The Chicago & North Western Wall of Memories

[fuzzybroken]

Well, good thing for those of us who are C&NW fans, there are still a number of CNW cabooses out there. Most of them are getting to be in pretty bad shape, but still retain some form of CNW paint! The only exception I've found was one in Janesville that looked like it had received a very bad UP paint job. No gloss, no logo, just paint and a reporting mark... [V]

[nanaimo73]

What were the official names for the green and yellow paint ?
I heard it was "English Stagecoach" for the yellow.

[gacuster]

The old CNW brick depot is still standing in Green Bay, WI and being used as a restaurant/brewpub called Titletown Brewing. Very interesting old (1900) building and during the summer you can dine on the platform. CN main line runs by the depot and is pretty busy so you may get lucky and see a freight to go with your beer.

[Lord Atmo]

i heard "canary yellow". not positive though what it is. Zito honestly doesnt look too bad. i like the look of it on the HO scale CNW locomotives.

yeah. in addition to cabooses, there's plenty of other CNW rolling stock out there. the yellow cylindrical hoppers with the ball and bar on them. that's always nice to see. plenty of CNW. shame there arent any classics of CNW left like steam locomotives or carbody diesels. are there any passenger cars still around that are displayed or used in excursion trains? i'd SO ride in one of those any day

DUDE, I WAS AT THAT RESTAURANT! that was FUN! the trains shooting by like that. i heard from someone in the GB railroad museum that it's every hour. is it more random or frequent now? i heard this when the trak was still good ol' Wisconsin Central.

it's great to see so much CNW stuff left over that will never become memories.

[zardoz]

And if I can help anyone with questions about the Wisconsin Division (Proviso to Madison, Proviso to Adams, Proviso to Fond du Lac), or the suburban operations, just let me know.

[fuzzybroken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by gacuster

CN main line runs by the depot and is pretty busy so you may get lucky and see a freight to go with your beer.

Oh! That sounds like a little slice of heaven! [:D]

[fuzzybroken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Lord Atmo

Zito honestly doesnt look too bad. i like the look of it on the HO scale CNW locomotives.

That would make you one of the few! [xx(]

[chicagorails]

i remember cnw 1955, nelson and sterling,and dixon illinois. gramps worked 46 years west chicago to clinton iowa, the busiest of the whole main line. remember the 18 stall round house and the 3 story hotel slash resturant at south yard. both towers, and the landmark coal tower still there.
nelson will be known as global 3 and a half when the edelstein connection is opened this fall,oct for stackers hey hey.
nelson has more freights than any other place on the sytem of old cnw. and that will grow by 6 to 12 a day after oct.
the railside resturant in nelson has the best fi***his old boy has ever ate. there are cnw ho passenger trains inside that run around the place.
nelson is between dixon and sterling ill. and at north side of tracks youall can watch photograph 50 to 70 trains in 24 hrs.

[fuzzybroken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Lord Atmo

shame there arent any classics of CNW left like steam locomotives or carbody diesels. are there any passenger cars still around that are displayed or used in excursion trains? i'd SO ride in one of those any day

What about CNW #1385? Or the soon-to-be CNW 411? IRM's got some bilevel cars too...

[chicagorails]

cnw 5522 will be out n about july 15, ya hoo!! praise the lord

[gradyo54]

I think there is an overpass on I72 just west of Springfield Il. that has a CNW sign on it, I think it says "Employee Owned Chichago North Western" on it. My Illinois Gazetter looks like "Gateway Western "has that line now. Does anyone else know about this?

[gacuster]

Lord Atmo: I don't live in Green Bay so can't really vouch for the frequency of trains going past the depot, but it did seem busier in Wisconsin Central days. Once I saw a unit coal train with UP power heading south empty, no doubt after delivering the black stuff to the power plant at the mouth of the Fox River. A siding next to the platform is used to store private cars, for a time there was a green and yellow observation car named "Flambeau" parked there. I always thought the CNW colors matched the green and gold of the Green Bay Packers quite well.

[fuzzybroken]

Yeah, I remember the first CNW locomotive I owned, or maybe even painted. Somebody said, "Ooo, look, a Packer train!" I don't think it was all that coincidental that what was once the biggest railroad in Wisconsin shared a color scheme with Wisconsin's team!

Say, who had blue and orange? (i.e. Bears colors)...

[Lord Atmo]

CSXT has blue and yellow. kinda close. yeah i really want to go to that restaurant again. i dont drink beer obviousely. i'm 18 only. but the fanning. quite nice

[gacuster]

Even if you can't drink, get a "ringside" seat in the bay window or on the platform and enjoy the food and the view.

[cr6479]

Hey Lord Atmo. I had posted CONRAIL THREAD FOR EVERYBODY, but i going to take down this week or next week.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cr6479

Hey Lord Atmo. I had posted CONRAIL THREAD FOR EVERYBODY, but i going to take down this week or next week.

Can you take down a thread???

[cr6479]

chinatown782411. If you don't answer it then it becomes a dead thread.

[CNW 6000]

Merging all the CNW threads into this one...what's one more merger? LOL.

