I could kick myself. I stopped at F.F. Mengel's Driveway coming south and never finished shooting Mengel's and farther south before Mengel's was sold. I only shot up a roll at this point because Dennis Storzek asked for shot's of 2442's tender, in concert with the W&R Models project when that firm imported brass Soo Line 2-8-0's.

They NEVER did a Class F-11/F-22 Soo 2-8-0, however. DRAT.

Anyway, I feel guilty of having spent so much time on the Power Plant, I hesitate to send this view, looking south from the Central Avenue crossing at the Power Plant. Note that the track looks particularily good here. I don't remember what year the Soo Line (NOT Lake States) rebuilt the section from the Canning Compant Switch to this spot. I believe that's even 100 pound rail. Soo's trademark blue-gray Dresser (Wis.) mined "Trap Rock" ballast is under those ties.

Too bad the rest of the line didn't look this healthy!

This was taken after the City had shut down the Power Plant, approx. 1989. The rest of my shots, from F.F. Mengel's northwards, were done in 1986, during Lake States.

Keith

The photo on the right is one I made with my Brownie in 1989. The left is TODAY, Octember 2, 2004.

Sorter makes ya heartsick, don' it?

Keith

Soo Line AFE (Authorization For Expenditure) for the track relocations at the Power Plant, I'd have to guess about 1948 or so. Could be later, I'm not certain on that point.

Used with permission from Rich Peters, from his Paper collection.

Keith

I've run this through PSP7, and this was the best I could do with it.

Keith

If it wouldn't be for the traces of Soo Line Ballast near where the M&T crossed 17th Street, you'd never know the M&T existed.

The gray-ish Warehouse building in the Background was part of the Canning Co. This was where, until 1980-something, they used to dump out the cases of Empty Cans onto a track that fed out of the right rear extreme corner and ran down to a 1/2 room shack (Visible in my photo); the cans were then turned 180 degrees and sent UP the track via chain drive to the top of the conveyor, which stood in the center of the Canning Co Spur. The cans then rolled by gravity into the side of the Canning Building.

When the Soo was coming down here to switch, since they used the Canning Co. spur to hide on, the Depot would call the Canning Co. and let them know the Switch Engine was on the way and that the Canning co. should get their Can Track taken down before the Switch Engine got there. Yes, the Can Track went up, but not up enough to clear a train. It was removeable, and could be taken down/put back up fairly quickly.

More than once, I'm told, the late Matt Neilis, long the Switch Foreman on the Switch Engine, would storm through the Canning building looking for whomever it was that was responsible to have removed the Can Track Conveyor from the spur---but HADN'T.

Keith

Keith

I should have come down here in the mid-morning to shoot these; this was early evening and that tree line on the left blotted out a lot.

Keith