The overhead view gives Norfolk Southern as the occupant. They look like they might be back up generators to me? Perhaps a central hub for their remote control signaling? (SAT DISH)
Alongside the former Wabash
I think they are emergency generators or peaking power. There are some similar ones along CSX near Akron ,Ohio but they have nothing to do with the railroad. They seemed to be running on extra hot days when power demand would be high.
The satellite view appears to show a large solar farm (?) in the field beyond the generators (?).
One thought I have is something we have in our area. Our regional landfill uses the methane generated by the buried waste to run generators.
The historicaerials map shows the site as the Montpelier Power Plant. The facility shows up in the aerial image from 2004 but not 1995. The maps and aerials don't indicate a landfill, though, so I'd guess that if those are generators, they are powered by piped in natural gas.
The possible solar farm shows up in the 2019 satellite image, but not in the 2017 satellite image.
The square area containing the large tank appears to have a small tank refill facility near the gate. What may indicate a gas line runs along the ROW, then drops down and ends in the square area.
That's enough research for now.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
My money is on peaking power generation units.
Usually there is a gas turbine (jet) engine inside turning a generator. Some have piston engines.
https://www.clarke-energy.com/applications/peaking-station-peak-lopping-plants/
They run when there is high load or the price of power on the market is greater than the cost to generate it.
tree68That's enough research for now.
Good call. My Google sat view shows only an empty field. But following your lead I checked with Acme mapper, and they show not only the solar array, but in map mode with labels turned on they have the words "Montpelier Power Plant" placed over thegtouped units that appear to be generators.
rdamonhttps://www.clarke-energy.com/applications/peaking-station-peak-lopping-plants/ They run when there is high load or the price of power on the market is greater than the cost to generate it.
Pretty cool, thanks for sharing.
I remember when I was managing office buildings, the greater share of electric cost was "on peak". And I'd periodically get these memos from the owner insisting that "we must absolutely do everything possible" to lower our utility expenses.
LOL, I'd loved to have sent him a proposal to have one of these installed on-site. That should have tempered his"enthusiasm", for a few months anyway.
EMD did a big business in housed diesel generator peaker sets like these, first with the MP36 with a 16-567, then the MP45 with a 20-645, with a big boost in sales coming after the NY City blackout in 1966. Detroit Edison had several sites throughout Michigan with typically 5 of the MP45 units. Here's the MU site, as they were called, in Fowlerville, MI still in service apparently:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fowlerville,+MI+48836/@42.6585995,-84.0952477,98m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88233ced72e4b34b:0xe046db609df0b64c!8m2!3d42.6605894!4d-84.0730142?hl=en
I spent a lot of time there working on an add-on exhaust silencer kit we sold to make them a better neighbor. Peaker Services in nearby Brighton was formed by an ex-EMD service guy to do contract maintenance on these units for DTE and others. Turbine powered units overtook the diesels in the 1970's and I believe EMD made the last new MP45's in the late 1970's.
An article in one of TRAINS' all-diesel issues ("Born at Beloit") in about 1964 opens with a description of OP-powered peaking plants running in the Nevada desert so I wouldn't be surprised if the various diesel engine manufacturers (Cat, Cummins, etc) also marketed peaking plants.
Here are some EMD generators at a Datacenter in Alpharetta, GA.
First time I was inside when they fired up, I went running to go see the train!
Peaker Services also branched out into locomotive rebuilding for a short time.
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