Eric,
In 1930 there was a Roundhouse, (6 stalls) that came off
the Southwest leg of the wye where everybody came together
and the NYC ran alongside and then crossed the "Q".
The Water tank was next to the turntable. Coal chute was up
about a mile North on the West side of the main.
Somewhere I have a shot of an 0-6-0 there that my father shot
around 1940 and IIRC it is just sitting in a very oil and coal dust
saturated area.
Whenever the roundhouse was closed I would think that the
Streator engine would have been run to either Mendota or
Eola for inspections and repairs. This may be subject to debate
but I do not think that it was normal practice to handle active
steam locomotives in trains and in the days of lower wages it was
easier just to make a light engine move. In some cases the same
crew may have been able to make it back with a replacement.
There is even a current precedent to this concept. About once a
week the Roadswitcher at Crete NE runs into Lincoln for fuel, sand,
etc. Might move a couple of cars but not always. That move generally
goes down the passenger main rather than the freight line.
Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Mumper" <eric_mumper@m...>
To: "BRHS list" <BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, 16 October, 2002 11:06
Subject: [BRHSlist] Streator locomotive facilities
> List,
> I just received my order of Q prints from Mr. HK Volrath that show
> steam engines in Streator, IL. These are roster shots and show very
> little other material, but just enough to be intriguing. My questions
> and comments:
> Does anyone know where the locomotive servicing facilities were in
> Streator? The pictures show the engines sitting outside with no
> apparent buildings or servicing stuff except for the occasional ash pan
> tools. The ash pit was nothing more than dumping the pan between the
> rails.
> On a related note: where were the coal and water facilities and what
> type were they?
> The G5s really look the worse for wear. Not only do they appear to sit
> outside all the time, but the glass plant switching has done a number on
> them with all the sand, soda and lime covering the running gear. There
> definitely were no engine wipers in Streator. This brings up the
> question of how and where they were taken for servicing and maintenance.
> This is starting to get too long. Thanks in advance for any input and
> the guys who ran during the diesel era are encouraged to pipe in as
> well.
>
> Eric Mumper
>
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