Question About the C&NW

[northwesterner]

CShaveRR: I too was told the Btritish capital story, and believed it for a few years. I was also told the-north-side-of-the-track-station story... much more believable. Plus, look at the stations on the North line.. all on the East (inbound) side.

I , too have started seeing coal trains with DP units bringing up the rear on the freight line that parallels U.S. 41 in the nortern suburbs.

[Anonymous]

I'll tell you why they chose green and yellow, for the Green Bay Packers (kidding)!!! Love the Packers, even though I live in Pennsylvania!

[UPTRAIN]

That's about right....I can't think of much more.

[CShaveRR]

Yep, that's Distributed Power...used first around here a couple of years ago (already!) on the Wisconsin Electric trains, but has since spread to a couple of other companies. The Alliant Energy trains (EDGX gons) have one unit fore and one aft on the loads. I have yet to see DP used on trains interchanged to NS or CSX in Chicago, but it's probably going to happen sooner or later.

[Soo2610]

CSHAVERR: Thanks for the reply. Did not know that they called that crossover Dement. Just knew it was there. Have seen a heck of a lot more running on opposite mains out there since Global 3 went into operation. Have also noticed a number of coal trains with pusher units on the back end which seems to be something new within the past year. Can't recall seeing any prior to a year ago or so.

[Anonymous]

If your interasted in C&NW power theirs a book called Diesel Power on the North Western has all of the Locomotives they ever had

[CShaveRR]

Soo2610: You're right...that set of crossovers just west of I-39 is Dement (RX in C&NW days). The diamonds are between there and Global 3, so any eastbounds from Global 3 will be on the south track (or running right-handed) at least until they get there.

[Anonymous]

Following up on your reply regarding the stations being on the North side of the tracks, it seems like I read in the Northwestern magazine that by placing the stations on the North side, that meant that the platforms were south-facing which exposed them to some winter-time sunlight to help melt the ice and snow. I'm guessing that this was just an ancillary side benefit to the real reason mentioned above.

[Soo2610]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CShaveRR

As employees, we received the propaganda that the yellow and green signified the corn that was hauled for freight. Corn was probably the railroad's most significant commodity back B.C. (before coal!).

As to the left-handed running, don't believe the people who say that British capital used to finance the railroad's construction is the reason they operate left-handed. It's actually much simpler than that. Using the east-west line as an example, stations were constructed on the north side of the original single-track railroad. So, naturally, when a second track had to be built, it was built on the side away from the stations (the south side, in this case). Now, who uses stations? People boarding the trains--they go in and buy tickets, they wait in the waiting room, etc. People getting off the trains just get off and go home...they don't use the stations very much. The earliest stretches of CNW to be double-tracked would have been those nearest Chicago, and people getting on trains at outlying stations would be most likely to be traveling to Chicago. So the inbound trains would be on the track nearest the stations...the north, or left, track. This is easy to check out around Chicago--all of the ex-CNW suburban stations are on the same side of the tracks, and it's the opposite side from which you'll find all of the stations on, say, the Burlington (or BN or BNSF) line. So the commuter trains will stay on the left side just for the sake of convenience. Mind you, the east-west main line is CTC, and there have been instances of trains boarding from the opposite platform (or, worse, from the center track), or freight trains blowing by on the track on which they'd be least expected. But normal daytime schedules are such that the trains will follow and meet each other on the "normal" tracks most of the time. To disrupt that practice wouldn't help move the traffic any better, and might incur the wrath of thousands of creatures of habit who not only stand on the same side of the tracks, but also on the same spot from day to day (and have the doors open right in front of them!).

As for Rochelle, that's CTC out there--trains can travel on either track in either direction. If you watch the webcam long enough you will see plenty of trains on the right-hand track. Having trains headed to and from Global III (which is along the south track) just increases the likelihood of intermodal trains in either direction on the south track, and other trains staying out of their way on the north track. There's no crossover east of Global III until Dement, which is well east of the diamonds, and of the city itself.

If I'm not mistaken, there is a crossover just west of I39 just before the tracks enter Rochelle.

[CShaveRR]

As employees, we received the propaganda that the yellow and green signified the corn that was hauled for freight. Corn was probably the railroad's most significant commodity back B.C. (before coal!).

As to the left-handed running, don't believe the people who say that British capital used to finance the railroad's construction is the reason they operate left-handed. It's actually much simpler than that. Using the east-west line as an example, stations were constructed on the north side of the original single-track railroad. So, naturally, when a second track had to be built, it was built on the side away from the stations (the south side, in this case). Now, who uses stations? People boarding the trains--they go in and buy tickets, they wait in the waiting room, etc. People getting off the trains just get off and go home...they don't use the stations very much. The earliest stretches of CNW to be double-tracked would have been those nearest Chicago, and people getting on trains at outlying stations would be most likely to be traveling to Chicago. So the inbound trains would be on the track nearest the stations...the north, or left, track. This is easy to check out around Chicago--all of the ex-CNW suburban stations are on the same side of the tracks, and it's the opposite side from which you'll find all of the stations on, say, the Burlington (or BN or BNSF) line. So the commuter trains will stay on the left side just for the sake of convenience. Mind you, the east-west main line is CTC, and there have been instances of trains boarding from the opposite platform (or, worse, from the center track), or freight trains blowing by on the track on which they'd be least expected. But normal daytime schedules are such that the trains will follow and meet each other on the "normal" tracks most of the time. To disrupt that practice wouldn't help move the traffic any better, and might incur the wrath of thousands of creatures of habit who not only stand on the same side of the tracks, but also on the same spot from day to day (and have the doors open right in front of them!).

As for Rochelle, that's CTC out there--trains can travel on either track in either direction. If you watch the webcam long enough you will see plenty of trains on the right-hand track. Having trains headed to and from Global III (which is along the south track) just increases the likelihood of intermodal trains in either direction on the south track, and other trains staying out of their way on the north track. There's no crossover east of Global III until Dement, which is well east of the diamonds, and of the city itself.

[michaelstevens]

[8D]
And another C&NW question;

Why was it the only US railroad (that I know of) to adopt "left hand running", predominantly on its main lines [?]

I do not know the answer.

Note that UP still runs left handed on the former CNW lines -- e.g. at Rochelle IL.
[:D]

[Anonymous]

OK, another C & NW question.

Is there a story about how they chose their colors--yellow and green. I know that Frisco went with orange and white (when brand new the orange looked red) to make them more visible at grade crossings. Is there any reason or reasons why they went with the yellow and green colors?

[CShaveRR]

Some corrections:

The GP38s acquired by CNW from SECX and Chessie were numbered in the 4700s.

The 4600-series engines were GP38-2s, originally intended for the Rock Island.

As for CNW 856, that was a GP35.

[Anonymous]

C&NW had a small fleet of GP38-2's that were acquired used from CSX and SouthEast Coal, numbered in the 4600's. They were mainly used on the ex-Rock Island lines in Iowa. The current UP roster lists the 856 as a GP38-2.(www.uprr.com)

The engine you saw in the movie could have been that unit, or a lease engine repainted for the movie. Do you remember the name of the movie?

[Anonymous]

Did C&NW have any GP-38's I Seen A movie that had A GP38
It looked Like A CNW Yellow Long hood Green Cab It was
Numberd 856