Saturday, May 30, 2020

IHB Icing Facility at Blue Island Yard

(Satellite, it has been replaced by a car repair shop)

Some general notes on icing platforms

Dwayne Weber posted
Does anyone know where this icing station would have been for IHB. This is a WW2 photo. Thanks!
[Some comments talk about what it was like to work in the ice house.
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The chute is lowered and the ice poured down from the platform above.]

Dennis DeBruler commented on Dwayne's post
The south side of Blue Island Yard, 1938 aerial.
https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/.../0bwq10070.jpg
Mike Breski Notice the partially finished round house to the north west?
Dennis DeBruler I had never noticed that it was partially finished.
Digitally zoomed in on the above photo

The following photos are WWII Jack Delano photos from Lot 222.

We think of the railroads having to keep produce cool in the Summer. But they also had to keep it from freezing in the Winter. The gas holder in the background confirms this photo was taken in the Blue Island Yard.
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Placing charcoal heaters in a refrigerator car of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad


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Heaters on the platform of the icing station of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad


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Refrigerator cars waiting to be iced at the icing station of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. The little carts on the platform are used for carrying the crushed ice up and down the platform and dumping it down the chutes into the cans


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At the icing platform the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. The chute is lowered and the ice poured down from the platform above.

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Icing a car at the icing platform of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad


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Icing a car at the icing platform of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad

[We can see both grain elevators in the background.]
Michael Brandt posted

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The icing station of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. The brick building on the left is the icing plant

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The icing station of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. The brick building on the left is the icing plant

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The icing platform of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad

Michael Brandt posted
A cool Jack Delano pic from the icing platform of the IHB Icehouse .
A rare shot of both Grainery's in one pic.
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The icing platform of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad

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Inside the ice storehouse of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. It has a storage capacity of almost 15,000 tons

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Block of ice being sent up an elevator into the storehouse of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad

Michael Brandt posted
A block of ice being sent up an elevator into the storehouse of the IHB icehouse, from 1943 taken by Jack Delano.
Tom Siniawski: I worked at the old rip starting in 1970 and was told they weighed 400. Place was still in operation.

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Inside the ice storehouse of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. It has a storage capacity of almost 15,000 tons

Carl Venzke posted
Inside the ice storehouse of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. It has a storage capacity of almost 15,000 tons - January 1943 - Jack Delano photo

Candy Lachman Birkenfeld posted
IHB photo

Freight operations on the Indiana Harbor Belt railroad between Chicago, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana. The train goes off to the icehouse as the caboose is cut off and goes down a siding to the yard office

[On the left background is the yard tower.]

Update: I didn't have all of Jack's photos.
Michael Brandt posted
A picture of the IHB icehouse from 1943 taken by Jack Delano.


4 comments:

  1. An interesting 1950's video from the AT&SF about their Refrigerator Cars.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw6QfPX23LQ

    You can skip to 1m:57s if you want to skip the "Happy" part.

    • 3:52, inside of refer car.
    • 6:50, loading stations.
    • 14:00, Bakersfield icing facility.
    • 16:58, Needles re-icing.
    • 17:30, Selling in-transit.
    • 19:10, Argentine KS “Automated Classification” Yard

    I've also read that the ice properties had to be customized for what was being shipped in the car. Basically, you could get higher vs lower moisture or temperature by changing the salt level of the ice, and by using varying proportions of blocked vs crushed ice. Each car had "icing instructions" that were part of the train's manifest. This is roughly equivalent to the "moisture control" on the refrigerator at home.

    Too bad the railroads lost this traffic. It was quite profitable.

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