Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Martinsburg, WV: B&O Depot, 2 Roundhouses. Freight House and 2 Backshops

Backshop 1: (Satellite)
1866 Roundhouse: (HAERSatellite)
Backshop 2: (Satellite)
Burned Roundhouse: (Satellite)
Freight House: (Satellite, has been removed)

3D Satellite
;;;
B.K. Bell posted
B.@O. roundhouse is Martinsburg Wv. Only one stand today.
Roger Eyrich shared

Industrialmodels posted
June of 72', Walt Schopp shot this Kodachrome at Martinsburg WV.....
Scotty Fahnestock shared
Matt Butcher shared

HAER WVA,2-MART,1A--10
10. INTERIOR VIEW OF WALLED-OFF SECTION OF LOCOMOTIVE WORK BAY SHOWING MASTER SCALE. - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Martinsburg West Roundhouse, East End of Race & Martin Streets, Martinsburg, Berkeley County, WV
Tim Starr posted
Inside the B&O enclosed roundhouse at Martinsburg WV. At left is the "master scale." West Roundhouse is a building in the former engine and machine shops complex erected by the B&O in Martinsburg beginning in 1849. Destroyed by Confederate troops in 1861, the existing shops date from 1866. West Roundhouse was one of two identical buildings used for running repairs to locomotives. It is a sixteen-sided, brick-walled polygon covered by a bell-shaped roof over the locomotive turntable, with sixteen wedge-shaped work bays radiating from the turntable. The twin roundhouse was destroyed by arson.
Dennis DeBruler: This is one of several photos of that roundhouse: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/wv0255/

According to Jim's comment below, the roundhouse we see in this photo is the ruins we see in the above satellite image. 
Shaun Dorsey posted
The Roundhouse in Martinsburg and I belive the passenger station also. Another of my Dad's photos.
David Andrew Wieting: [The depot] was a hotel, but after Stonewall Jackson burned up most of the B&O in Martinsburg the hotel became the station. I believe it is still partly in use today as the station. It has been restored with additions made to it.
Jim Kelling: This roundhouse burned down about 1990 (arson) but the surviving one is from 1866. Thanks for sharing the photo; I’ve never seen it from this side before.

The photo above is looking West.
3D Satellite
 
WVNC Rails posted
A B&O passenger train moves through Martinsburg, WV past the west roundhouse and shops circa 1970. B&O E9A #1454 leads this westbound which at this date is probably Train #11, the "Metropolitan". Locomotives have always been the stars of the show but back in the day, the vast array of railroad owned freight cars---as opposed to leaser or privately owned today--were quite interesting in their own right. Library of Congress/HAER image
Dennis DeBruler: "What makes the building [roundhouse] unique and architecturally distinctive is its total cast-iron frame of octagonal columns, struts and beams. It is one of the most significant cast-iron framed buildings in the United States. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/wv0255/
Bod Davis shared
B&O Railroad Museum posted
After overcoming the complications at Harpers Ferry, the B&O Railroad progressed quickly west. On May 21st, 1842, the line continuation to Martinsburg, West Virginia opened and ten days later the railroad reached Hancock, Maryland. 
In 1848, the railroad began expanding its facilities at Martinsburg with the aim of creating a central maintenance area along the line between Baltimore and Cumberland. The construction began with an engine shed and in 1852, the construction of a machine shop for more serious repairs was made possible by the purchase of additional acreage. At one point there also stood a Roundhouse and depot that were later destroyed. 
Martinsburg became a significant site for the B&O both during the Civil War and during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Next week, we’ll discuss the role of these shops within both significant B&O historical moments! 
Historic American Engineering Record, Creator. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Martinsburg West Roundhouse, East End of Race & Martin Streets, Martinsburg, Berkeley County, WV. West Virginia Martinsburg Berkeley County, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. 

