These are notes that I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
After this overview map to provide context, I start with a collection of photos taken while the lower dotted line was still in service. Then I do a detailed analysis of how the C&E ran from North Avenue to the Milwaukee tracks on the west side of the Chicago River.
Lou Gerard posted
The Conductor throws the switch so the Division St. job on Kingsbury St. in Chicago can go in a get a car out of the Midwest Zinc siding with caboose #5. October 1989.
Lou Gerard posted two photos with the comment: "SOO LINE GP9 2550 on Kingsbury south of North Ave. in 1996. A large Whole Foods Market now occupies the area to the left."
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Dennis DeBruler commented on Lou's post The rail is still exposed north of North Ave. Since the last customer on Goose Island quit using the rail and since General Iron uses barges, I don't think there are any customers left on any of the remnants of the Chicago & Evanston. I went out on about the last warmish weekend in December (2015) to see what rails were left.
The tracks did stop on the north side of North Ave.
A Soo Line switcher "street running" in Chicago south of North Avenue in 1999. Even though Chicago is still the nation's railroad capitol actual freight service in the city like this had all but vanished by this date - and might be completely gone by now.
[The last remnant of the C&E, on Goose Island, was abandoned in Feb 2018.]
Mark Llanuza posted (source)
Its 1987 Milwaukee Rd Goose Island branch Milwaukee Rd MP-15 is at Halstead and Division street. Brandon McShane The old Ogden Avenue viaduct passing overhead. Michael Plumeri Looking East. It's all gone now. Odgen ave bridge was a great short cut from North ave to the Chicago Stadium. Tom Schultz derailments in the city really sucked also had a few doors fall off in the Chicago put traffic to a stop Truck driver knew how to drive through front yards and side walks to get to them then winch them up and get to nearest dumpster that's where they ended up. Derailments meant we were going to have someones electric shut off for safety reasons.
Mark Llanuza posted
Its 1987 former Milwaukee Rd MP-15 is at Erie st in Chicago IL switching the goose Island branch.
Mark Llanuza posted Its 1987 Former Milwaukee Rd MP-15 switches at Wards near Erie street in Chicago IL .This was the Milwaukee Rd Goose Island branch.
John J Kulidas posted Milwaukee Road / Soo Line Kingsbury Branch (C&E South Line) near Superior & Kingsbury Streets, switching cars for Wallace Press (located just the other side of the elevated roadway in the background) in 1986. This picture captures a time where this area of Chicago was starting to go through a transition from industrial to urban gentrification. Photo by John Smatlak. Michael Mannino: I worked in this neighborhood for four years starting in 1998. All these tracks were gone by then, I think. I also think the cross street is Erie, but I could be wrong again. I do know the viaduct in the background is the Ohio feeder ramp. Bill Matteson: I worked 10 years at Wallace Press Grand Ave And Kingsbury. Edward Kwiatkowski shared
Dennis DeBruler commented on Edward's share I think we are looking between the buildings south of Huron Street and then we are looking along Kingsbury Street. (The hash marks in Larrabee Street is how topo maps indicate street running.) 1972 Chicago Loop Quad @ 24,000
Dennis DeBruler commented on Edward's share As indicated by the topo map, the RoW used an easement east of Kingsbury when it got south of Ontario. The National Public Housing Museum and parking spaces now occupy that land. Note that the Ontario Street Lofts building is curved to accommodate the industrial spur shown on the topo map. Wallace Press was in the northwest quadrant of Kingsbury and Grand. I wonder if that is the building now used by the Riverbank Lofts Condo Association. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8923399,-87.6404579,247m/data=!3m1!1e3
The first part of the route to the south is easy to trace because it did street running down Kingsbury Street.
We can not only see diagonal sides on old buildings, we can see that new buildings are built on a diagonal because they were built in the abandoned right-of-way where C&E angled over from Larrabee south of Superior back to Kingsbury south of Erie Street. It again followed Kingsbury until it got south of Grand Avenue where it curved west. The track went over a bridge just north of Kinzie to join Milwaukee's mainline that went south to Union Station.
The smoke abatement report omits some of the yard tracks that were south of Grand. This photo shows that Milwaukee occupied most of the land from Grand to Kinzie between Kingsbury and the river.
Jeff Bransky commented on William's post
David H. Nelson commented on Paul's share
The East Bank Club was one of the first gentrification conversions of railroad land along the North Branch. When it was built, it had just a blank wall on the river side. It became a textbook example of how not to develop land along the river. I see they have since worked on their river side.
Jim Wynne commented on a post
A Zenith Z-89 Dennis DeBrulerMy first computer was the Heathkit version of this design. I believe it was an H-89. There was definitely some assembly required. I paid more for that computer than any other computer that I have bought. I also had the external floppy drive and the printer. Now if I can just find a photo of an AT&T 3B1 Unix computer.
