I also determined that there was a large brick roundhouse right in the middle of the Mill Creek Valley just east of Compton Ave. The two Sanborn maps show the whole complex; for a sense of place, the little wood roundhouse is the same structure in both maps.
No traces of the roundhouses remain, and the entire area is now occupied by what I think was the Villa Lighting Warehouse.
Thanks for showing these maps, Chris.It's odd, knowing that my Grandfather (b.1870) drove his engines over these very tracks for many years.He was a road engineer for the MOP from the late 1890s until his retirement in the mid-'30s.He was recalled for the War, but mightily chafed as a "stinky diesel" switcher driver; he was not permitted on the road because of his age – then over 70.Heck, he probably drove his switcher over these tracks as well!Gpaw John was a large man with an immense walrus mustache and always wore a vest with a heavy chain and watch that seemingly weighed 5 pounds.
I actually work here, now. I’m a probation and parole officer, and our building sits back from the Chouteau, behind the line of NAPA, and Villa. Papin road (at least the line it forms, if connected) runs along the southern boundary of the Union Pacific yard. Our building sits closest to where the Upholstery shop was located, though one of the engineers of the UP Big Boy that came through a few years ago said that our building is where the Diesel Repair Shop used to be.
That is the greatest benefit of my job… Getting a first-hand, up-close seat for the UP Corporate train, the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey train (we actually watched them pull the elephants off, one year – amazing!), the Challenger, and Big Boy, when they come through…
Cool, thanks for sharing!
I also worked in the Old Diesel Locomotive Repair Shops in 1963-64. I Went from the Main Office down town, into a Diesel Apprenticeships. I also worked in the Dupo, Ill Diesel Running Repair Shops. It is from here that I left the railroad, but being from a railroad family I am glad that I got to work there.
I am planning a model RR and your website has been very helpful. I need to find a Sandborn map for the Mill Creek yard at Chouteau and Vandeventer. If you can assist me I would greatly appreciate it.
You can search for the Sanborn map here:
https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/search
Change the search field to “Street name” and then add another one and you should be able to find it. I feel like I’ve actually looked at it myself at some point. Remember Vandeventer might be known as Old Manchester at the time.
Thanks, I found them. I could not identify the footprint on google earth which I now know was St. Louis Car Wheel Company on South Spring Ave. Now I am trying to find period photos of the area.
Try these resources:
https://mohistory.org/collections/
https://cdm17210.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/
https://shsmo.org/collections/photographs