Mengel's was BIG business for the Soo. When we first moved to Marshfield in 1967, Mengel's got switched 3 times a day during the week, and Twice on Saturday and once on Sunday (until 1973)! 6 cars per trip, so figure out how many cars that was per day per week. Mengel's would start shipping to Marshfield from their Custer Pit operation usually in the second week of April, and continue getting cars until the first hard frost, often the first week of November.

Alas, the Soo was fine with the short haul from Custer to Marshfield for the sheer volume of business Mengel's did, but, starting in 1974, Soo jacked the rates up on some of the raw materials. The first thing that disappeared from the Rails was "Rock"; in 1976, "Stone" disappeared, followed by "Pea" in 1978. By the time the Soo raised the rate on Sand. this ready mix plant was only receiving three cars of sand every-other day or so.

At the same time, Mengel's ended up in competition with Trierweiler Construction, who began his own Ready Mix plant operation and basically stripped away all business from F.F. Mengel's. Business.

Note the ERA Reality Sign; Mengel's has exited the Concrete Business altogether by the time Bruce shot this.

In an interesting twist, Mengel's sold out at a Sheriff's auction. County Concrete Corp. bought most everything, including the Marshfield Operation and Custer Pit. Then, in one of those perverse twists of business, Trierweiler STRONG-ARMED County Concrete to sell them the Marshfield Ready Mix operation----lest Trierweiler find another source for Concrete Storm Drain Pipe!

Trierweiler tore most of this down. You're looking at the New Mixing/Loading Building that Mengel's put up in 1972. I watched most of the parts of both Mixing Building and Loading Hopper creep down the M&T on flat cars.

The older Mixing Building, a diamond-shaped structure, is out of sight to the right. hidden by those bushes. At Mengel's peak as sole Concrete Ready Mix company for large projects in Marshfield, this place REALLY hopped at construction time. Not only did the Soo Line haul material in, so did Mengel in their fleet of Quad and Quintuple axle dump trucks! Both the new and old tipples were loading concrete trucks as fast as they could.

The reason Highway 10 from Custer through Stevens Point to Marshfield is rough and shot underneath the asphalt overlay is because of this ready mix plant pictured right here.

At one point, until 1971, they also got in carload Cement from the Manitowoc Portland Cement Company. Bulk Cement moved in here just about all year long, three cars per week.

When the Switch Engine came to work Mengel's and the Power Plant, Mengel's was the first spot. They'd pull their entire train down to clear Mengel's Switch (Often 12 100 ton cars--6 Mengel's cars and 6 cars of Coal for the Power Plant), and back in to grab Mengel's empties, which Mengel's rolled down clear of this switch as the unloaded their cars. The Switch Engine would push in making couplings on the Mengel's cars as the went; after grabbing the last car, then the move pulled everything back on onto the M&T. The Switch Engine would then shove EVERYTHING they had back up the hill shown here on the M&T to clear the West 11th Street Crossing, shown in the middle background. They'd cut off the inbound Mengel's cars, run down to the switch, and spot the cars as far back on the Spur as they could. The engine would come out light and reverse back to their train standing at West 11th St.

This was more fun to watch when the Soo Line was using their surplus Ore Jimmies to haul Mengel's raw material. Then the trains were somewhat longer by car count, but the tonnage was still the same.

All the Mengel's buildings in the Photo still stand and are used by Northwestern Rental Center.

If you look closely at the photo, you'll also be able to see a distinct line in the concrete alongside the M&T up by the newer steel building where the Buttertub Track came off and ran alongside the M&T to the 11th Street crossing.

Nice looking track, eh?

Keith

In 1970, Mengels invested in some HUGE Oshkosh Truck Concrete trucks. Some of the later versions had 6 axles--2 in front, 4 in the rear, two of which were "Cheaters". Rich Peter's Dad drove one of those 6 axle creatures.

Mengel's located here along the M&T in 1948. In 1949, their original mixing building burned to the ground; this building would be the replacement. Mengel's accounted for about 20 cars per day of Sand, Pea, Stone and Rock, mined in the open pit operation Mengel's had in Custer, Wis. Until 1971, they also got in carload bulk cement, about 3 cars per day. Carload bulk cement moved all year 'round, and came from Manitowoc Portland Cement in Manitowoc, Wis.

Soo Line put up with such short hauls because of the volume of traffic that came here. In addition to what the Soo Line hauled, Mengel's invested in some BIG Dump Trucks---Macks and Fords----equipped with up to 6 axles and I forget how-many yard dump boxes, to haul their raw material over here from Custer themselves.

There is a reason Highway 10 from Custer through Srevens Point to Marshfield is all broken up underneath the asphalt overlay, and this ready mix plant is a part of that reason.

