Doug,
Hines Lumber, definitely, mostly box cars and bulkhead flat cars carrying
lumber and other building products. The Hines Lumber facility included a large
building with a rounded roof. In the ‘60s, cars were usually spotted on the
east end of the building. From the east end, the switcher locomotive was
usually placed on the east end of the cars to be spotted. Then they would move
down the grade to street level and make a reverse movement west up a slight
incline into the Hines lead. Cars were also spotted on one or both of the
street level stub tracks that were located approximately between Seeley Ave.
and Montgomery Ave. These were used as house tracks so that local businesses
could receive carload shipments and unload them at that point. During the mid
‘50s, those tracks were used to supply material for East - West or Eisenhower
tollway. For a period of time, these was a cement facility set up there.
As for the track south of the oil storage facilities, as I said in my earlier
reply, to the best of my knowledge, no rail delivery of oil products was made
there during the late ‘50s and ‘60s. A car may have occasionally been spotted
there, but I don’t think it was for the oil company. In my time, the track was
fairly overgrown with weeds. I do recall a day when the East End NW2 switcher
derailed on the switch for the stub track. It was enlightening to watch the
crew and track people rerail the locomotive with wood blocks. In my experience,
the East End way freight used the former DG commuter yard for a staging
location. They also used the trackage between between Forest and Main Street on
the south side of the main line for staging. Depending on your time frame, they
switched cars into Lord Lumber Co. on the southwest side of Forest Ave, and the
Q Main Line. There was a track that went from the turntable area (where the
microwave tower is now) behind Zolingers and the Dicke Tool Co. all the way to
Forest Ave. Occasionally, a car was set off along that track for the Lord
Lumber coal yard, when people still had coal furnaces, as my parents did until
1977. When it came time for lunch, the East End crew frequently spotted their
locomotive at the end of that track adjacent to Forest Ave. and walked to the
Round the Clock Snack Time restaurant across from the Tivoli Theater. If they
didn’t spot their locomotive there, they would spot it in the yard tracks
between Forest and Main St.on the south side of the main line, west of the
depot.
As I said, the East End way freight would use the DG yards as a staging
location. They would go east to Pepperidge Farm, east of Fairview Ave. to drop
off or pick up cars and they would also go to Keller Heart, west of Fairview
Ave, to set out or pick up cars. Before they moved to a location west of
Belmont Road, the East End way freight would also set out cars at the Schafer
Bearing plant on the south side of the main line, just easy of Washington St.
That building is now the DG city hall. The stub track to Schafer Bearing was
accessed from the house track that ran around the south side of the depot.
There was a turnout just east of the depot. When Schafer Bearing moved west of
Belmont Road, the way freight also provided service there.
Bill Barber
> On Oct 9, 2022, at 2:22 PM, Douglas Ramsay <drramsay@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Thank you, Leo and Bill,
>
> after not finding info on the tanks at the historical society museum
> collection, I was thinking maybe CB&Q related and possibly a spot for me to
> use my railroad owned tank cars on the layout that I am planning out. The
> Great Northern had a small tank farm not far from where I live over in
> Everett (WA) in which I have seen photos of with GN tank cars sitting
> alongside. It is still an interesting possible lineside customer for me to
> spot cars at.
> Question for Leo, since I know you are very knowledgeable of this area. Would
> say this industry along with the Hines Lumber yard just to the west, have
> been worked by the East End way freight?
>
> Doug Ramsay
>
>
>> On 10/09/2022 9:00 AM William Barber <clipperw@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Doug,
>>
>> I grew about two blocks from those oil tanks on Seeley Ave. having moved
>> there with my parents in 1946 and lived there until 1966 when I graduated
>> from college. I often walked the rail yard and right of way to town. There
>> were actually two oil distributors adjacent to each other at that location.
>> One had their storage tanks mounted horizontally (see the photo of 2844 in
>> the Flickr collection) and the other vertically (see the photo of 2858 in
>> Flickr). My recollection is that the west set of tanks belonged to Cities
>> Service (much later Citgo) while the east tanks were Standard Oil. The stub
>> track, adjacent to the tanks on the south side, as Leo stated, was for tank
>> car supply to both distributors. However, I don’t ever recall seeing a tank
>> car on that track. By the 1950s and ‘60s, the supply of oil was being
>> provided by highway trucks. Smaller single frame trucks were used to
>> distribute the oil locally. Each set of tanks had a pump house and a small
>> office area. The track, tanks and yard were elevated in that area above
>> street level. On the north side of the tanks, the distribution area was
>> lower at street level along Warren Ave. The railroad had a lower yard in
>> that area that included a couple of tracks. Going west from the lower yard
>> was another track that went into Hines Lumber Co. As I recall, that track
>> continued through Hines and rejoined the upper yard lead somewhat west of
>> Hines. Just east of the oil distribution facilities was an older two story
>> house adjacent to the street. I was told that at one time, it was the home
>> of the roundhouse foreman when there was a roundhouse immediately south of
>> the home. The roundhouse was torn down in the 1930s and the last of three DG
>> turntables was removed in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
>>
>> My good friend, Bob Campbell may be able to add more details or corrections
>> to my recollections of the area. He lived with his parents on Warren Ave.
>> between Montgomery Avenue and Seeley Avenue from 1946 to about 1963. He is
>> also among the last people to hire onto the Q as a fireman in 1969.
>>
>> Bill Barber
>> Gravois Mills, MO
>>
>>
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