Partial LV Alco C628 still exists!

amazing news!
I got an email about a week ago from Damion Pinta, who was just casually wondering if I knew about the LV C628 long hood that still existed in a scrap yard?!
I didnt!

Its at the former Pielet Bros yard.
(they arent Pielet Bros anymore)
Its not complete, its the long hood, on the ground, the frame (and probably the trucks) and the rear of the long hood with the numberboards still displaying the LV number.

No Cab, no engine, no handrails, and probably no nose.

Damion took the photos about 5 years ago.
Not sure if the parts are still there.
they could have been wholly scrapped by now.
but..if they survived this long, its quite possible they are still there!

My immediate thought was "preservation"!
but..im afraid there might not really be enough to save.
If the frame and trucks are there, in theory you could put the long hood back on the frame, graft on any Century cab and nose from another unit, and have a basically complete C628 for display!
Damion says the handrails are gone from the frame too..
so basically its about half of a C628..
probably not enough to make it worthwhile..
but maybe thats just me being too pessismistic?
it might be worth looking into!
especially considering there is not one single surviving C628 in the US.

Damion found this information, which probably refers to this unit.
From "Diesel Era" magazine, May/June 1996.
""The LV C-628's were assigned Conrail numbers 6721-6737, but two were retired without being renumbered. LV 633 and 636 were retired on March 20, 1978, and traded to EMD in June without receiving their Conrail numbers"."

so this unit is likely either 633 or 636.
and..it cant be 633 since 633 was red by the time of CR.
So it must be 636.
633 and 636 were traded to EMD on 3/20/78.
and both were reported "scrapped Pielet Bros (IL)."
here are the pics!
thanks Damion!
Scot

THIS IS GREAT NEWS!! looking at the photos though, all I see is part of the long hood with no trucks or frame. If someone has the name of the company that operates there now, I could call them up.
http://www.thedieselshop.us/ALV636.gif
keep asking keep learning
05/05/05

Damion says the frame with trucks was there when he took the pictures,
but he hasnt been able to find all the pics yet.
these are just the two he could find so far to scan and email to me.
At the time, he didnt know it was such a big deal!
There are (or were) 3 seperate chunks of the locomotive there.
The center section of the long hood.
(which is in those 2 photos)
the frame with trucks,
and the rear of the longhood with numberboards still displaying the number.
He wasnt sure of the number, since he hasnt found the pics yet, but based on the disposition info, it must be 636.
The two sections of the longhood are sitting on the ground, off of the frame, but the frame was there...its just not in the 2 photos we have so far.
Damion is going to try to go back over there this weekend and take a look around..
Scot

Scotty,

You don't think preservation is an option for that unit (if indeed it still exists)? However, didn't Doyle McCormick (I'm sure I butchered his last name) have roughly the same situation with the two PAs? Basically stripped out hulks and some salvaged FM trucks and a lot of work ahead of him?

I would think that if anyone wanted to sink the money/time into such a project, they could rebuild it. Heck, I'd be willing to throw a little money and devote some time to it (I'm not a fabricator by any means, but I'm a historian, and could do the work if anyone was willing to teach me).

AS PER MY POST ON THE LV FORUM, IF ANYONE CAN PROVIDE A RECENT PICTURE, AND CORRECT LOCATION, I WILL GO UP THERE, AND CHECK IT OUT. (ACTUALLY, I AM HOPING TO PURCHASE WHATEVER IS THERE. GOT A FEW BUX STASHED, FOR JUST SUCH AN OCCASION) WAS INTERESTED IN JUST THE HOOD, BUT KNOWING THERE MIGHT BE MORE, HAS ME INTRIGUED. ANYONE LIVE NEAR PELIET SCRAPPERS ?

thanx golden arm. Am looking forward to reading what you have to find out
wess

STILL AWAITING INFO, ON THE PARTIAL LV SNOWBIRD, IN THE SCRAPYARD. ANYONE OUT THERE HAVE ACCESS TO THIS FACILITY/YARD ? ANYONE................. REGARDS

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:STILL AWAITING INFO, ON THE PARTIAL LV SNOWBIRD, IN THE SCRAPYARD. ANYONE OUT THERE HAVE ACCESS TO THIS FACILITY/YARD ? ANYONE................. REGARDS

G.A.,
sorry..I personally have no clue where that yard is..other than "McCook ILL, former Pietlet Bros, next to EMD"..but I have never even been out that way..

Damion, my original contact, says he intends to get back over there and see if can find out if its still there, when he has the chance..
apparently most of the scrap yard has been cleared out and is now truck/trailer storage..but the C628 remains were near the fringe of the property..its a long shot, but they could still be sitting there in the weeds somewhere...stranger things have happened!

Scot

Scott,

You know, I've been thinking about this for a little while now, and your post above adds to my fears that it has already been disposed of. If they've cleared out the area, it probably has been cut up and shipped off. Especially given the current demands/price of scrap steel on the international market.

Still, as you say, stranger things have happened. I'm still hoping that it comes to pass.

WELL, I KNOW WHERE LAGRANGE IS, SO I MIGHT RUN OVER THERE, NEXT WEEKEND, OR TWO, AND HAVE A LOOK AROUND. WILL TRY TO FIND THE PLACE, AND SEE IF I CAN'T LOCATE ANYTHING. REGARDS

I remember that Peilet Bros. was at the intersection on 55th & Joliet Rd.
Check out this link. I suggest you look at the topo map too- it's from 1978.

