The Flickr Westchicago Image Generatr

This is the prettified version of this picture. The story is also at that link.

West Chicago, Illinois 41.877883, -88.240149
May 5, 2025

Here is the wikipedia link about the building. Don't see many wikipedia articles on murder shacks.

More murder shack pictures

The Murder Shack Group

COPYRIGHT 2025 by Jim Frazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier. 20250505cz7-5116-2500

West Chicago, Illinois 41.877883, -88.240149
May 5, 2025

I've driven by this building for YEARS. But only really noticed it since I've gotten the MS bug. Today, the conditions were right for me to drive over and take a few pictures.

When I got home, I hauled out the Lightroom machine and started working on it. Frankly, I got carried away with prettifying it. Then I realized that the original looked spooky and the pretty version just looked like an old building. So I suspended work on the "nice" version and went back to the original and spookified it a little more than it already was.

Fear not, I'll post the pretty version in a few days, but enjoy this murder shack the way God intended.

And, as promised, here is the prettified version with a wikipedia link

More murder shack pictures

COPYRIGHT 2025 by Jim Frazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

20250505cz7-5116-2500

The conductor of A490 grabs orders off the hook at JB Tower as he heads for Kirk with a pair of endangered C40-8s. These units have been working their way south for storage after leaving the Iron Range of upper Minnesota. Definitely a scene that’ll never happen again.

Some of you may have seen an earlier version of this picture a few days ago. I had set it to private, but then, for some reason, made it public. Flickr has an annoying feature/bug of immediately showing any picture that has been made public at the top of one's feed. A couple of you saw it and said nice things before I realized my mistake and made it private again. Thank you.

THIS is the picture I wanted to show.

I came across this old shot while I was preparing a presentation for my camera club on Still Life Photography.* This is an example of Memento_mori, a motif used to illustrate that, "we're all gonna die."

This was part of a series of pictures that we did in a local county park. Chuck had a friend who, for some frightening reason, had a full-sized coffin (empty). It was a team effort that involved several props, as you can see here. And we got a few odd looks from some of the passers by. You can see more of the pictures here.

*By the way, I did the presentation last night and it went very well. If you're in the Chicago area and would like me to do it for your group, I'd be happy to. With questions, it takes about an hour. Haven't had a lot of opportunities to do speaking in the last few years, so it was fun!

West DuPage Woods Forest Preserve
Elsen's Hill Unit
West Chicago, Illinois 41.862249, -88.172289
June 2, 2007

COPYRIGHT 2007, 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.


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A CN stack train lead north by CN 3164 by West Chicago where it almost ran out of time on its diamond crossing window.
Nikon D3500
70-300

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress, first flown in 1942, began active service in 1944. It was designed as a replacement for the older B-17s and B-24s, having the longer range and greater bomb loads necessary for operations in the World War II Pacific theater. The B-29 was also used in the Korean War in the early 1950s and was a staple of the U.S. Air Force until the late 1950s. ​FIFI was acquired by the CAF in the early 1970s when a group of CAF members found her at the U.S. Navy Proving Ground at China Lake, California where she was being used as a missile target. The airplane was rescued and restored and flew for over thirty years until 2006 when the chief pilot made the decision to ground her pending a complete power plant re-fit. What followed was an extensive four year restoration that included replacing all four engines with new custom built hybrid engines. FIFI returned to the sky in 2010 and since that time has traveled coast to coast attracting large crowds at every tour stop. Learn more about FIFI at www.cafB29B24.org.

General characteristics

Crew: 11 (Pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, flight engineer, navigator, radio operator, radar observer, right gunner, left gunner, central fire control, tail gunner)
Length: 99 ft 0 in (30.18 m)
Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.05 m)
Height: 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Wing area: 1,736 sq ft (161.3 m2)
Aspect ratio: 11.5
Airfoil: root: Boeing 117 (22%); tip: Boeing 117 (9%)[103]
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0241
Frontal area: 41.16 sq ft (3.824 m2)
Empty weight: 74,500 lb (33,793 kg)
Gross weight: 120,000 lb (54,431 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 133,500 lb (60,555 kg)
135,000 lb (61,000 kg) combat overload
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-3350-23 Duplex-Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled turbosupercharged radial piston engines, 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) each
Propellers: 4-bladed constant-speed fully-feathering propellers, 16 ft 7 in (5.05 m) diameter
Performance

Maximum speed: 357 mph (575 km/h, 310 kn)
Cruise speed: 220 mph (350 km/h, 190 kn)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
Range: 3,250 mi (5,230 km, 2,820 nmi)
Ferry range: 5,600 mi (9,000 km, 4,900 nmi)
Service ceiling: 31,850 ft (9,710 m) [28]
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
Lift-to-drag: 16.8
Wing loading: 69.12 lb/sq ft (337.5 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.073 hp/lb (0.120 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns:
10 × .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2/ANs in remote-controlled turrets.[104] (omitted from Silverplate B-29s)
2 × .50 BMG and 1× 20 mm M2 cannon in tail position (the cannon was later removed)[k]
Bombs: [105]
5,000 lb (2,300 kg) over 1,600 mi (2,600 km; 1,400 nmi) radius at high altitude
12,000 lb (5,400 kg) over 1,600 mi (2,600 km; 1,400 nmi) radius at medium altitude
20,000 lb (9,100 kg) maximum over short distances at low altitude
Could be modified to carry two 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam bombs externally, or one 44,600 pound T-12 Cloudmaker deep penetration bomb.[105]
Mark I, Mark III, Mark 4 and Mark 6 nuclear bombs (only Silverplate versions of the aircraft).

