Re: [CBQ] Photo: Structure At The Oswego Stockyards Montgomery, IL

["Don Winn" <donswinn@gmail.com>]

Thanks for another great story, Leo.   I'm looking forward to your gravel story.

Don Winn

On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 8:13 PM Leo Phillipp via groups.io <qutlx1=aol.com@groups.io> wrote:

I’ll try and keep this at high level without getting into too much detail. Pardon my passion on the subject.

The Montgomery stockyards(nowhere near Oswego) were started in 1892/93 when the Burlingtons gravel pit on the same location was about played out. See the photos of the North end of the yards and you can clearly see the troughs from previous diggings. Courtesy of the BRHS archives I have a copy of the original chain measurements/drawings done in the mid 1800s showing the pit and switches into it.

If you look closely at the aerial views of the river you will see two bends in the Fox River.

The gravel deposits were what are referred to as river deposits from the Wisconsinin  glacier. The Burlington line from  Montgomery toward Ottawa (known as the Fox River Branch) had several of these deposits(Yagan Pit and Sheridan are the big ones)these will be featured in a future Burlington Route H.S. bulletin entitled “That Good Aurora Division Gravel”.

So the Burlington faced with a depleted gravel pit and a government mandate to feed, rest and exercise live stock after a certain amount of time in transit (depending on shippers instruction either 28 or 36 hours) turned the pit into a stock yard for sheep and cattle. All roads faced the same mandates. The CNW,CGW,RI,IHB and all the rest established yard around the greater Chicago area.

The yard lasted into the mid 1970s. In the early years it was a layover point in transit. During later years it handled primarily feeder stock going to local farms. Yours truly set out many carloads of sheep and cattle there while in road service and spotted them and pulled the empties while in yard service.

Large acreage to the immediate west was owned by the Burlington and raised crops to feed the livestock. The elevator was Burlington owned and operated. 

Also immediately to the slightly SW was another Burlington owned parcel that also was mined for gravel. This gravel was glacial esker deposits from the Kaneville esker that began NW of Sugar Grove. (Much of this gravel went into the Aurora elevation project.) It was the largest esker in the entire U.S. and will be featured in one of the “That Great Aurora Division Gravel” pieces in BRHS Bulletins. If you doubt me go to USGS and search on Kaneville esker. My grandfather who was an Aurora/Eola switchman for “43years,2 months and 10 days” spoke of working those pits near what is today Route 30 and previously know as By pass 30. I have plat maps showing the glacial esker deposits.

Hope I’ve  shed some light on the subject and interest in BRHS Bulletins. If so go to Burlingtonroute.org and then company store to view Bulletins.

Thank you,

Leo Phillipp

Burlington Route H.S. Author, presenter & Director

On Aug 11, 2023, at 1:05 PM, Fred Hilgenberg <hilgy1954@comcast.net> wrote:

There is an Industrial History blog on the subject of the "sheep yard".
http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2020/11/cb-sheep-yard-in-montgomery-il.html

--
Grateful Fred
Sugar Ridge Tower MP40 CC&P

_._,_._,_

---

Groups.io Links:

You receive all messages sent to this group.

View/Reply Online (#65620) | Reply To Group | Reply To Sender | Mute This Topic | New Topic
Your Subscription | Contact Group Owner | Unsubscribe [archives@nauer.org]

_._,_._,_