 year old photo of this elevator I posted last week.

Ashley, IN: Groundbreaking for plastics-to-fuel plant

(Satellite, somewhere along the railroad tracks)

Brightmark Energy is building a plant that should create 136 new jobs and use a breakthrough technology to turn plastics that we currently have to put in a landfill into useful products such as "ultra-low sulfur diesel, naptha blend stocks and commercial grade wax." The plastics they can use include "plastic film, styrofoam and children's toys." [WANE] Most of the plastic packaging we get can go into our recycle bin. But plastic bags and styrofoam are prohibited. Our local grocery store accepts plastic bags for recycling, but styrofoam things still have to go into our trash can.

Another win for this project is that it is being built in a "farming town" so it will supply jobs for farmers that have lost their job due to the growth of tractor horsepower. And those jobs will help retain secondary jobs in town such as retail and churches.

WANE

WANE

BrightmarkEnergy

Muskogee, OK: Frisco Depot and Flood of 2019 causing a submarine to float again

Depot: (Satellite? Most of the tracks through town have been removed, so it is hard to determine the location.)

Submarine: (Satellite; 2165+ photos)

Friends of Passenger Rail Oklahoma posted

Muskogee, Oklahoma 

Obviously this is not a 1965 photo, the last year of Texas Special operation, but it is a photograph of the Muskogee, Oklahoma St. Louis-San Francisco depot that was a stop on the route for a time.  

Could Muskogee see passenger rail service again?  The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is conducting an Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study.  The study will be released sometime later this year.  You have an opportunity to voice your opinion at the project website.  

Scroll down at the project website (https://fralongdistancerailstudy.org) to find a public comment form.  Don't forget within your comments to include your desire to see a more aggressive project schedule.  The proposed 2040-2060 is too long to wait!

The town used to have a lot of railroads.

1950 Keefeton and Wagoner Quads @ 62,500

The Drive

The park is doing its job of being a flood plain. The steel storage yard of Vallourec Star to the north is also a reasonable use of a flood plain. The piles of steel won't float away and submersion probably causes less rust than a long, slow rain.

I notice that this town is downstream from the Keystone Dam, which is releasing over 250 kcfps into a river channel that has a capacity of 105 kcfps. And it is at the mouth of the Verdigris and Neosho Rivers. And the Neosho River is at the mercy of USACE managment of the Fort Gibson Dam.

NewsOn6 reports that this town "is one of the hardest hit by flooding."

Screenshot

Screenshot @ 3:55 of Fort George, OK. welfare check on May 25, 2019

Screenshot @ 6:47

Unlike the Keystone Dam, I was not able to find the channel capacity of the Neosho River.

GIBO2 : Ft. Gibson Lake, OK

Current Readings:

• 27.83 ft ABOVE normal
• Pool elevation is 581.83 feet on Saturday 25May19 Time: 1400 hours.
• At this elevation the total amount of water stored in Ft. Gibson Lake is 1275882 acre-feet.
• Reservoir release is 227608 cubic feet per second on Saturday 25May19 Time: 1400 hours.
• Flood control pool is 99.07% full.
• Flood control pool storage filled is 910682 acre-feet which is equivalent to 1.37 inches of runoff over the entire drainage basin.
• Flood control pool storage empty is 8517 acre-feet which is equivalent to 0.01 inches of runoff over the entire drainage basin.

Current Gate Settings:

• Tainter Gate 1 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 10 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 11 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 12 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 13 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 14 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 15 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 16 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 17 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 18 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 19 = 6.00 ft
• Tainter Gate 2 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 20 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 21 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 22 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 23 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 24 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 25 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 26 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 27 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 28 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 29 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 3 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 30 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 4 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 5 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 6 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 7 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 8 = 6.50 ft
• Tainter Gate 9 = 6.50 ft

Evaporation Data:

Daily Computed

• 0.325 inches - 25MAY2019 @ 0700

Reservoir Data:

	Elevation	Incremental Storage		Cumulative Storage
	(feet)	(inches)	(acre-feet)	(inches)	(acre-feet)
Surcharge Pool:	----	----	----	----	----
Flood Control Pool:	582.00	1.38	919199	1.93	1284399
Conservation Pool:	554.00	0.08	53899	0.55	365199
Inactive Pool:	551.00	0.47	311300	0.47	311300

Streambed Elevation: 483.00 feet.
Top of Dam Elevation: 593.00 feet.
All storages based on a contributing drainage area of 12491 square miles or 666239 acre-feet
Longitude: -95° 13' 43" Latitude: 35° 52' 16"
Map of Ft. Gibson Lake Dam

Links for More Information:

• Hourly data for this lake.
• Monthly Charts of Reservoir Data.
• Recreation Information.

Graphs of Measured and Calculated Lake Parameters:

View 24H and 1Day Graphs (Enlarged)

Elevation	Tailwater	Precipitation
In Flow	Out Flow	Storage

Fort Gibson Lake near Fort Gibson, OK

---

Go to Tulsa District Water Control Home Page. 
Disclaimer: The Lake Pages are subject to change.Last Page Update: Saturday, 25 May 2019 15:02

NewsOn6, Aerial Data Service

From a video near the bottom of the NewsOn6 report @ 0:15.
[I didn't watch much of the video because I didn't like the player. It is one thing to have your joists and dry wall soaked in water for days. It is something else to have it soaked for weeks.]

