Photos of C&NW Potato Yard and UP/C&NW Global One Yard

Billy Duffing posted several photos as comments on a post about Lincoln Yard. Because the photos cover the C&NW Potato Yard and the UP/C&NW Global One Yard, I'm recording them in a separate post.

Billy Duffing commented on Gary's post
This is where I worked since 1987 when it was Chicago Northwestern wood street yard (global 1)
I'll attach some black and white photo's we have hanging in our hall tomorrow.Billy Duffing In the movie "Hardball " with Keanu Reeves there's a scene where they're walking under the Damon viaduct that passed under the yard, and it's in a bunch of scenes from Chicago PD as the studio is across the street.

The following are the B&W photos that Billy posted as more comments on Gary's post.

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[North is at the bottom.]

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Dennis DeBruler We are looking southeast across the spud yard. So that has to be CB&Q's coaling tower. This is the first photo I have seen of that tower.
https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../c-wood-street...

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LTV/Jones and Laughlin Hot Metal Bridge over Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, PA

(Bridge Hunter; HAER; Historic Bridges, Hot Metal; Historic Bridges, Mon Con; PGHbridges; 3D Satellite)

Out-of-service: May 1979. But the bridge remained because it was carrying 20 utility lines including water, steam, gas and power lines. [PA277B]

(Update: the content concerning the Jones and Laughlin Steel mills has been moved to here.)

There are two truss bridges using shared piers. The Monongahela Connecting RR Bridge is on the upstream side and was reopened for road use in 2000. The Hot Metal Bridge was reopened for trail use in 2007. [PGHbridges] When the Mon Con was converted to street use, they removed a very wide shared truss on the north end. [Historic Bridges]

Bryan Rubican posted
The Monongahela Connecting Railroad Bridge and the Hot Metal Bridge, once part of the sprawling J&L Steel complex.
[The upstream side is on the right.]

These two bridges connected the Pittsburgh Works with the South Side Works of Jones and Laufphlin Steel.

Photo from HAER PA,2-PITBU,65C--6 from pa2798

In 1887, a railroad bridge was constructed to link the the two sides of the operation. The upstream side carried two tracks for the Monongahela Connecting Railroad. The downstream side carried a single track used to shuttle hot metal from the furnaces to the rolling mills. Previous to this direct connection, the metal had to be reheated before being worked....Because the bridges share piers and have similar truss designs, the pair are usually referred to simply as The Hot Metal Bridge. It is more accurate to give this name only to the downstream side. The floor of this side has metal plates lining the floor -- protecting the river traffic and the wooden ties from the molten metal and sparks spewing from the opening in the top of each ladle railroad car. [PGHbridges]

The hot metal bridge was added in 1899. [HAER]

Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation began a program in 1960 to improve steel production. One of the areas was to replace the fleet of 80 ton submarine ladles with 165 ton ladles. This required considerable work on the Hot Metal Bridge in order for the Mon Con to handle the heavier and longer submarine ladles. The first phase was to reduce the dead load. This was accomplished by removing the heavy fire brick trough that made up the deck system and replacing it with a light steel plate covered with granulated slag. This was necessary to prevent any hot metal splashing into the river. This work was done under traffic by company forces. The second phrase was to strengthen the top chord truss members. This was done by drilling holes in the web of the truss members and bolting with high tensile bolts through reinforcing plates. Over 7,000 bolts were placed. The work was designed by Structural Associates of Pittsburgh and erected by company forces. [PA277C]

 

Arthur M Anderson is back in service after a 2.5 year layup

(Update: I discovered it has its own Facebook group.)

She sailed with the Edmund Fitzgerald "maintaining radio and radar contact with each other on their Lake Superior transit through a forecasted storm, taking the longer route following the Canadian shore. This route afforded more protection from the winds and waves for most of the trip versus the more direct route across the lake that would expose them to the full force of the storm." Consequently, she was the last ship to have sight, radio, and radar contact with the Fitzgerald. The next day she joined several other ships to look for her. "Other than the eventual recovery of the [two] severely damaged lifeboats, the extensive search resulted in only the recovery of various pieces of floating debris from the sinking." [BoatNerd]

She was built by the American Shipbuilding yard in Lorain, OH, and those notes have photos of its construction and launching.

Entering Duluth Piers for winter lay up, Jan. 15, 2017.  (Chris Mazzella) [BoatNerd]

Because of the economy, this old (1952), oil-fired, steam-turbine ship has remained in Duluth until this (2019) Summer.