West Virginia life posted two photos with the comment:
The B&O Railroad Shops and Roundhouse in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
This roundhouse is the oldest remaining domed roundhouse in the United States and possibly the world. It is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and the complex is also on the National Historic Landmark register.
The roundhouse, constructed in 1866, was added when the shop complex was rebuilt after Stonewall Jackson's troops burned the original shops during the Civil War.
These buildings were considered masterpieces in railroad architecture and structural engineering, but the brick roundhouse was especially significant. Designed by Albert Fink, a renowned 19th-century civil engineer and railroad economist, a cast iron internal framework supports this completely circular, domed structure and is considered an early ancestor to the steel framing system used in today's skyscrapers. This iron skeleton allows more than 20,000 square feet of open floor space. That is enough room for a central 50-foot turntable and 16 locomotive bays. Unfortunately, it was abandoned by CSX Railroad in the late 1980s and sat empty for many years before the complex was sold to a non-profit and restored.
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 occurred in the Martinsburg B&O Shops and is considered one of American history's most violent and widespread labor uprisings. The strike lasted for days, and strikers were killed when federal troops broke up the action. This event initiated the first national labor strike.
Randall Hampton shared
Angelina Ava posted a copy of these two photos and the description.
1

2

B&O Railroad Museum posted
Moving into the 20th century, the Martinsburg facilities added the blacksmith shop, rehabilitation shop, and the saw house. The new additions supported the Martinsburg Roundhouse as the stop became a “maintenance of way” shop. From the 1930s to the 1980s, the Martinsburg Roundhouse served as a maintenance of way shop and in 1988, the Martinsburg Shops closed.  
In the early 1990s, one of the historic roundhouses was destroyed by an arsonist. Following the fire, the West Roundhouse was the only remaining roundhouse on the site. Today, the site is a National Historic Landmark, which includes many of the antebellum shop buildings and one roundhouse with very few architectural changes.
Image from City of Martinsburg. 
#BORailroad #BORailHistory #BORailMuseum #BaltimoreHistory #VisitBaltimore #BaltimoreMuseums
Tom Dunne shared
Randall Hampton shared
Nice drone shot of Martinsburg, with the MARC / Amtrak station on the near side of the tracks.  NA Tower is barely out of sight, to the right.

Don Wetmore commented on the above post
Here's the east roundhouse in 1980 before it burned. Photo by Don Wetmore.

Tom Dunne commented on the above post
Federal forces cut off the rail lines from Martinsburg, equipment could not be moved by the Confederates over tracks to the Southern rail system. A plan was devised to move as much rolling stock and equipment as possible over land from Martinsburg to the southern railhead at Strasburg.
General Stonewall Jackson, with the help of Capt. Thomas A. Sharp and Hugh Longust, both experienced railroad men, led the successful operation.
A newspaper report from Strasburg on September 7, 1861, stated: "Fourteen locomotives, a large number of railroad cars, nine miles of track, telegraph wires and about $40,000.00 worth of machinists' tools and materials, all belonging to the B&O Railroad, have been successfully hauled overland by the Confederates."
When analyzed, the task that Jackson faced was awesome. Considering the existing condition of the roads and the weight of the locomotives. Crews of teamsters, mechanics and laborers had to be assembled. So did an entire herd of horses. To lighten the load, every ounce of weight was taken off the engines - from bells and whistles to pistons, cow catchers, stacks, and cabs. The tenders were detached. The front truck wheels were replaced with improvised, extra wide, wooden wheels. The front driver wheels were removed to lighten the load. The rear drivers had to be widened and the effect of the flange eliminated which was accomplished by putting on wide wooden wheels with iron banding.
Teams of forty horses were hitched together - including mules, thoroughbreds, and workhorses - and all sorts of harnesses were improvised. The feat of maneuvering turns and grades on the macadamized surface of the valley pike must have presented an incredible spectacle.
Stonewall Jackson, still in his blue VMI instructors' uniform, sits on horseback in the center of the painting, viewing the path the 40-horse team will take. Capt. Sharp points out the route. I was able to see Jackson's coat and kepi at the VMI Museum with the kind cooperation of Col. Keith Gibson. Accompanying Jackson are his mounted staff members - Second Lt. Sandy Pendleton, in the red kepi and Dr. Hunter McGuire, both seen to the left of Jackson, and Maj. John Harmon, seen to the right of Jackson. Once again, Dr. James Robertson Jr. of Virginia Tech was able to help me with the crucial details. It is early in the morning of June 20, 1861. The sun is rising in the east and starts to catch the higher parts of the roundhouse and the Berkeley Hotel. The city of Martinsburg recently restored the hotel to its 19th Century condition, with minor changes. It is used today as an Amtrak Station. I chose to paint it the way it was during the 19th Century with the Berkeley Hotel sign on the building as it was during the Civil War.
Jackson Commandeers the Railroad, Martinsburg, Virginia, June 1861
Artwork by Mort Kunstler...