Winthrop Ingersoll assumed control of a milling machine company in Cleveland, OH in 1890. In 1891, he "relocated to Rockford, Illinois, one of the country’s burgeoning new industrial centers. Ingersoll’s first Rockford plant, which employed 19 people, cost $12,000." In 1903, "Ingersoll creates the worlds largest Milling Machine for General Electric. It weighs 400,000 lbs and represented a major accomplishment for such a young upstart company. The Great Depression didn't slow Ingersoll down. In 1935 Ingersoll builds one of the first machines to automatically transfer engine blocks from one machining station to another." [history]
Some of the videos indicate that they can also replace the milling head with heads that can do 3D-printing, inspection, and adding layers to build carbon fiber (composite structure) parts.
I learned about Ingersoll Machine Tools from a Facebook posting of 1947 photos that I include at the end of these notes where there should be space in the sidebar for the original sized images. The company has a Facebook page. That page has this video that demonstrates the "Largest Gantry AFPM."
I never did figure out what an "AFPM" is. I doubt it is the Google search results of "American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufactures." I think the "music" in that video is painful. I sat through the audio once to confirm that no information is lost by hitting the mute button.
This video shows they machined the pressure vessel for the Orion Spacecraft. There is no need to mute this video because it doesn't have any audio.
(new window) A video about a solar telescope they evidently built. It has a pleasant sound track.
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Lost Illinois Manufacturing posted
1956 and what was proclaimed the largest mill in the world, Ingersoll and its bridge mill in Rockford. Jim Ritchie.. what Ingersoll did and HOW they did it will never be replicated under one roof again ....Joseph KoleOvernite Transport Co...Now a UPS Co.Jim Ritchiepiston turning machines - tank turrent / body milling machines - air craft wing spar mills - composite tape laying machines - oil well pipe turning machines - aluminum scalpers - milling machines for machining steam turbine shells - high speed routers for machining airplane composite floors - milling machines for automotive body dies - milling machine's for rough machining in steel mills - locomotive engine block machining systems - drilling systems for air craft wing structures - linear motor ( they built there own ) high speed aluminum routers with 30 - 40000 rpm hydrodynamic bearing spindles ( also built their own spindles ) - custom cutter bodys for the machining systems they built.Jim RitchieAdverage part lot size in the machine shop was 3 -------- % 70 which will never be repeated againJim RitchieStyle of mill in the picture .. table was a hydrostatic lift .... part weight limits available the other side of 200000 lbs .... overhead crane capaticy usually was the determining factor. ( your responsible for the foundation )
The following three videos were suggested by Jim Ritchie.
(new window) A lot of scenes are rather confusing. But some are very informative.
(new window) At 1:55, the robot arm I had noticed started working. Look at its rack of cutting tools that it can choose from. These videos make me appreciate that I do a pretty good job of holding a camera steady during a video.
Lost Illinois Manufacturing shared three images from the 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia.
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Lost Illinois Manufacturing shared Josh Franks They did just make a 3D printer that produced the largest 3D scale product in the world. It was a boat made by a university in Maine. Kevin J RossMichael Hilstad massive engine block on right side of picture. Possibly for a locomotive?
Lost Illinois Manufacturing commented on Kevin's comment Good eye. I missed that. Probably a Diesel for a locomotive. 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia ad.
Steve OConnor posted five photos with the comment: "Jeff Ahrstrom, COO of Ingersoll proved to be a super nice guy. After viewing some posts I did on Ingersoll in the Rockford Made It Facebook page, Jeff invited me over for a tour of Ingersoll's plant. All I can say is WOW."
1 Jeff Ahrmstrom shaking hands with me. I was quite honored to be invited.
2 Aircraft wing panel machined from a solid slab of aluminum.
3 The new 40,000 square foot high bay where the 1,800 ton mount for the Magellan telescope will be built. Penny Abbott: That's what they are known for unique machining and complex applications. My dad worked there for over 30 years when it was family owned.
4 A section of a new machine that Ingersoll is developing.
5 An intricate part machined from a solid aluminum billet.
Walter Langston shared his post with the comment: "the train trestle and hiway bridge prince west Virginia new river is flooding." I include his photos of the bridge built in 2015 because its piers look so spindly compared to the lateral force they have to endure. I wonder how deep bedrock is here.
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I used street view to see the height of a normal river flow. The street view is older than 2015 because traffic is still routed over the old bridge. But I was able to find a location on the bridge so that I could see all three piers between the truss members.
AppalachianRailroadModeling
Island Creek coal facility near Prince, WV, 1969 -Donald Haskel
[Doing a Google search finds results for Holden, WV; but not Prince, WV.]