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE "HEADS OR TAILS" OF THIS MAP. LOOKS LIKE SOME KIND OF SAND PITS, OR QUARRIES, IN THE AREA. I CAN'T LOCATE ANYTHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A BONEYARD, OR EVEN EMD. LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF WAREHOUSES, ALTHOUGH I CAN'T BE SURE EXACTLY WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE. (I KNOW HOW NAPORANOS LOOKS, AND WAS TRYING TO SEE SOMETHING SIMILAR, LOTS OF DEAD LOCOS, METAL PILES, SHREDDERS, SCALES, PARTS PILES, ETC...) ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET AHOLD OF THE GUY, THAT POSTED THE ORIGINAL PIX, VIA SCOTTYCHAOS ? I AM READY TO ROLL, BUT NEED A DEFINATE LOCATION TO GO SEE............REGARDS,

Hi all,

A little searching turned this up:

1. EMD Plant location - 55th and East Ave:

http://www.gmemd.com/en/utilities/emd_map/maptoemd.htm

Note the location of the Engine Plant; AFAIK this was the locomotive construction building unless it's already been torn down. Traded in locomotives were stored on the two tracks just to the west of the IHB.

2. Pielet Bros. scrap yard history and location - Joliet Rd. and 55th in adjoining McCook IL:

http://utahrails.net/loconotes/dealers.php

Also noted - scrap yard was abandoned in 2000.

Highly unlikely anything is left...

Sorry,

TOM HAS A GOOD SITE THERE. LOTS OF SCRAPPERS NOTED. HERE IS THE INFO ON PELIET BROS. Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.
Pielet Brothers Trading Co.
St. Louis Auto Shredding
Illinois Scrap Processing Company
Scrap Service Co.
Scrap Corporation of America
Midwest Metallics

Salvage yard at Joliet Road and 55th Street in McCook, Ill., adjacent to EMD’s LaGrange plant.

Salvage yards also in Argo, Ill., and Summit, Ill.

Anyone who has been in this locomotive hobby for more than 10 years will certainly recognize the Pielet Brothers name, and how the company has been the final resting place for thousands of locomotives traded to EMD over the past 40-50 years.

According to Mr. Irving Pielet, in a telephone interview during early 1986, he and his brother, Arthur Pielet, were instrumental in the business of scrapping railroad locomotives in the Chicago area. Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Company was organized in the late 1940s, and from 1954 on, was the exclusive scrapper used by the General Motors Electro-Motive Division when they started their locomotive trade-in program. The company scrapped literally thousands of locomotives before Irving Pielet sold out to his brother in 1975. Arthur Pielet and his sons James and Robert continued to operate the Pielet Brothers company until Arthur Pielet sold out to his son James in December 1986 (the company had stopped scrapping trade-in locomotives for EMD in 1984). James Pielet changed the company name to Scrap Service Company and continued to operate salvage yards in Arlington heights, Joliet, and McCook. At the McCook location, located adjacent to the EMD factory, two men were capable scrapping a single locomotive in one day. During 1985 and 1986, there was also a company known as Chicago Railway Equipment, thought to also be a part of the Pielet organization.

In 1993, James Pielet sold out to his partner Cyrus Tang, who changed the company name to Midwest Metallics. Pielet continued to operate his J. P. Investments firm. Midwest Metallics began having financial difficulties in 1995 due to environmental and hazardous waste concerns following an OSHA inspection in December 1994, and by July 1999 had declared bankruptcy. During mid 1995, Midwest Metallics was the largest automobile scrap recycler in the Midwestern states. Their remaining locomotives were sold to Larrys Truck Electric of McDonald, Ohio, who moved them to various locations for rebuilding, or to be salvaged for parts.

Upon selling his interest to his brother in 1975, Irving Pielet organized Pielet Brothers Trading Company, located in Des Plaines, in northwest Chicago. As a subsidiary, he organized St. Louis Auto Shredding, which operated a salvage yard in East St. Louis, Ill., and beginning in 1978, another Pielet subsidiary known as Illinois Scrap Processing was located on the 9300 block of Ewing Avenue in southeast Chicago. The Chicago salvage yard was sold to Cozzi Iron & Metal in 1988. Beginning in 1975, the St. Louis location scrapped hundreds of former UP, BN, AT&SF, and C&NW railroad locomotives, but stopped bidding on railroad locomotive scrapping business in 1988.

Scrap Corporation of America operated a salvage yard at 130th Street, where hundreds of rail cars were cut up during the 1986 to 1993 time period. This company was also operating under the Pielet corporate umbrella.

Last known as B&B Scrap, the McCook location was closed and abandoned in February 2000.

(There is also a Pielet Metal Trading, Inc., in Flossmoor Ill.
http://www.recycle.net/recycle/trade/rs192013.html)

Article from American Metal Market, a Cahners Publishing trade publication, dated May 12, 1999:

Scrap veteran Pielet dies.

NEW YORK — Arthur Pielet of Highland Park, Ill., former co-owner of Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Inc., died earlier this month following a lengthy illness. He was 80.

Pielet served in the U.S. Navy "Seabees" during World War II and was stationed in the Philippines for two years.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dorothy; three sons, Robert, James and Charles; two daughters, Patricia Pielet Kaplan and Addie; and 10 grandchildren.

Pielet Brothers was founded shortly after World War II in McCook, Ill., and was later headquartered in Argo, Ill. Known as one of the largest auto scrap processors in the region, the former company was purchased and renamed Midwest Metallics LP in the mid 1990s.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Cahners Publishing Company
< http://www.findarticles.com/m3MKT/91_10 ... icle.jhtml >

Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.
< http://yp.gates96.com/9/33/75/84.html >

Potential sources for more information:
Luria Bros. & Co. v. Pielet Bros. Scrap Iron & Metal, Inc., 600 F.2d 103, 115 (7th Cir. 1979).
Pielet v. Pielet, 686 F.2d 1210, 1217 (7th Cir. 1982)

Pielet Brothers Trading Co., Des Plaines, Ill.

(see Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.)

anybody find anything about this engine?