Tom/Steve,
When I worked at E.D. Etnyre, I was told in the 60's/70's certain
distributors/other units
http://www.etnyre.com/photogallery.htm#shooterproductspage.htm would be driven
to Mt. Morris for loading onto flatcars, off of the docks, as it was easier
than doing it in the street by the plant (see the Zephyr that featured
Oregon/Mt Morris - there is a picture of them loading distributors in the
streets). This was certainly not an everyday occurrence, but it did happen.
Rich G.
-----Original Message-----
From: STEVEN HOLDING <sholding@sbcglobal.net>
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Fri, Dec 3, 2010 3:17 pm
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Re: Mt. Morris Track Plan
Tom
Let me jump in now although I have not gotten around to the Kable Printing
article for my Industrial series. It will have aerial photos again of the plant
which has most of the other industry in town as well
1. Most lumber was shipped by box car due to the problem with moisture before
the wrapping begain. Yes surfaced lumber was shipped via flats (see Railway
Prototype Cyclopedia #20 Flat Car Loading Practices ) The rain would raise the
grain on the finished lumber and negate the finishing. Larger timbers would not
be affected. Barns and early precut houses were sent in Gons and or box cars.
2. I think you could still get coal shipped in via rail till later in the '70's
it all depended on how cheap gas and or fuel oil (another loading in) became to
convert the home furnaces.
3. Due to the size of the facility I would say all shipping to the local
elevator was via box cars both inbound and outbound.
No. 4 will not comment on
Will try and bang out Kable before the end of the year depending on time
Steve in SC
________________________________
From: Jerry Stauffer <milw265@yahoo.com>
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, December 1, 2010 10:02:33 PM
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Re: Mt. Morris Track Plan
Tom,
Haven't forgottem you...just have been very busy and also been sick. I'm also
searching info on the ramps...
Jerry
--- On Fri, 11/26/10, thommack <thommack@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: thommack <thommack@yahoo.com>
Subject: [CBQ] Re: Mt. Morris Track Plan
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, November 26, 2010, 6:18 AM
Jerry,
First, thanks for the info on Mt. Morris. It was great! I model Oregon in
1967-69 with a long spur that serves as the Mt. Morris branch, so this is
helpful.
A few of points of clarification would be appreciated:
1. In regard to Buser lumber, did they receive lumber, etc. in anything other
than boxcars? Did they ever get flat or bulkhead flat cars of lumber?
2. Would coal still have been coming in occasionally to Buser in the late 60's?
If so, was this usually smaller two-bay ton hoppers?
3. Did Farmers Elevator ever get covered hoppers in the late 60's, or was
everything still pretty much shipped out in boxcars? Good to know you were
loading cars in 1969 as this gives me another industry for the Mt. Morris
"spur".
4. Piggyback operation at Kable is what probably interests me most. Could you
explain more about the piggyback loading at Kable? Am I to understand that
empty
86' piggyback cars came into Kable and were loaded with trailers? Or did they
come in with empty trailers already on the piggyback cars and the trailers were
then loaded at Kable? This is very interesting operation since I did not know
private industries loaded piggyback cars.
Tom Mack
Cincinnati, OH
--- In CBQ@yahoogroups.com, Jerry Stauffer <milw265@...> wrote:
>
> OK..getting back on track here..sorry...during the 50's period you were
> asking
>about Roger, the following businesses and industry were serviced here in Mt.
>Morris.
>
> We had 2 lumber yards, Buser Lumber and McGee Lumber. Both yards received
>boxcar loads of lumber and may have shared load space on a car at times. Both
>firms also had construction divisions of their lumber yards so they probably
>received a lot by rail. Both had docks to receive from. Both are gone today,
>most of the buildings at McGee's are still there and you can see where they
>were
>serviced but the siding and switch have been removed years ago. Buser Lumber
>closed in about 68 or 69, the buildings remained until just a month or so ago.
>The siding that served Buser also serviced the Farmers Elevator just to the SE
>of the lumber yard where they mostly sent grain from outbound. Mostly in box
>cars. I worked for the elevator in 69 as a teenager and boarded up and loaded
>cars with corn to be shipped. If we were lucky we had the cardboard with steel
>banding to use to board them up but if not we had to use lumber that the RR
>may
>have supplied.
> Really a dirty job but it was kinda fun doing as a teen. That track was also
>removed I believe in the late 70's or early 80's as the lumber yard had closed
>and the elevator stopped shipping by rail. We would respot cars for the
>elevator
>with the endloader and sometimes had to use the loader to open or close a bad
>door on the car.
>
> Buser Lumber also further to the NW had some coal bins that were still in use
>as well and I remember coal being delivered to the house just across the
>street
>from us in the winter. There was also the Kaufman Elevator standing on another
>siding but I believe it was out of business by the early 50's. A local farmer
>did use it in the late 60's for his own grain but it was all by truck. I
>helped
>him dig the grain leg out so he could use it after a long silent spell from
>its
>commercial days. A little further on the same spur was a small Standard Oil
>bulk
>plant but by the mid 50's it stopped receiving loads from the RR as well. The
>bulk of the traffic was the Kable Printing Plant at the NW end of the line.
>There was and still is a small yard before the plant to sort cars in and be
>able
>to run around the train for the return trip to Oregon. In the early years of
>the
>Printing Plant which I will refer to as just the ' plant' they received fuel
>oil
>to operate
the boilers in the plant. That came to an end when natural gas was installed
years prior to the 50's. The plant had four other sidings, track one was
inbound
paper for the flatbed presses and also shipped waist paper from also. This
track
went inside and there was room for perhaps 3 or 4 cars. The track one trainshed
is still there, tracks are still in the building, not outside, and is used by
the Rochelle disposal for their compactor today. Track two received paper rolls
by boxcar for The Roto printing dept. and also still serves as the loading
track
for outbound waist paper from the bailer room. Most of the time they would
bring
in empty cars for the waste paper as some RR's would not let you ship anything
else in a car that carried newsprint rolls of paper. Rolls are shipped sitting
on end and anything on the floor could damage the rolls and that is a big NO
NO!
Tracks 3 and 4 were also inside tracks with a wide inside dock between them and
were
shared between receiving paper rolls for both Roto and the Offset pressrooms.
These tracks were not there in 1950, probably were added during expansion of
the
plant in the early 60's. Both tracks were also used to load mail from the
bindery directly into boxcars being supplied directly by conveyors from the
bindery production lines. Several people would load from the conveyor into the
cars. In it's day it was a very modern operation. Track 3 has been filled in to
dock level but track four is still in operation receiving inbound paper for the
Roto print room with offset paper using track 2. No finished product has been
shipped by rail since the 60's by boxcar when trucks took over this job. Track
3
and 4 shared piggy back loading of trailers which contained mail sacks so
yes..product was shipped out on piggys. That lasted into the mid to lat 70's
but
was gone when I went to work at the plant in 1979. All ink used for printing
was
hauled by truck and
still is today. The future of the plant not good at all...after this coming
March the only thing to stay in operation in the entire plant will be 3 Roto
presses. Every other department will be closing and I understand that all the
presses and binders will be torched for scrap. Quad Graphics from Wisconsin
bought the plant about a year ago and it looks like their plan is to close this
plant and move the little bit of work we still do, to some of their other newer
plants.. They are still running the job to town Monday thru Friday with from
just a few cars to a max of 11 cars. So their is still some good shots to be
taken yet of Mt. Morris railroading. Maybe not much longer..anyone's guess at
this time.
>
> Jerry Stauffer
> Milw261 Crewmember
> Mt. Morris, IL
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