Twin City Model Railroad Museum commented on the above post
The interior is awesome!
.

Depot


Street View, Sep 2019
 
Mark Hinsdale posted

Marty Bernard posted three photos with the comment: "4, 5 and 6. B&O Martinsburg, WV, May 1, 1971. Scott Armentrout photo, Bill Howes collection."
1

3

4

I find it interesting that B&O covered the middle of their roundhouses.
Street View, Sep 2019

The roundhouse is now an interesting event space.
Raul Torres, Oct 2021

TheMartinsburgRoundhouse

Obviously, a freight house.
Neil Currin, Jun 2017

In the next street view, Aug 2021, the freight house is gone.
Street View, Oct 2019

This topo map does not show the freight house, but it does show the spur that comes down the grade and crosses the street. It looks like the burned roundhouse also had its middle covered.
1955 Martinsburg Quad @ 24,000

This appears to be the rectangular building that is between the two roundhouses. Given the forge, I presume this was the Frog & Switch Blacksmith Shop. So I conclude that the rectangular building that is north of the roundhouse is the Bridge & Machine Shop. [rental-rates]
Dolly Fergus, Apr 2017

They evidently sometimes move the caboose onto the turntable as a photo opportunity.
1 of 5 photos posted by Martinsburg Roundhouse
Wm Whittington shared
Martinsburg, WV Roundhouse.
Dennis DeBruler shared
Dennis DeBruler: It is a "decoration" in an event space:   https://www.roundhousewv.com/roundhouserental
Kyle McGrogan: Note the angled cast iron columns and rings at the various levels to support the roof. This was rebuilt and enlarged after the Civil War in 1866 to B&O Engineer Albert Fink's design. The building was based on one in Germany. There was a second one like this right next to this one , built in 1875, but it was destroyed in a case of arson before the Berkeley Country Roundhouse Authority took the site over.

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Georgetown, CO: 1900 1mw Georgetown Energy Museum and 1967 343mw Cabin Creek Hydro

Museum: (Satellite)
Cabin Creek: (Satellite)

Street View, Oct 2012

"Electric generating plants, through their high-voltage lines, provided critical power to the isolated mines in this region. Georgetown, completed in 1900, was unusual in employing both steam and water power. Its owner, United Light and Power Company, was a pioneer in using three-phase, 60-Hertz alternating current and in being interconnected with other utilities." [A plaque via ethw]

ethw
"The mining industry brought about the early development of the alternating current (AC) electrical industry. The major mining areas for gold and silver were located in the mountain areas remotely located from streams that could provide water power for hydroelectric generating plants. The distances required for the transmission of electric power prohibited the use of direct current (DC) electric systems. Also, the major mining districts were in areas where coal was not available. The only fuel available was wood."

Colorado Museums, May 2016

Colorado Museums, May 2016

Jennifer Kate, Jul 2016

As of 2007, the hydro part was still operating and could support 700-1000 homes.  The source of water is the South Clear Creek. [Photo of a plaque] "One megawatt will power 800 modern homes" [daily-jeff]

Cabin Creek Hydro is a pumped-storage facility, and this is the lower reservoir. As the electric power industry transitions from coal to wind and solar, storage becomes more important.
Street View, Sep 2021

cobizmag, Feb 27, 2020
Excel is spending $88m to do an upgrade that includes two new turbines.
"Currently two-pump turbines generate 324 megawatts a day. For reference, 1 megawatt can power approximately 750 Colorado homes for one hour."
[Those sentences should have been: "Currently two-pump turbines generate 324 megawatts. For reference, 1 megawatt can power approximately 750 Colorado homes."]
After the update, which should have been completed in 2021, the plants capacity will be 343mw. They are also increasing the storage capacity by adding 4' to the 210' upper dam.
"In 2007, a fire at the plant killed five workers after a flammable chemical they were using to clean ignited in a tunnel. A criminal trial in the deaths of the workers ended with a $1.5 million plea agreement in 2011. Two years later, the Colorado Court of Appeals dismissed lawsuits against three companies tied to the incident, including plant owner Xcel Energy."
"Of six hydroelectric plants statewide, Cabin Creek is the only unit using pump storage technology." [This surprised me. Given all of the changes in vertical elevation in Colorado, I expected more hydropower. I guess the state doesn't have enough water for a lot of hydopower. Note that a pumped-storage plant doesn't consume water, it recycles it.]