David Schauer posted
Tomorrow (Thursday, 7/25/19) should be the day the Arthur M. Anderson enters revenue service once again as she heads for Two Harbors to load. Here the venerable laker rests at Fraser on Sunday, 7/21/19.
Jim Hoffman Looks like that grey stripe needs to be extended downwards and leveled out. Will be interesting to see how she looks when sailing light without cargo...
Chris Mazzella It was fixed

David Schauer posted
Arthur M. Anderson loading on the west side of Dock 6 in Duluth. Minntac pellets for Great Lakes Works. 8/2/19

Glenn Blaszkiewicz posted (source)
Sunset at Fraser Shipyards in Superior with the freshly painted "Arthur M. Anderson". 7/19/19

Michigan Film Photographer Karl Wertanen posted

Shortly after I wrapped up at the Algonac Art Fair Sunday, I was lucky enough to photograph the Arthur M Anderson (1952) as it passed by Algonac headed for Ashtabula Ohio.

The Anderson is famous for being the last ship to be in contact with SS Edmund Fitzgerald before Edmund Fitzgerald sank on 10 November 1975.

The Anderson was also the first rescue ship on the scene in a vain search for survivors of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The vessel's namesake, Arthur Marvin Anderson, was director of U.S. Steel, a member of its finance committee and vice chairman of the J. P. Morgan and Co. at the time.

Shot with Mavic 2 Pro/Hasselblad L1D-20c Camera
Silver Jfr Bernie Cooper from Port Conneaut Ohio was captain that nite.

David Schauer posted
Arthur M. Anderson arriving Duluth with limestone for C. Reiss. 10/4/2021

Mike Grulke posted two photos with the comment: "Got two views of the Anderson tonight at Calcite.  It turned away from the the break wall on it's approach and went north for a while, turned around and came back to the harbor a short time later."

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David Schauer posted
A different take on the Burns Harbor departing CN Duluth with UTAC production for Indiana Harbor. Arthur M. Anderson will shift forward to the shiploader. On the hillside is Duluth's Lincoln Park middle school. 11/23/2022
[As a comment pointed out, this is a great comparison between a "footer" and a previous generation of ore boat.]

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fred xeje She is 767'x70'x36' and will hold 25,300 tons of cargo. Looking really fine.
Jack Corvette Those seas were that big...they rolled up his deck and he's got a list and the water stays up and it's gonna put his bow down underwater and then when she started down the screw just drove her to the bottom......-Captain Jesse Bernie Cooper [Cooper was the captain of the Anderson when the Fitzgerald went down.]

In the above video, she is leaving Duluth, MN, for her fist docking at Two Harbors, MN, to get a load of iron ore. I wonder if her first docking will add scrape marks to the new paint job.

In 1962 she did a couple of trips on the recently opened St. Lawrence Seaway to carry iron ore from Port Cartier, QC, to Gary, IN. A bow thruster was added in 1966 and a stern thruster was added in 1989. Her original length was 647'. In 1975 120' was added and she went from a 6x7x6 hatch configuration to a 6x12x6 configuration. The self-unloading equipment was added during the 1981/82 winter layup. Both major modifications were done at the Fraser Shipyard, Superior, WI. That shipyard also did the $4m refit starting on April 2, 2019, to return her to service. [BoatNerd]

9and10news has a video of it on the St. Mary's River for the first time in 2.5 years.

12 photos of it unloading in Detroit

7 photos of it turning around

Bob Heiss: Open hatches at the start of the turn, all buttoned down by halfway through. Why the turnabout, any idea?

Kathryn Lafreniere: They seem to do that when they come downbound to work around Detroit Bulk Storage (near the bridge). They turn around well before the bridge and then back in.

MJ and BRC over CB&Q

Satellite

MJ = Manufacturers' Junction Railway
BRC = Belt Railway Company of Chicago
CB&Q = Chicago, Burlington and Quincy

Forgotten Railways, Roads & Places posted
Immediately east of Cicero, IL, an abandoned transfer track from the #BNSFRacetrack. Image taken aboard a train. #abandonedrailway #urbex #history #chicago#illinois
Dennis DeBruler Looking south. The tracks still exist. But I can believe they have not been used recently.
https://www.google.com/.../@41.8451034,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3
Forgotten Railways, Roads, and Places That imagery is from 2017. I actually watched them tear up this track. It's not to say BNSF won't rebuild this section, but as of now the track is gone.
Dennis DeBruler Forgotten Railways, Roads, and Places A "stale" satellite image. Thanks for the update.

Dennis DeBruler That Unilever Best Foods building in the background used to be a very common architectural style in Chicago for industrial buildings.
https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../continental...

In this topo map it is clear that Manufaturers' Junction used to have a connection to the east end of CB&Q's Clyde (Cicero) Yard. Since MJ connected to BRC, there were connections between CB&Q and BRC in three of the four possible quadrants.

Dennis DeBruler commented on a post
There used to be (1929 Englewood Quadrant) a lot of industry and spurs in that area. The upper-left corner was Western Electrics Hawthorne Works.
https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../western...

Dennis DeBruler commented on a post
Some remnants of Manufacturers' Junction Railway, including the roundhouse, still exist in a satellite image. That railroad served the Hawthorne Works.
https://www.google.com/.../@41.8461157,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3

During a commuter trip into town on Oct 21, 2016, I took photos to the south as I went through this crossing.

