Took advantage of great weather to make a short photo trip to Cleveland yesterday. I made sure the SD card was in my camera this time.
This is the south end of DK Yard looking north from Willey Av. Just a single track today. That's Werner G. Smith Inc on the right, which is a vegetable & fish oil producer.
Another view of Werner G. Smith Inc, and what appears to be a track over a trestle with what was at one time between-the-rails unloading. Looking at old Sanborn maps and Hopkins atlases, my guess is they unloaded coal cars here for their own boiler plant.
Yet another view of the trestle from the other side along Train Av. The shots above were taken from the crossing gates on the other side.
Further up DK Yard, here is OX tower which still stands right next to the twin lift bridges at Carter Rd. I'll have to do some more research to find out when they abandoned this tower.
Pivot 90 degrees right and this is what you see. Part of my finger, the abandoned railroad lift bridge on the left, and the Carter Rd lift bridge to the right of it. Looking through the railroad lift bridge to the other side was the line into the Warehouse District on the east bank of The Flats and the connection to the NYC Water Level mainline. Once that line was abandoned, this lift bridge would have also ceased operation. I have found photos of Penn Central still using the Warehouse District line in the 1970's. At some point the RTA Rapid line was built over top of the old Big Four line in the Warehouse District. I know this single track rail bridge was built in 1953 and replaced a rolling lift bridge which was double tracked. The Carter Rd bridge was built in 1939 and still operates today.
Another shot of both bridges from across the river along Columbus Rd. I am standing on the site where a large B&O freight house once stood. The old B&O passenger station on the left. I'm surprised that building is still standing.
Here is the grain elevator on Merwin St, which serves the cereal & flour plant on the other side of it. Back in 1952 this was listed as Montana Flour Mills, Fairchild Milling Division. The railroad spurs are between the milling buildings and not next to the elevator. Not sure if that means grain came to the elevator by both rail and grain freighters or just grain freighters.
Here's the office and one of the two locomotives for Flats Industrial Railroad. In 2014 FIR listed 2 employees on it's books. That lift bridge connects with DK Yard on the other side of the river.
I took 235 photos in the hour I was on ground yesterday. I'll eventually get them uploaded to Flickr. I need to take more trips because some of the roads I wanted to go on were closed for construction. There is also a bike trail being built along the entire path of the old Erie line through the area, but it is not quite finished yet and is still closed. Once that opens, I'll be able to stand on the bridge right over top of DK Yard, at the location where NYC interchanged with Erie.
This is the south end of DK Yard looking north from Willey Av. Just a single track today. That's Werner G. Smith Inc on the right, which is a vegetable & fish oil producer.
Another view of Werner G. Smith Inc, and what appears to be a track over a trestle with what was at one time between-the-rails unloading. Looking at old Sanborn maps and Hopkins atlases, my guess is they unloaded coal cars here for their own boiler plant.
Yet another view of the trestle from the other side along Train Av. The shots above were taken from the crossing gates on the other side.
Further up DK Yard, here is OX tower which still stands right next to the twin lift bridges at Carter Rd. I'll have to do some more research to find out when they abandoned this tower.
Pivot 90 degrees right and this is what you see. Part of my finger, the abandoned railroad lift bridge on the left, and the Carter Rd lift bridge to the right of it. Looking through the railroad lift bridge to the other side was the line into the Warehouse District on the east bank of The Flats and the connection to the NYC Water Level mainline. Once that line was abandoned, this lift bridge would have also ceased operation. I have found photos of Penn Central still using the Warehouse District line in the 1970's. At some point the RTA Rapid line was built over top of the old Big Four line in the Warehouse District. I know this single track rail bridge was built in 1953 and replaced a rolling lift bridge which was double tracked. The Carter Rd bridge was built in 1939 and still operates today.
Another shot of both bridges from across the river along Columbus Rd. I am standing on the site where a large B&O freight house once stood. The old B&O passenger station on the left. I'm surprised that building is still standing.
Here is the grain elevator on Merwin St, which serves the cereal & flour plant on the other side of it. Back in 1952 this was listed as Montana Flour Mills, Fairchild Milling Division. The railroad spurs are between the milling buildings and not next to the elevator. Not sure if that means grain came to the elevator by both rail and grain freighters or just grain freighters.
Here's the office and one of the two locomotives for Flats Industrial Railroad. In 2014 FIR listed 2 employees on it's books. That lift bridge connects with DK Yard on the other side of the river.
I took 235 photos in the hour I was on ground yesterday. I'll eventually get them uploaded to Flickr. I need to take more trips because some of the roads I wanted to go on were closed for construction. There is also a bike trail being built along the entire path of the old Erie line through the area, but it is not quite finished yet and is still closed. Once that opens, I'll be able to stand on the bridge right over top of DK Yard, at the location where NYC interchanged with Erie.
That looks like a very productive trip. It is surprising how much remains including the towers. That lift bridge will make for an awesome railfanning spot on your layout!
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