DePue, Illinois (MP 109.9)
After departing Bureau, we continued east on Highway 29. I missed the turn for DePue. I noticed it as I blazed a trail by the intersection. I opted out on visiting here as my main agenda was to hit the areas I was modeling. DePue sits a little off the main road and not easy to get back without back tracking. Not a great distance, but time was of the essence on this trip.
Here is a photo I found on the web of the station at DePue.
http://www.pbase.com/trailryder/image/59525904
Peru, Illinois
We continued on Highway 29 until we came to the T-intersection with Highway 6. We took this through Spring Valley and on over to Peru. On the way out of Spring Valley, we crossed under the Burlington Northern branch line. The line travels down the bluff to the Illinois River. The BN runs parallel the RI mainline until it crosses about 1500 feet west of the former Peru Power & Water Plant along Water Street.
The Peru Water Plant was taken out of service in 2001. The city contracted to demolish the building in 2012. Two contractors ran out of money and skipped town on the job due to lack of metals that could be salvaged from the building and asbestos removal issues. http://newstrib.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=21714. The building has since been completely demolished. Photos are still available utilizing Bing Maps.
The Rock Island Mainline is in the background and the BN Branchline in the foreground. The Illinois River is in front of the plant. I have been told that the RI delivered coal to the Maze Lumber yard as well as to the Peru Power Plant on the same spur. On my layout they receive coal and an occasional transformer via depressed flat car.
Once in Peru, we took a right and headed down off the bluff to the riverfront. We passed the former Peru Power site evidence by the big void of the plant and remaining electrical substation. Up ahead, I could see the Highway 251 overpass (highway bridge over the Illinois River) and the Maze Lumber signs.
Maze Lumber has been in business since 1848 and still in it's original location. The ROCK did serve the industry with lumber and coal. I was unable to get good photos as it's crowded down in this industrial area.
This was taken from under the Highway 251 Overpass looking east. This is the BN line between the plant and Illinois River.
Same position as the photo above, looking Southeast over the Illinois River.
Still in the same area, a few steps to the left. A photo of the entrance of Maze Lumber.
Looking across Water Street at one of the auxiliary buildings to the north. On the other side of the building is the Rock Island mainline.
Here's an overhead view of the area via Bing Maps.
I've been thinking about recreating a little bit of this in a compressed scene near Westclox on the layout. What was that? Oh, I had not mentioned that. My bad. Stay Tuned! I have some things in the works.
LaSalle, Illinois (MP 99.0)
We continued east down Water Street until it changes names to Brunner Street. I could see up ahead the large Westclox warehouse. I was very excited as I was hoping it was still there. Some kids set fire to it on New Year's night 2012. I wasn't sure which part of the building was destroyed. I knew it was on Bing Maps, but Peru Power was as well and that is confirmed gone.
The factory shut down it's clock production in 1980 when the ROCK shut down. Here is an overhead shot of the entire plant. I'm looking to model only the angled portion down by the tracks.
The portion that burned is the to the left of the main building. A lot of it has been removed. My wife's Aunt informed me they are looking to convert the remaining structure along the tracks into mix-use condos and shopping.
Here are photos I took of the plant.
Looking west toward Silvis (the Quad Cities). There was a yard south (left in this photo) of the plant, but it was removed back in the 60's I believe.
Here is a photo of the temporary structure I have in place now. I will need to modify it to make it more like the prototype. This structure is only 3 stories tall, where the original was 5 stories tall. So, I need to add on.
Another view of the Westclox building on my layout.
It's quite a colorful building. The Walthers George Robert Printing wall sections provide a great starting point to modeling this very unique building. My current temporary structure I have built only has three levels. I need to modify it to add two more levels along the bottom and recessed as in this photo.
I haven't quite figured out what this is. It is located on the east (right) side of the plant. It appears to be a storage shed for a locomotive which could be a possibility since there was a yard here. It's peculiar as it is curved. Reference the Bing overhead shot above.
Here is the east side view of where it meets up with the remainder of the plant. The way my layout is situated, I will need to model a portion of this.
Painting this structure will be interesting.
More ballast shots for modeling purposes.
I like the looks of the painted/frosted glass.
Looking west toward Silvis (Quad Cities). Rock Island Mainline runs right in front of the plant.
One of the dock bays.
Another dock bay.
Detail shots of the windows.
Detail shots of the various ventilation fans in the factory. Also, notice the pipe that runs the length of the structure toward the top. I'm not sure if there was a purpose for this piping or merely decorative.
Another shot of the piping that runs along the outside of the building.
Looking east toward Chicago.
An overgrown telephone pole that runs in front of the building. This particular one was to the east (right) side of the building.
We drove up around the west side of the building. The area is fenced off where they are tearing down the building. Someone tore smiley faces in each of the panels all the way around the demolition site. There must have been 30 or 40 of these.
Here is the front of the factory on 5th Street (Highway 6) at the intersection of St. Louis St. Pretty cool! I could imagine all the factory workers filing in through these doors to work at the plant. Thanks again to my wife navigating me around to other areas to explore. She's the best!
We then drove back down to the riverfront. We ran across an Ex-Union Pacific HLCX locomotive sitting on the BN tracks between Westclox and the RI Depot. BN has a small yard that runs out along the edge of the peninsula on the edge of the Illinois River.
I just researched this further to find out that the unit is now owned/leased by the OmniTrax Illinois Railway. They operate the ex-BN trackage from Zearing, IL down to LaSalle as well as the Ex-BN tracks over in Ottawa serving many of the sand customers of the former ROCK.
I'm not sure if this was an original ROCK or BN sign. I'm thinking BN personally.
A view of the Swagger Wagon taking a breather while I snap some photos.
The last stop in town was the former Rock Island Peru-LaSalle Depot. It now houses a lawn and garden business. Here are a few photos I took.
Looking east toward Chicago. RI mainline in the foreground.
This is a two-story structure with the entrance on the 2nd floor on the opposite side.
Here is a great link, I found recently that has some photos of the region back in the ROCK era as well as some track diagrams of the yard in front of Westclox. The Illinois Zinc Works had a large plant in front of Westclox on the south side of Brunner Street. There was also a large Peru Plow and Wheel Works in the mid part of the 20th century.
"What was that? Oh, I had not mentioned that. My bad. Stay Tuned!" So, is there a tunnel in your future, Steven?
ReplyDeleteLOL! I was wondering who would notice that. No tunnel. I'm working on a temporary staging yard that will connect to the end of the layout as well build out the area in front of Peru Power and Westclox some.
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