Chuck,your grandfather probably knew all my neighbors and my grandfather and
Uncles as they were all Q employees. Most of my neighbors in the "old"
neighborhood along Grove and Front Streets were shop employees: names like
Zwartz,Terrebessy(sp),abens,Heinz,etc,etc,etc, they worked in the coach
shop,pattern shop,air brake shop,etc. One of my earliest memories is a guided
tour of the Aurora shops when my next door neighbor John Zwartz retired from
the pattern shop(I was his "grandson" for the day).What that man could do
with a piece of wood was amazing!
As a kid the shop starting and quiting whistles were a routine part of my
day(7:00 and 3:30)
The last of the shop buildings were torn down in 1977(somebody will correct
me if I'm off a year or so. The only thing left is the old original limestone
roundhouse and backshop(later the air brake shop).They are now the Aurora
Transportation Center "station" and suburban service HQand the Rdhse itself
is the Walter Payton brewpub(good food and refreshments).Site of a recent
BRHS annual meet.
I switched the "hole" and "hill" yds,frt house,storehouse,long trk,etc in
1974 when things got a little tight and it was 4:00 PM swing or get laid off.
At that time the shop supt and Aurora ydmstr still existed and had offices.
But it was clear the end was near. About where the coach and paint shops
stood is now occupied by the Central Aurora Post office complex. About where
the pattern store house and lumber sheds were is occupied by the BURLINGTON
credit union. The "depot" on South Broadway is boarded up and part of
proposed land development that covers everything from roughly Benton St to
North Ave on both sides of the river . It seems to be in limbo at present.
Leo
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