www.airpowersquadron.org/history
Contracted to be built for France in 1940 and later contracted to be diverted to Great Britain as AM927, this Liberator was the 25th built out of a total of 18,482 B-24s. The total number built is documented as 19,267 with the inclusion of all variants. This aircraft’s construction was completed as serial number 18 and accepted by the British Air Ministry in May 1941. Two days later, a Consolidated Aircraft Company (CAC) aircrew flew AM927 to Kansas City and handed it over to Trans World Airlines (TWA). TWA had been contracted to conduct flight crew training out of Albuquerque, NM. AM927 was then flown to what was called the TWA “Eagle’s Nest Flight Center” in Albuquerque, NM to be used to train RAF pilots.



The following month, Frank Burcham and Ned MacKrille, TWA instructor pilots, were practicing landings. The right main brake locked up during landing and aircraft departed the runway. The right gear collapsed, followed by a nose gear failure, before they came to a stop. There was also significant damage to the bomb bay. Consolidated initiated a recovery effort over the next 6 months and in December of 1941, the aircraft was flown back to the Consolidated Aircraft Company in San Diego. Due to the aircraft being damaged too far to be returned to service as a bomber, but still flyable, a loan arrangement was made between the British Ministry and Consolidated Aircraft Company for the company to keep possession of AM927 for logistic support and further B-24 development.



AM927 was immediately utilized as the C-87 Liberator Express prototype and returned to service in July 1942. Throughout the war, the aircraft was used to haul personnel and equipment between the five B-24 production plants and numerous vendors. She was also used extensively for flight test purposes developing such things as improved flight control characteristics for the later model Liberator bombers. After the war’s end in November of 1945, actual ownership of AM927 was given to Consolidated Vultee. At this time the aircraft was given registration number NL24927. Numerous modifications were made between 1945 and 1947 to improve performance and sustainability that included the long RY-3 nose and PBY nacelle assemblies.



On November 10, 1948 the aircraft was sold to the Continental Can Company. The aircraft was repainted and outfitted with a luxury interior. The company utilized AM927 for executive transport and cross-country flights between its North American plants for the next 10 years.

About the B-24, Diamond Lil

In April 1959 the aircraft was sold and exported to the Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Mexican state-owned petroleum company. The Registration became XC-CAY and it was used to transport personnel throughout Latin America and the United States. In 1967, Pemex decided to upgrade and replace AM927 with a DC-6 aircraft. At this time, AM927 was loaned to the Commemorative Air Force who eventually took full ownership of the aircraft in May 1968. It was Registered as N12905 until 1990 when it was Registered as N24927. In 1972, AM927 was painted in the colors of the 98th BG, of the Ploesti Raid, and given the name Diamond Lil. During 2006-2007 the aircraft was reconfigured back to her B-24A/RLB-30 roots and was given the Ol' 927 nose art.

​

In April 2012, the CAF’s long-time Liberator legacy and nose art Diamond Lil was returned. On May 26, 2012, Diamond Lil experienced a complete hydraulic failure and suffered a subsequent nose gear collapse, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Temporary repairs were made and the aircraft was flown back to Addison, Texas. Because of the need to fabricate many replacement parts, restoration was not complete until July of 2013.



Since mid-2013, Diamond Lil has been touring the U.S. providing new and older generations the opportunity to experience this rare aircraft through aircraft tours and ride flights.

Airpower History Tour
Commemorative Air Force
DuPage Airport
West Chicago, Illinois 41.907947, -88.254647
July 17, 2024

The B-29 Superfortress is one of my few favorite bombers. I photographed it a few years ago...and since it was 20 minutes from my house, I thought I'd venture forth and spend some time with it. Fifi is one of only two still flying.

There will be a few more pictures, but most of them need some...ahem...work. So it'll be a while.

COPYRIGHT 2024 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.

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Remote yard job, YWC61R 03, switches out cars at General Mills off of the St Charles lead. A well-maintained landscape catches one's eye at this manufacturing complex. A standard pair of geeps are being used, 711 and Y610. A rather wet summer has allowed water to pool in the grass.

BNSF R-CHI452 pulls across Hubbard St to switch out the hopper tracks at Suncast in West Chicago, IL. July 2024

BNSF R-CHI452 rolls through Batavia, IL en route to work industires in West Chicago after pausing for the foreman to pick up some breakfast at 7-11. July 2024

Kline Creek Farm, West Chicago - An historical working farm dating to 1889.

This was buried in vegetation at least six feet tall.

If not controlled with cutting and burning, this aggressive native will soon cover large areas. Notice a couple of sunflowers trying to push through.

Some people like to collect these and soak them in cold water for about 15 minutes to produce a lemonade-like drink. You can easily find more information about this on the web. I haven't tried it.

Of the dozens of these in bloom at this site on this day, this was the only white one I saw. They are usually pink.

The combination of this brilliant little butterfly and the equally brilliant flower make this a favorite butterfly image.

After all, what else have they got to do?

HSS