This is a view of the Silsbee one-spot where I work taken Tuesday March 9th, 1999. It is called the one spot, because the cars only have to be spotted on the tracks by the yard swicher once, then the cars can be pulled through the shop with a heavy winch located at the other side of the building. The winch in the foreground is used to pull the cable back to the next car to be pulled through the building. There is a large hydraulic jack mounted between the rails on each track, so the wheels can be removed for repair. There is an orange derrick hoist on each end of each track that lift the sideframes of the trucks up to clear the roller bearings for removal after the trucks are out from under the car. The tin building to the left is the parts storage wherehouse, and in the background is the "old rip" (rip stands for Repair, Inspecion and Paint) track that was in use until this new facility was built in '69. The carman's and car inspector's office and break room is out of the view behind the wherehouse to the left.
Photo: Andy Chier