What goes on these days at the old EMD plant in La Grange, IL

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

If I recall, most of the production facility was demolished a few years ago, is it mostly idle these days or have they used the property for anything new?

Thx,

    • Stack
2

All that was demolished was the ASSEMBLY buildings. The fabrication facilities are still there as well as the general offices. EMD La Grange builds prime movers, main generators, and electrical cabinets, which account for about 75% of the cost of the locomotive. These components are shipped to London or other assembly points and combined with other major assemblies which mostly are sourced with subcontractors such as Atchison Castings, SuperSteel, MotorCoils, etc.

S. Hadid

3

Still looks desolate near the road. They have a for sale or lease sign so it looks like they are trying to get it redeveloped. I hope they can get the old assembly area redeveloped eventually.

4

What used to be parking lots and open lawn on the southwest corner of their property is all developed already–large warehouse-type buildings, the obligatory retention ponds, and the like. Some of these come pretty close to where the old plant had been.

Actually, even if most of the locomotive is still manufactured here, it’s still depressing. EMD held its most recent open house at a time when the assembly plant was closed, but still standing. The tours were in what used to be the fabricating building only (engine assembly had been moved over there from the big plant). To me, it was no longer about locomotives (the assorted locomotives on display and the long lines to go through them notwithstanding)–it was just a factory where some big machine parts were made.

And across the IHB from EMD, Pielet Brothers, where one used to be able to see traded-in locomotives in their last days, is now used for container storage. And the large Reynolds Aluminum plant has been leveled, with the land being redeveloped. Looks like we’ll be seeing a truck-based industrial park and a quarry in that entire square mile or so, with a railroad running through the middle of it, gathering no revenue from it.

5

Carl –

I was a member of one of the fire departments that responded each time good old Pielet Bros. had their once-a-year, two-day fire.

I was always suspicious of the origin (they always claimed spontaneous combustion, of course) as was anyone in a helmet and bunker gear that had to stand there and dump water on the huge pile for over 48 hours, usually in the heat of summer. Of course, it was always the towering mountain of separated combustible materials from the salvage operations that went up – and the origin of that material was not exclusive t

6

I haven’t been by there in quite a while. Is the radar site still there on the west side? When I was much younger the rumor was it was a Nike missle site, but I seem to recall reading it is/was actually a dopler weather or aircraft radar station.

Popp_Z - I remember some of those fires. The plume of smoke was usually visible for miles. Also the ones at the chemical plant just west of Reynolds.

7

The radar site in question might be related to air traffic control. There used to a full-fledged Nike site just north of Wolf Lake and none of the supporting radar installations had a geodesic dome. The radar antennas in fact looked like slightly bent over rural mailboxes.

8

Probably even more depressing to the folks that used to work there…

9

The site was originally a Military Radar site converted to Civilian weather use.

Not sure but I believe it was one of the many Nike underground missle sites in the Chicago area.

10

The use La Grange for storage now, too. Among the locomotives sitting there are an SD60MAC, the SD89MAC, a GP60 demonstrator, and other odd-ball and test engines.

11

pardon my ignorance… whats a SD89MAC?

12

There also was a Nike missile site east of Cass Avenue and south of 91st Street, on what was once the grounds of Argonne National Laboratory. That area was turned over to the forest preserve district years ago. I used to hike through there all the time.

13

The SD89MAC was a one off of the SD90MAC. It had a 12 Cylinder H series engine wih I think 4000 hp if the H series motor had been a better motor the 89 may have been what EMD came out with for tier 2 emissions instead of the improved 710.

14

Ahh, that’s too bad. There used to be some really cool stuff at Pielet Bros from time to time. But I haven’t been over that way for years (obviously).