Chicago Incinerators

People used to burn their own trash. I remember, as a kid in the 1950s, taking the trash out to a far corner of our backyard where we had a cylinder made from glorified metal fencing material. I would pour the trash into the cylinder and light it with a match. But Fort Wayne, as well as Chicago, made a rule that people can't burn their trash, and later, leaves in the Fall, because of air pollution. So the cities needed to collect and dispose of trash. By 1959, Chicago was getting all of its swamps, clay pits and quarries filled with trash. ("According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, many Chicago buildings and streets stand on as much as 12 feet of 19th century trash.") And it was building "mountains" up to 17 stories high. [Baer] So to reduce the volume of material going to landfills, the city built incinerators. Fly ash is 1/10 the volume of trash.

Rod Sellers posted
Where am I?

Rod Sellers commented on his post
Answer: Calumet Incinerator at 103rd and Doty. When it was built it was supposed to be the beginning of the end of landfills. Didn't work out that way. Attached photo is from the Daily Calumet March 6, 1959.
[The city has repurposed that land as an auto pound.]

Daniel Bovino posted

The Calumet Incinerator with its distinctive bouquet that would periodically permeate our neighborhood, 103rd and Doty Avenue. Different aromas, to me, were based on the wind. I learned directions based on smell... Wind from the Northeast: Jays Potato Chips, East: The incinerator, Southeast: Sherwin Williams, South: Torino Bakery West: not much..

Photo by the late Dr. Gene Ossello.

[There are lots of interesting comments about this plant producing one of several "industrial smells" in the neighborhood. It sounds like the champion stinker was Sherwin Williams "that belched tons of toluene sulphonic acid vapor."]

In addition to the Calumet Incinerator, the city had the Medill, Southwest and Northwest Incinerators. I have yet to find where the Southwest and Medill incinerators were. The Northwest Incinerator became operational in 1971, just as the other ones were being shut down because of pollution. [GarbageWars, pp133-134]

Baer, 1971-1996, the building was torn down in 2015.

This is now a transfer station. They left the smokestacks when it was torn down.

Street View, May 2024

When built in 1971, the Northwest Incinerator was the largest in North America. It could burn 400,000 tons of garbage a year. "When it opened, during the long tenure of Mayor Richard J. Daley, incineration of solid waste was believed to be an environmentally sound alternative to landfills, and the pollution-mitigating technology of the facility was state of the art for the time. But according to witness reports, the smoke from its chimneys often smelled extremely foul.... According to DePaul soil scientist James Montgomery, who visited the site in 1993, a visible layer of soot coated the ground and windows around the incinerator." Lead contamination was one of the pollution problems that they could not solve. It was emitting 17 pounds of lead per hour. [CityBureau]

Actually, the lead emissions were 5-17 pounds per hour. It sold steam to Brachs Candy factory. The fly ash, which is 10% of the original volume, was deposited in Stearns Quarry.  [AreaChicagoArchive]

There is an incinerator plant in Robins, IL, but when I researched it, it was closed.

Steam-Driven Lift Bridge over Oswego Canal

(Satellite?, I don't even know which town this was in.)

Erie Canal Overview

Cori Willson posted two photos with the comment: "The West Shore Railroad crossed the Oswego Canal on this steam-operated vertical-lift bridge. The engine and its attendants occupied the small control house on top, which rode upward each time the cables rolled over the four large sheaves to raise the bridge span. This photograph was taken in the early 1880s. Within a few years, the coal sheds and stationary crane visible here (used for unloading canal boats) were replaced by modern coal pockets and a traveling steam elevator for distributing coal from the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company (see second photograph)."

EricGinny Baker: Where is this photo located? [no answer]

Lincoln Sander IV: The West Shore was completed in 1885.

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As Lincoln's comment suggests, Cori probably has the wrong railroad. The only railroads I could find near the Oswego Canal were New York Central & Hudson River, New York Ontario & Western and Delaware Lackawanna & Western. 

1900/00 Fulton and Oswego Quads @ 62,500

And the only place I could find any railroad crossing the the canal was in Oswego, NY.

Digitally Zoomed

This bridge is on the correct angle, but it is way too high to be the bridge in the photos.

Street View, May 2012

Bridge over Pine Creek River and 1837-1927 Grist Mill near Muscatine, IA

(Satellite)

Robert Miller, Jun 2022

Matt Wince, May 2017

Mickie Lynn posted four photos with the comment: "Bridge in Muscatine, Iowa at a once working mill.  The area is spectacular.  Clear water, breathtaking to view and listen to."

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The smokestack implies that the mill was converted from water power to steam power.

PineCreekGristMill

Andy Bullock posted

Tucked right under the bridge frame: Pine Creek Grist Mill. This was my second time visiting, shot just before the 4th of July last summer, and the stillness here never gets old. There’s something about the sound of the water over the dam and the old timber that makes you just want to slow down and stay awhile. Definitely due for another trip back soon.

Where’s your go-to spot when you just need to unplug?

Water-Wheel via History

Kyle Fields, Jul 2021

James G, Jul 2018

Kyle Fields, Jul 2021

Marc O'Hara, Aug 2024

Mary Ann Everson, Jun 2025

There were several secondary line shafts.

ZK Peach, May 2025

Driving several different machines.