Final report concerning the fire, p23, via csb.gov
[CSB stands for "U. S. Chemeical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board." I did not read the report. but it does have some interesting figures.]

GE supplied the turbines. "As a leader in the field of energy storage applications with pumped storage technology, GE has an installed base of 22 GW for turbines and 38 GW for generators for pumped hydro storage plants. Pumped storage units utilize less expensive energy produced at low demand and then dispatch the stored energy during peak demand." [ge]

"In 1968, the plant was awarded with the Edison Award for novel engineering, the Edison Electric Institute’s highest honor." [Xcel, clicked the Cabin Creek pulldown]


Roger's comment on this post is the motivation for researching the museum power plant. I wanted to note these photos, but they didn't specify the plant. So I'm "parking" the photos in these notes.
Gentleman of Decay posted four photos with the comment: "Power Plant."
Roger Deschner: There's an antique turbine plant like this still operating and adding power to the overall grid in Georgetown, Colorado, USA. It was one of the first 60-cycle AC power plants, so it never became obsolete. AC was necessary to send power to remote gold mines in the mountains around Georgetown. Open to the public in summer.
Richard Smith: Never saw this type of turbine generator operate but there were 7 of these small low pressure units at the Toronto, Ohio plant of Ohio Edison in the early sixties when I worked there. Believe they were put into service in the 10-20’s.
Ron Franko shared
Dan Reynolds: That old crane is pretty cool.
1
Dan Swartz: Granite instrument panels!

2

3

4




Monday, February 20, 2023

Byesville, OH: 2023 1.875gw Guernsey County Power Station

(Satellite, it was still a farm field when I accessed it)

The Utica and Marcellus shale beds that I knew were in western Pennsylvania are also in this area (eastern Ohio). These are shale beds that fracking technology made productive. The plant was built next to a gas pipeline and a 765kv power line. [GuernseyPowerStation-facts]

Eric Wasson posted
Guernsey Power Station now [Feb 2023] up and running in Ohio.
Paul Dildine: They are single shaft 7HA.02, the GT, generator, and steam turbine on the same line shaft. The steam turbine has a 'triple s' clutch so the GT can be run in simple cycle until steam quality is good. This is the same arrangement as Lackawanna energy center and moxie freedom. The former ops manager from Lackawanna is plant manager at Guernsey.
Erich Amberger: Drew Bednarczyk They are 7HA.02 @ 384mw X 3. And it says the plant is 1875 mw. Looks like it says “ STG FOR EACH 7HA.02” so that would be 241 mw STG X 3. But if you look at GE site 1X1 is only 573 each🤷‍♂️

GuernseyPowerStation

That is an impressive array of coolers. Looking at a satellite map, there is no large lake or river nearby.
GuernseyPowerStation

Photo by Heather Sevingy via daily-jeff, May 2021
The project was projected to cost $1.6b, and it will employ about 30 people with more people during the spring and fall outages to prepare for the next season. "The plant will be the largest natural-gas powered facility in the United States that was built in a single phase, designed to last 30 years."
"Early stages of the construction phase included six months of site preparation work to include approximately 200,000 cubic yards of grouting in mines abandoned in the 1920s. Approximately 10 to 12% of the project budget involved site preparation."
"One megawatt will power 800 modern homes and the plant can supply up to 300 megawatts to the grid in 10 minutes with the push of a button."
[This is a nice article. They briefly explain how a combined-cycle power plant works.]
"The plant will use 160,000 MMBTU (1 million British thermal units) or 1,000 MCF (volume of 1,000 cubic feet) a day."

"The Guernsey Power Plan was able to bring all of the big equipment in on rail lines reducing the impact on local roadways." [daily-jeff] A satellite image shows that tracks go right past the west side of the site. But, the 2005 SPV Map shows that PennCentral abandoned this Pennsylvania route south of Byesville. I wonder how much work was needed to restore the tracks to the plant.