Peotone, IL: Milw/CM&G crosses IC and IL-50

(Satellite, Peotone has annexed the right-of-way between I-57 and IL-70)

Milwaukee abandoned the Joliet Branch in 1978.

Bill Molony posted
the Milwaukee Road's Joliet Branch crossed over the Illinois Central tracks and US Route 50 (just south of Peotone) on a fill and a pair of steel bridges - July, 1957.

Dave Ladislas Sr. remembers that there used to be a wooden trestle.
Dennis DeBruler Dave Ladislas Sr. In this 1939 aerial, there appears to be bents between each IC track, which would imply a wooden trestle. But it has modern concrete abutments, so it is not conclusive. It appears that IL-50 was already four lanes before WWII. That surprises me.
Bill Molony Dave Ladislas Sr. Yes, the later steel bridge replaced the original timber trestle.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Haswell, CO: Grain elevator with a very tall headhouse

(Satellite)

Richard Koenig posted

Haswell, Colorado

One image by Richard Koenig

Taken May 16th 2019
Bob Summers This was originally a DesMarteau Grain Company elevator built by George Gano after he sold Gano Grain to Bunge Corp in 1949. The extra tall headhouse was a common feature of these elevators to facilitate having scales capable of certified weights. I was fortunate enough to have several goose hunts with the manager and his guys in the early '70's. Great memories!

I'm saving the satellite image because the shadow also records the height of the headhouse.

Satellite

Rantoul, IL: CN+Amtrak/IC Depot

(Satellite)

This town was on the IC Branch of Havana, Rantoul and Eastern Railroad (HR&E).

Paul Jevert shared
Here is a postcard view of IC's Rantoul, Illinois station, probably in the mid-1940's, based on the automobiles. Happily, the station (dating from around 1918) survives and even Amtrak passenger trains still stop at this location.
Dennis DeBruler https://www.google.com/.../@40.3111769,-88.../data=!3m1!1e3

Dennis DeBruler commented on Paul's share
They put in a new crossing for both tracks and then severed the western track. That seems to be rather poor planning.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...

Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Railroad Depot in Rantoul, Illinois 1916. Photographed by C.R. Childs.
Richard Fiedler shared
Andy Zukowski posted
Illinois Central Railroad Depot in Rantoul, Illinois which is in Champaign County. 1916 and was photographed by C.R. Childs of Chicago.
[Comments indicate we are looking North.]
Richard Fiedler shared
Kevin Reynolds shared

Paul Jevert shared a Vintage Railroad Photos pre-1975ish post

The quality isn't the best but here's a shot of the interior of the depot at Rantoul, IL. On the back wall is a chalkboard, dated April 14, 1941, with train schedules. Southbound trains included numbers 1, 3, 25, 31, and 55. Northbound trains included 2, 26, 32, and 54.

This photo was taken some eight months before the U.S. entered WWII. Rantoul was located next to Chanute Field, later renamed Chanute Air Force Base. Countless military personnel traveled to Chanute aboard IC trains. (BTW, I don't believe the gentlemen at left is a serviceman. His clothing and hat don't appear to be GI-issue and he lacks any military insignia on his sleeves. IMO he is probably a taxi driver or messenger).

Photographer unknown, Cliff Downey collection.

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook posted
IC's depot in Rantoul, IL, as seen in 1941. The IC had built a new brick depot in Rantoul in the 1920's but the old depot survived a few more years before being demolished. IC photo, Cliff Downey collection.
Paul Jevert shared
Illinois Central Rantoul Depot of frame construction in 1941 looking south to Thomasboro !
[The gables on the grain elevator are at a 90-degree angle to what is shown on the postcard.]

Illinois Central Railroad Scrapbook posted

Over the past eight years I've posted several thousand photos to this page. But IMHO this once evokes more thoughts of a long-gone era than any photo I've posted. The photo was taken in 1941 by an IC company photographer inside the IC's old depot at Rantoul, IL (IC did build a brick depot at Rantoul in the 1920s but the old depot survived into the 1940s).

Where does one begin with this photo? How about that large cast iron stove in the center. One has to wonder how many railroaders that stove helped warm over the years, and how many stories were told around the stove. How many folks walked across that creaky wooden floor, and how many train orders were handed up to train crews using those hoops and the train order fork hanging on the back wall.

That roll-top desk in the background has several stacks of paperwork, neatly arranged, with a weight on top of one of the stacks to keep the papers from blowing away. On top of the desk is a rack with passenger timetables from different roads. The waiting room is on the other side. A ticket window, with a metal grate, can be seen behind the stove. The grate is supposed to keep robbers from jumping the counter and stealing the money, but the door to the waiting room (at far left) is standing open!

The tables in the foreground are filled with all types of paperwork. A Conger battery-powered lantern can also be seen.

In the background two men are visible. The one seated in the corner is probably the operator. But who is the other guy? A conductor waiting for train orders? A section foreman getting a track line-up? Maybe just a railroader shooting the breeze before heading out on his next train? Two phones are visible, but there is undoubtedly also a telegraph key for communicating with the dispatcher.

Lighting is pretty minimal, with only four lights suspended from the ceiling visible. And of course there is the ubiquitous clock hanging on that tongue-and-grove wooden wall to keep everything in time.

Today, most of the objects visible in the photo would be considered antiques. But back in 1941 these objects were regarded as common, every day tools. But together these common, every day tools helped keep trains moving on the IC.