General Discussion Forgotten Chicago Forum
Feel free to discuss anything related to the website here.
Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Philomena
(---.frstil.dsl-w.verizon.net)
Date: January 22, 2009 10:19AM
In the 1960s, while visiting friends on Kilbourn Avenue, we'd see from their front porch a large structure the gas company owned. It would move depending on how much heating gas was used. What was it & how did it work?
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
SuperCFL
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: January 26, 2009 08:31PM
That's what used to be known as a gasholder. It was a big reservoir that telescoped up and down as the volume changed. It served the same purpose for natural gas as a water tower...besides holding a large volume of gas, it also served to maintain constant pressure in the lines.
There was another big one on Kedzie between Pratt and Devon, and a couple of others at Oakton and McCormick. I believe they were dismantled in the 1960s and 1970s as they became obsolete and better means of maintaining pressure were developed.
There was another big one on Kedzie between Pratt and Devon, and a couple of others at Oakton and McCormick. I believe they were dismantled in the 1960s and 1970s as they became obsolete and better means of maintaining pressure were developed.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Mr Downtown
(---.dsl.rcsntx.swbell.net)
Date: March 15, 2009 04:35PM
The principle, as I understand it, was that they worked like a glass floating upside down in water. A sort of moat around the bottom prevented gas from escaping, and the enclosing structure rose and fell depending on the amount of gas inside.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Philomena
(---.frstil.dsl-w.verizon.net)
Date: March 19, 2009 10:20AM
I now recall our friend would say on cold winter mornings the height of this structure was high & when he came home in the evening it was much lower. It's making sense to me it was the gas used that day to heat homes.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
SuperCFL
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: January 09, 2010 01:51AM
There's a small, abandoned gasholder in Hammond, just across the state line.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
the_mogra
(---.hfc.comcastbusiness.net)
Date: October 07, 2015 02:16PM
this has nothing to do with a natural gas structure but I thought I'd mention it here because irving park & kilbourn is very closeby
the Milwaukee north metra grayland train station is @ kilbourn & Milwaukee, and in the mid-'80s I saw something odd there. on a switched spur coming off the western tracks (it dead ends, and may or may not still be there but I doubt it) metra had uncoupled and parked one of their coaches. the story was its brakes froze. the odd part was because the spur track was little used and on an embankment, the coach stood there tilted on an unsettling angle. I guess they had no choice--it was a Friday night IIRC--but it sure looked as if it was ready to tip over
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2015 02:17PM by the_mogra.
the Milwaukee north metra grayland train station is @ kilbourn & Milwaukee, and in the mid-'80s I saw something odd there. on a switched spur coming off the western tracks (it dead ends, and may or may not still be there but I doubt it) metra had uncoupled and parked one of their coaches. the story was its brakes froze. the odd part was because the spur track was little used and on an embankment, the coach stood there tilted on an unsettling angle. I guess they had no choice--it was a Friday night IIRC--but it sure looked as if it was ready to tip over
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2015 02:17PM by the_mogra.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-70-194-65.myvzw.com)
Date: October 07, 2015 03:47PM
the_mogra Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> this has nothing to do with a natural gas
> structure but I thought I'd mention it here
> because irving park & kilbourn is very closeby
>
> the Milwaukee north metra grayland train station
> is @ kilbourn & Milwaukee, and in the mid-'80s I
> saw something odd there. on a switched spur
> coming off the western tracks (it dead ends, and
> may or may not still be there but I doubt it)
> metra had uncoupled and parked one of their
> coaches. the story was its brakes froze. the odd
> part was because the spur track was little used
> and on an embankment, the coach stood there tilted
> on an unsettling angle. I guess they had no
> choice--it was a Friday night IIRC--but it sure
> looked as if it was ready to tip over
Actually, it may [u]have[/u] had something to do with that old gas holder. They usually were built adjacent to coal gas plants to even out production and use, and the gas plant would have needed to have coal delivered by rail. The tanks lasted into the days when Peoples switched to natural gas.
-------------------------------------------------------
> this has nothing to do with a natural gas
> structure but I thought I'd mention it here
> because irving park & kilbourn is very closeby
>
> the Milwaukee north metra grayland train station
> is @ kilbourn & Milwaukee, and in the mid-'80s I
> saw something odd there. on a switched spur
> coming off the western tracks (it dead ends, and
> may or may not still be there but I doubt it)
> metra had uncoupled and parked one of their
> coaches. the story was its brakes froze. the odd
> part was because the spur track was little used
> and on an embankment, the coach stood there tilted
> on an unsettling angle. I guess they had no
> choice--it was a Friday night IIRC--but it sure
> looked as if it was ready to tip over
Actually, it may [u]have[/u] had something to do with that old gas holder. They usually were built adjacent to coal gas plants to even out production and use, and the gas plant would have needed to have coal delivered by rail. The tanks lasted into the days when Peoples switched to natural gas.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
the_mogra
(---.hfc.comcastbusiness.net)
Date: October 07, 2015 04:26PM
excuse me I just wanted to mention what I saw, it looking so odd (the mis-placed train coach), before I forget it completely
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Dunning1
(---.dhs.gov)
Date: October 07, 2015 04:45PM
I always wondered about the Cunningham Company, right in the same neighborhood at about 4600 W. Addison. Looks like they just sold sand and gravel and were there for years. It looks like they closed down a few years ago. I often wondered if they received the sand by rail, via the Belt Line which was right on their eastern border. There would have been a lot of use for rail sidings in that neighborhood, as the big red brick building that is just east of there used to be Sprague Iron & Steel, a firm that fabricated structural iron and steel for buildings and bridges. Back when that building was built I am sure that they shipped by rail. Walgreens also used to make their own ice cream, and their factory was on the south side of Addison just across from the old Sprague building. My grandmother used to love their New York Cherry Ice Cream. Slidematic Products has been there for years, as well as the steel sign company.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
the_mogra
(---.hfc.comcastbusiness.net)
Date: October 07, 2015 06:41PM
did someone here say New York Cherry ice cream? my favorite flavor (as was my fathers'). nowadays the go-to place for that is Roesers bakery on north ave which has several home-made ice-creams
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-70-194-69.myvzw.com)
Date: October 07, 2015 09:47PM
the_mogra Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> excuse me I just wanted to mention what I saw, it
> looking so odd (the mis-placed train coach),
> before I forget it completely
No offense intended. Just pointing out a possible connection.
-------------------------------------------------------
> excuse me I just wanted to mention what I saw, it
> looking so odd (the mis-placed train coach),
> before I forget it completely
No offense intended. Just pointing out a possible connection.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Bob Knack
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: October 12, 2015 12:43PM
Growing up on Francisco Avenue, a neighbor of ours job was to paint those tanks. He was a pretty tough guy.
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 21, 2015 07:56PM
[size=x-large]SPAM SPAM SPAM !![/size]
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-70-194-97.myvzw.com)
Date: December 23, 2015 04:26PM
And speaking of old gas holders, here's a shot on The Trolley Dodger, showing the old Throop Street bridge, with an adjacent gas tank:
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-70-194-98.myvzw.com)
Date: January 30, 2016 05:19AM
BTT!
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Dunning1
(---.dhs.gov)
Date: February 01, 2016 05:01PM
btt
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Anonymous User
(---.neo.res.rr.com)
Date: February 03, 2016 12:14AM
(tu)
Re: Gas Company Structure Near Milwaukee & Irving Park
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-70-194-97.myvzw.com)
Date: February 11, 2016 03:22AM
Mtt.