James G, Jul 2018

Glasgow, UK: Waverley Excursions on "World's last Seagoing Paddle Steamer"

(Satellite)

Glasgow is one of several UK cities from which the Waverley excursions run.

Craig Hooper, Jun 2024

First of 772 photos on TripAdvisor
"Waverley is the World's last seagoing paddle steamer offering Day, Afternoon and Evening Cruises in several areas around the UK. Step aboard to enjoy a unique piece of our maritime, industrial and social heritage. Only aboard Waverley can you enjoy unrivalled access to our stunning coastline, savour the sound as the paddles beat, view the ship's powerful steam engine and even watch the paddles turning. Waverley has full catering facilities open throughout the cruise including our very own Souvenir Shop where you can purchase an exclusive Waverley memento of your time aboard this famous survivor from the age of steam!"

It has a triple-expansion steam engine, and the cylinders are almost horizontal.

Craig Hooper, Jun 2024

The Olive Tree Family, Sep 2024

Is the barge near the lower-left corner being used for repairs?

X-PLORZ, Mar 2023

In addition to a souvenir shop onboard, their webpage has stuff.

WaverleyExcursions_shop

I learned about this ship from this video. It has several scenes from different angles.

Facebook Reel

I don't think much about a bucket list; but if I did, Glasgow would be on it. I presume England's narrowboat canal system connects with Glasgow.

David Collins, Aug 2024

1931,1989 OH-82 and 1882,1992 Station Road Bridges over Cuyahoga River at Brecksville, OH

1931 Arch: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

1882 Truss: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

The pin-connected truss bridge is the Station Road Bridge and the concrete-arch bridge is the Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge. The railroad on the left is a tourist railroad, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic RR.

Paul P, Mar 2017

This is the station that Station Road connected to the towns on the edges of the valley. We can see part of the Station Road Bridge on the right side of this photo.

Harrison Whittaker, Oct 2022

 

HAER OHIO,18-BRECK,3--1
1. GENERAL VIEW, SHOWING THREE SPANS OF BRIDGE, FROM SOUTH - Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge, Spanning Cuyahoga River Between Brecksville & Northfield, Brecksville, Cuyahoga County, OH

HAER OHIO,18-BRECK,4--5
5. Telephoto view of bridge showing Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge in background - Station Road Bridge, Spanning Cuyahoga River, Brecksville, Cuyahoga County, OH

"Significance: Built by the Madison Massillon Bridge Company, the bridge represents a comparatively rare example of a double intersection Pratt truss. The bridge is 128.6 feet long and 18.7 feet wide. It served as an important vehicular connection between Summit and Cuyahoga counties until the construction of the nearby Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge, which opened in 1931." [HAER_truss_data]

The trail in the lower-right corner was the towpath of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Bruce Butkus, Aug 2017

 

HistoricBridges_1882
"This rare Whipple truss bridge displays the unique Howe truss portal bracing of the Massillon Bridge Company. The bridge has been preserved in its original location for pedestrian use, the former highway now being a trail in a national park."

The concrete arch bridge has five spans. 

Street View, May 2024

Ben H, Sep 2016

Ikbal Hossain posted without giving proper credit to Michael Murray.
A rare view of the Cuyahoga River at the Station Road Bridge Trailhead in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I think there’s a bridge too if you can spot it. The fisherman is more obvious. And someone finding his or her way on the Towpath in the distance. 😀
[Some comments point out that this is not a rare view. One comment claims it is AI generated.]

Don Ballasch commented on Ikbal's post
Was a great fishing spot till the water dropped 5 feet.
[Some additional comments indicate that some dams were removed.]

Jim Karas commented on Ikbal's post
Lovely

Dennis Szulinski commented on Ikbal's post

Cuyahoga Valley History posted 18 photos with the comment:

For over 94 years, the Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park has carried State Route 82 traffic across the Cuyahoga River. The 145-foot-[45m]tall, spandrel-arched bridge connects Brecksville to Sagamore Hills Township. The bridge was constructed in 1931 to replace the lower-level Station Road Bridge, which had became obsolete to motor vehicle travel. 

The High Level Bridge was designed by Alfred M. Helgate, a civil and bridge engineer for Cuyahoga County. Construction was done by The Highway Construction Company of Cleveland at a cost of roughly $500,000. The project consisted of using over 850,000 bags of cement and 1.5 million pounds of steel. 

On January 2, 1932, the bridge officially opened up to traffic. A dedication ceremony was held to celebrate the bridge’s opening, drawing a crowd of 2,000 people. Those in attendance witnessed Governor George A. White cut the blue ribbon to commemorate the bridge’s opening. Upon completion, it became the highest concrete bridge built by the State of Ohio. 

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 17, 1986. A major renovation was done on the bridge in 1989. Today the bridge is actively used, with repairs and maintenance done to ensure the nearly 100 year old bridge is still safe for traffic to drive across. With continued maintenance and care, this bridge will live far beyond its 100 year anniversary.

Aidan Sark shared with the comment: "History of the Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge in Ohio." 

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Mike Czeck commented on the above post
From the Station Road Bridge.

Gary Brown commented on Photo 1
Looks like the one in Toronto over the Don Valley

Note the bridges in the background. You get a better view of the bridges at the beginning, but I wanted to also catch the Fort Wayne NKP 765steam locomotive. 

1:50 video