20161021 6513

Nick Hart posted
BNSF train S LACNSA didn't quite meet the requirements of the height restriction at the BRC bridge in Cicero. 40 cars suffered significant damage and the bridge also suffered structural damage. Cargo is littered on and around the tracks, ranging from paper towels to boxes of cereal. A WSOR grain train is tied down on the BRC main above and likely won't be going anywhere until the bridge is inspected. 02-14-21
Stan Stanovich: ...got word of it this morning John, train destined for Ashland Avenue!!!
[It is nice to see that at least BNSF and NS do a steel-wheel interchange of containers.]

Matt Hovey commented on Nick's post
Wasn't the first time, won't be the last. You see how much lower m4 m5 are at this angle

The are more photos in the comments on Matthew Linhart's post.

Walt Del Calle: This was a through train that normally runs on the Santa Fe.

[I had seen a comment that the crew was unfamiliar with this route. This explains why. It doesn't explain why there wasn't a pilot. But some Facebook comments indicate that the crew had paper work that would explain which tracks to use for double stacks. You would think if they were on a new route they would have been more diligent about reading their paperwork, not less.]

In the comments on this post the opinion is that if a crew gets orders to do something stupid, the crew should push back using a medium (e.g. radio) that will be recorded and if they are still told to do something stupid, they do something stupid. But I doubt if the crew pushed back in this case. If they knew there was a problem, then they would not have pulled 3/4 of a mile of train under the bridge.

Twisted Truckers posted three photos.

Justin Hughes shared

Ridge Abbott: Good to know the pins work .

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Wim Geurden https://abc7chicago.com/freight-train-hit-bridge.../133655/

2, cropped

3, cropped
Keith Huff: It is in our subdivision general notices not to have high wides go under this bridge. We are to take them down main 4 or 5. This was main 3. I was going west bound yesterday with my train and saw this train waiting at an opposing signal about noon. This location is BNSF Chicago subdivision and the bridge is the Belt Railway of Chicago. This is just east of Cicero Blvd. 3/4 mile of train went under and 64 containers destroyed.
Dylan Fadda: Keith Huff so, this would be a dispatching error?
Keith Huff: Dylan Fadda yes, but also the crew's as it is in the written directives not to go under the bridge with high cars. There is also a huge sign 1/4 mike away above the tracks saying this.
Kevin James Cox: Dylan Fadda whether you hit one or 25 the penalty is still the same.
Keith Huff: Terrence Owen about an half mile ahead is a large sign on a pedestrian bridge warning that high car trains not to use main1,2,3. Also, it is in our directive paperwork. The dispatcher is supposed to know and line the train for either main 4 or 5. The crew, if they did their job correctly, would of not took the signal that directed them straight ahead on main 3. They should call the dispatcher to line them for the correct track.
Pettigrew Arriel: I'm just glad the crew wasn't hurt. Not their fault, it's the dispatcher.
Timothy Leppert: Pettigrew Arriel no, the crews fault.
Timothy Leppert: The Belt owns the bridge. The BN lowered some of the tracks and put up warning signs, as well as put it in the Special Instructions. The Crew obviously missed those things.

Keith Huff commented on the third photo, cropped

Aban/NS/N&W Cincinnati Junction Bridge over Scioto River near Portsmouth, OH

(Bridge Hunter, no Historic Bridges)
Historic Bridges has some of the bridges in Scioto County, but not this one.

Satellite

(new window) Posted by Kevin Pike in Railroad Bridges Past and Present at 7/22/2019 0759.
"Norfolk Southern (ex N&W) inactive peavine line bridge crossing the Scioto River north of Portsmouth, Ohio. This line was taken out of service due to settlement issues with the bridge and the western approach."
Steven Ward Hard to believe that the mighty J class engines used to run about 100 MPH.
Kevin Pike Steven Ward still owned by NS between Portsmouth and Cincinnati, Ohio. It is leased on the west end from Cincinnati to just east of Peebles, Ohio to Cincinnati Eastern Terminal with light traffic and car storage. The washouts on the east end would have to fixed before anything could run on the half.
Steven Ward First of all, thank you for clearing that up for me on who owns that line. I heard it was sold off. Thank you for straightening that up for me. I saw trains parked on it in various spots. But wash outs? I didn't know there was any wash outs. Where at exactly? I heard the bridge shifted 5 feet.
Steven Ward NS got the former NYC main from Columbus, Springfield, Dayton, to Cincinnati line which at first ran a lot of trains on that line when Conrail was around. NS got that line in 97. Now sees maybe 13 trains per day. So NS may run trains up to Columbus then down to Cincinnati.


This bridge shows the importance of understanding a river's flood plain. Seven of the nine spans are over "dry land." But that was not enough because it looks like a washout of the embankment on the northwest side is part of the problem.

Screenshot at 3:59

Kevin Pike posted a couple of photos by Preston Whitt near Rushtown as comments. They show why railroads need to spend so much money on track maintenance. And the bridge suffers from shifting piers.

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