In the Construction Season, this plant went full tilt 16 hours a day. They had no competitor's to speak of.

In 1972, Mengel's invested in an all-new Rex mixing plant, shoe-horned in between the Old mixing plant and the steel shed. The major parts came in down the M&T on flat car. Mengel's used both mixing plants in to 1977.

You'll note a Switch Stand next to the driveway. This is the switch to the Buttertub track. Just out of sight to the left would be the switch for Blodgett Lumber Co.

Alas, even as good a customer as Mengel's was, their traffic could not last. After 1973, Mengel's quit shipping Rock, because the Soo Line raised the rate and it suddenly became cheaper to haul by truck. By 1977, Stone disappeared, followed by Pea in 1978. When the last shipping season ended to Mengel's in the fall of 1982, all they were getting was 3 cars of sand every-other day. Soo raised the rate on that commodity, too, and Mengel's was all done shipping by Rail to Marshfield.

F.F. Mengel's itself was slowly fading by 1982 as well. They not only had a competitor in Marshfield, but everywhere else they were located as well. By 1993, Mengel's gave up and sold out the entire operation at an Auction, including the Marshfield operations. County Concrete Corp. was the big buyer.

The saga of the Marshfield Operation continued. Shortly after County Concrete acquired the Marshfield plant (With this old mixing building still standing there intact yet), County Concrete was approached by Trierweiler Construction in Marshfield. It basically boiled down to this: Trierweiler threatened County Concrete by dropping hints that, if County Concrete began operating the Marshfield operation, Trierweiler would take their Concrete Storm Drain business elsewhere unless County Concrete sold the Marshfield plant to Trierweiler.

So, an ERA Realty sign appeared out by Oak Avenue. Treierweiler bought it all and tore out any concrete mixing capability as fast as they could. Proof that there would be NO competition to Trierweiler's concrete business!

What was left---a new steel office/repair shop/retail area and a small portion of the truck loading bay, and the Steel Shop building in this photo---were sold to Northwestern Rental Center, who then moved their operation from the old Standard Oil buildings located at the end of the Buttertub Track to the ex-Mengel's buildings.

Speculation has emerged that the owner of Northwestern Rental, Terry McGivern, KNEW of the Convention Center project well in advance and cleared out poste-haste. After the Rental Center moved to the Mengel's site, the former Standard Oil buildings were used by the local Kelly Tire dealer. When the City closed in to take away all the property needed for their now-finished convention center, McGivern simply evicted the Tire Dealer.

McGivern himself ended up selling out his Northwestern Rental Center because of a messy divorce, and it is now operated by United Rentals.

I could kick myself. In shooting the M&T with my Brownie, I got as far as the driveway pictured and stopped. There was a LOT to shoot on Mengel's property for detail yet, like their unloading pit. Never got it. ANY of it.

Keith

Not long after Bruce Oldenberg shot this, Terry McGivern and his Northwestern Rental Center bought this property and moved his rental operations here. It still operates today as United Rental Centers.

Keith

This is a whisper of what I saw everyday moving over the M&T a scant 20 years before. The 728 is no stranger to the M&T, having been used as Switch Engine MANY times under Soo Line auspices.

20 years before, the F.F. Mengel Ready Mix plant in the background was still getting 18-20 cars of inbound material dug out at Custer, Wis., yet, the Power Plant was still getting 30 cars of coal per week, and the Canning Company was still doing somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 cars per year business with the Soo, that's counting inbound and outbound.

Best of all: The "trains" lead over this frail track back in those days were drawn by Alco RS1's.

Bruce asked me not to forward these, but I simply could not resist. Photographs made of Trains on the M&T are too rare, and I could kick myself for not taking more than I have.

And, Yes, that hill the train is on is NOT exaggerated.

Keith

Here, it is 1993, and the Engineer on this run, the Medford Turn, still operating out of Stevens Point yet, is Jerry Konkol. The train is stopped here and the crew is at Melody Gardens Skateland grabbing a bite to eat at the restaurant there, out of sight to the right.

Keith

The Concrete Truck in the photo was one of the last pieces of new equipment bought by Mengel's. They had switched from the older Oshkosh rear-unloading models they had to the newer, front-end loading/unloading truck; the Cornbinder in the photo is for what little private construction business (i.e., Homes, Silo's, etc.) that Mengel had near the end. The newer front load/unload trucks are 8 yard barrels, I believe. The Oshkosh rear load/unload trucks Mengel had were 6 yard barrels.

Whatever you do, don't quote me in that. It might be 4 and 6, I really don't know! I do know they were bigger than anything used previously.

Keith