The Big Event
It's finally here! The big Apple Festival, Murphysboro,
Illinois. A very historic family friendly event.
Unfortunately, omscaler was unable to get away. I can hardly
wait for the media reports of this event. In the meantime, work on The Omega
Scale Railway continues. Once again, slowly but surely. A little side note.
Murphysboro back in the day was home to two milling companies. Two competing
railroads served each one separately. That is the GM&O worked the one on 1st
Street, now 17th Street. The IC was on the one by the renovated IC
Depot. Now used by the Jackson County S.T.A.R.T., program. It's nice when old
historic basically sound structures can be re-purposed. If you are at the Apple
Festival make sure you check it out before you leave town. Back to the milling
companies. Initially, grain was delivered by boxcars. Grain cars did not come
into use until much later. Anyway, what they did was use “grain doors” inside
the boxcar door way. These were wood and corrugated cardboard (boxboard back in
the day). They came up part way leaving about a two foot gap to the top. The
grain chute was place over the grain door and the grain loaded. Upon arrival,
the door was crowbarred out and the grain spilled into a lower level augur to
be uploaded into the milling storage bin, usually a massive structure. Now you
know how the did it. See you next time, omscaler
