Guys,
Let's see if I can shed a little light. The line from Aurora to West Chicago
on the east side of the Fox River is the original Aurora Branch RR. The line
from the passing track off the C&I in Aurora up the west side of town was
known as the Geneva and later ,when stubbed as the NIFA branch.
I worked both many times and while researching my someday article on the
Alley Job have learned much more about both branches.
The Nifa Branch starts at the Aurora passing track off the C&I. In the 20th
century this line was served by the "Irish Mail"(see prior discussions about
name origin) a road switcher which originated in Eola 6 days a week. This was
a 16 hour job. Starting at the passing track switch the first major industry
was Stephanson Adamson(S.A.) my farther in law has provided much info on
inbound and outbound cars as he worked there for many years. The Irish Mail
could
easily spend a couple hours switching out inbound steel,outbound aggregate
material handling loads,scrap,etc. The 'J' brought in the coal for the power
plant on their side of the complex.
Next came Blanchford(reconditioned angle bars which up until 1948 came in
off the CM&G). I once spotted a loaded gon of angle bars there. Fox River
Foods
received loads of frozen foods in the 70s for awhile in this area. After the
'J' branch was pulled in the mid 70s we served Georgia Pacific by going
around a 'Y' under lake st and then out the J branch. Next came Teledine Pines
and then Barber Greene which even in the 70s we would putter around for 30
minutes or so. You could tell by the number of loading tracks and runarounds
that
at one time many hours could have been spent switching this complex. Even in
the 70s we spotted many mty and pulled several loads of aggregate handling
material and also spotted inbound plate steel and pulled scrap. They still
had a spur up to the power plant for coal but of course had converted to gas.
Rainbow Bread still received flour. Benson MFG.still loaded boxes with
lockers,etc. The Aurora Greenhouse trk was still there but filled with others
cars
as the Greenhouse was gone. C&E Refractories came next and we'd spend a half
hour or more switching out inbound clay and outbound firebricks. Next came
what was referred to as the "old cooperage" which in old times made barrels
but
at this time we'd spot mty mechanical reefers for loading with fiberglass
bathtubs and the like. Aurora Metal was still there and would upon rare
occasion
receive a car.One of my uncles worked there for over 40 years in mgt and I
would get an earfull about RR service(the lack thereof). They had a sister
plant in La Salle and he could never understand how a truck could deliver a
load of bicycle or other frames from Aurora to La Salle in a couple hours and
the RR took a week or more !
NIFA has a huge history of it's own and I would refer you to local Aurora
history books for details. The Q ran many specials from Chicago and then up the
branch to this site. In later years it became Aurora Downes(horse racing) and
the Q operated race specials from Chicago. Later yet for a time it was an
unloading site for Datsun automobiles. It was quite a site to see triple level
auto racks sway their way up the branch.
Next came Fairview Gardens(another Greenhouse that received coal). In later
years a spur was built off the line at the tollway that served (?) a styrofoam
cup MFG. Later still a plastic bag Mfg located here . Today there is a
roustabout job based in Eola that serves this line,the old Faskure site, any
West
Chicago business(at Lovedale) that of all things is called "the Aurora Job"
Can you believe it?!
In Batavia was the (?) Foundry that received the usual coke,coal,pig
iron,casting sand,etc. In later years this was the end of the line. Beyond
that in
earlier times was Mooseheart(coal and earlier passenger specials and then onto
the CNW connection at Geneva.
To get back to the discussion about Equipto in Aurora ;research on the
Alley Job and first hand experience reveals the following: Aurora Steel
Products
left the Alley between 2nd and third sts.and moved to the site on the Irish
Mail and at that time or some time became All Steel. There is some eveidence
that leads to their moving first to what is now Henry Pratts site and then
what became the Equipto site. Later they moved again to the new Q Industrial
park in Montgomery. Equipto started out at the foot of Gale ST served by the
Aurora Branch of the 'J' and then moved to the old All Steel plant on the NIFA
Branch. Equipto was in part or whole owned by Mr Stoner(the same man who
started Northgate shopping mall). In fact I recall switching the Equipto plant
in
1973 or '74 when their unionized employees were on strike(that's the only
time I recall them shipping by rail). The pickets were standing on the xing so
we pulled up and stopped. After cutting off the engine and entering the spur
BN mgt took over(Dick Flaar and ?) and they proceeded down the grade into the
plant to pull loaded boxcars out. Someone(?) had greased the rails leading
into the depressed loading dock and despite sand and an emergency application
Dick couldn't stop the old SW1(#97) from slamming into the cars pretty hard.
Needless to say when they went back to spot the mtys they went much more
gingerly.
Hope I've cleared up some things.
Leo
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