GE's 7HA.02 gas turbines are "the world’s largest and most-efficient heavy-duty gas turbines....The HA turbine has been recognized for powering the world’s most efficient power plants in both the 50hz and 60hz energy segments. GE’s fleet of HA gas turbines has surpassed more than 388,000 operating hours and secured more than 95 orders from 40+ customers in 18+ countries." [GE-press]

"Using state-of-the-art combined cycle technology and a dry (air) cooling system, the 1,875 MW, Guernsey Power Station, will be a cost and fuel-efficient plant. Each power train, in its own turbine building, will consist of one GE 7HA.02 gas turbine equipped with evaporative inlet cooling, one triple pressure reheat steam turbine and one water/hydrogen cooled electric generator arranged on a common single shaft. Each power train will have an outdoor heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) equipped with supplemental duct firing capabilities, selective catalytic reduction technology for NOx, and an oxidation catalyst for CO/VOC reduction." [GemmaPower]

"The Guernsey power station will receive natural gas supply from the Utica and Marcellus shale gas formations in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, through the near-by Rockies Express (REX)-East pipeline. REX-East is a 1,028km-long and 42in-diameter high-pressure natural gas pipeline that originates from the Clarington natural gas hub in Monroe County of Ohio and runs through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to Missouri." [nsenergybusiness]

5:50 drone video @ 5:02


Sunday, February 19, 2023

Macoupin C: Carlinville, IL: Standard Oil Co. Standard B Coal Mine, #1


Standard Oil bought Carlinville Coal Mine #1 to use as an air shaft.

Andy Zukowski posted
Standard Oil Company Mine 1-B Carlinville, Illinois" Photo by Bregstone PTV # 33. C1910
Paul Meier: If it is the one I think, it was just off the IT. Standard Oil also had a mine at Standard City in Macoupin Co. There were still some structures at that site there when I worked in Carlinville in '74-5.

Directory

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
I'm glad you specified that it was Standard Oil. Otherwise, I would have assumed Index 69 instead of 187.
https://wikiimage.isgs.illinois.edu/ilmines/webfiles/topo-mines/carlinville-west.pdf

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andy's post
The tipple was in this current industrial area:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3008898,-89.8735279,853m/data=!3m1!1e3
https://wikiimage.isgs.illinois.edu/ilmines/webfiles/topo-mines/carlinville-east.pdf

Dennis DeBruler commented on Paul's comment
Would the Chicago & Alton allow Illinois Traction to cross their tracks to serve that mine?
1923 Carlinville Quad @ 48,000

There were still some buildings in 1939.
1939 Aerial Photo via IHLAP

Little Orleans, WV: B&O (AD) Tower

(Satellite)

Darren Reynolds posted
B&O
"AD" Tower
Orleans Rd. W.V.
On the B&Os Brunswick to Cumberland main line..
And the start of the magnolia cut off (east)
Thomas White: Check out the cool, perfectly maintained 12 way pipeline run.
Kirke Fay: As an explanation to readers from out of the area, the tracks to the right (the same side the tower was on) is the original Martinsburg to Cumberland mainline, which had curves, cuts and generally followed the course of the Potomac River. The Tracks on the far side (RH in the picture) is the straighted present mainline...the original line being closed in 1973, I believe, which served the town of Paw Paw, WV and thence a mile further, westbound, reconected to resume as a four track mainline. Can one imagine all the levers filling up the operators floor !. The old line, also called the low line, was the only station, hence, there was no reason to serve the town and was abandoned after the B&O ended passenger and express service.
Darren Reynolds posted
B&Os "AD" tower Orleans RD, WV. This was the start of the Magnolia cut off.this tower was closed in the mid.50s when the railroad CTC the interlocking from Patterson Creek Tower...
John Donnelly: Hated those pipelines. You had to constantly adjust them because of temperature change.
Darren Reynolds posted again and this time credited "Bruce D. Fales B&O HS."
[I count a dozen signalling pipelines along the track.]
Tim Shanahan shared

Dennis DeBruler tried to comment on Kirke's comment
Thanks. That allowed me to find the location on this topo map, which allowed me to find the location on a satellite map.
1950 Paw Paw Quad @ 24,000
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5984545,-78.3983518,410m/data=!3m1!1e3

The Magnolia Cutoff has four tunnels and two bridges.
Dennis DeBruler