[Lord Atmo]

bergie might do that if he feels it's necessary. if anyone sees one of the CNW GP7s around, take a picture and post it. see how many we can find

[nordique72]

Okay- I do agree this is much nicer here.

"I heard "canary yellow". not positive though what it is. Zito honestly doesnt look too bad. i like the look of it on the HO scale CNW locomotives."

Both "canary yellow" and "Zito yellow" were nicknames for the CNW's 1981 "Sunburst yellow" or "Safety yellow"- both show up as official names for the light yellow. The original yellow was "Stagecoach" yellow as noted before- but when CNW went back to the darker shade in 1992 you couldn't get that shade anymore (since lead based paints were now illegal), so the new color was offhandedly referred to as "New Old Yellow"
I'm not aware of any special name for the green paint used on the units- as several shades of dark green were used on CNW units over the years.

The CNW I-72 overpass southwest of Springfield is the now abandoned South Pekin Sub- the very same that ran behind my house further south in Edwardsville as a kid. The UP abandoned the line from Barr to Girard and rerouted the only trains on this line via the I&M Barr to Springfield, then south to STL on the old GM&O by 1998-99. The line south of Girard is still in to Monterrey Mine (north of Gillespie) for occasional UP coal movements. The GWWR did also have a line in that vicinity- the old GM&O Springfield-Roodhouse, which the CNW vaulted over just south of the interstate bridge.

[Lord Atmo]

nordique, might i ask where you live and how you knew about the 400 club? regarding your post in the 8575 funeral topic. i know when the roadrailer comes through altoona and i'm usually there to see it. it comes any time between 8:00 and 10:00 PM. but it's just trailers on train wheels. i'm looking for mixed freights. that's 4 trains that come at any time. and i really wish i knew when they came without blowing $80.00 on a scanner. i dont have that kind of cash. i've seen the 400 club many times. there's no marquee there, just a neon light. nice, but it's just a drawing and sadly, not a real CNW locomotive. i go to altoona around 6:00 PM and stay till 9:30 PM. all i ever see is the roadrailer. the few times i go there in early morning (between 3:00 AM and 7:30 AM), i see 2 trains. sometimes the roadrailer comes back. but that's a grand total of 4 trains. that leaves 2. i need to know this crap...

i am heartsick for CNW, but i'm heartsick for their hood units, not their carbody units. much less drawings of them. i'm planning on going all over the USA to find these 20+ CNW locomotives scattered around it. should be really fun.

again, nordique, this is all in response to the recent post you made in the 8575 funeral topic. i just dont want to revive that thread.

[Lord Atmo]

aaaaand we're back! and 3 days till the heritage unit arrives. CNW is still sadly missed

[gacuster]

One of the more interesting sights I saw on the old CNW line through Manitowoc happened one winter after a heavy snowfall.  My house is only about two blocks from the north/south main line between Green Bay and Milwaukee and when I heard an air horn I looked out a window and saw five SD 40-2's pushing a bright yellow wedge plow southbound.  They were moving along at about 35 mph clearing the snow without any difficulty.

[Anonymous]

I remember that the CNW painted a few locos in the same " yellow" as used on some fire trucks, it was called high impact yellow, allmost a lime color.

The joke was they were "Slime Lime and Green"

Toasty

[Lord Atmo]

AHHHHH I REMEMBER SEEING LOCOMOTIVES IN THAT YELLOW!

oh memories :*(

[Anonymous]

I saw some old CNW junk today.  A snow plow and caboose so rusty you couldn't read the numbers.  Spotted at Butler Yard, WI.  Also saw a CNW caboose at Yardcenter Dolton, IL number 11111.

[spe3376]

Where I work in Des Plaines, IL, I've got the Norma-Seeger connector track against the back of the property.  When I started there in 2000, there were still a number of full CNW SD40-2's with the autoracks to and from Belvedere.  Then they were patched.  Then full UP repaints (2999, 2997, and 2995 were the three that went by a couple of times a week).  Now, there are just the UP Dash 9's.  There is still a local that goes through with a CNW bay window caboose a few times a week.  Occasionally, there are some of the old CNW and MStL MOW flats in the Norma yard, just a short walk during my lunch.  I just wish I had my camera with me all that time...


stan

[ShopsYardMaster]

And if I can help anyone with questions about the Wisconsin Division (Proviso to Madison, Proviso to Adams, Proviso to Fond du Lac), or the suburban operations, just let me know.

And if anyone needs info on the FDL/NFDL area, I may be able to help.

[Lord Atmo]

how bout the Altoona area...? i believe it's on the Twin Cities division. Altoona is ex CNW and it shows. they keep an ex CNW cylindrical hopper on a seldom used siding. i know because a small part of it is damaged and it has always been there. ever since the merger. look across the street and you'll find a bar called the 400 club with the sign saying those words in neon lights and an E7 in CNW colors painted on it. then there's the "Golden Spike Bar and Grill". not sure what this has to do with CNW though. seems kinda UP. meh. but there's plenty of homage. even the no trespassing signs say "dangerous. keep off. C.&N.W. Property". that sign saddens me knowing the yard is not CNW property and only the armour yellow poop chute rides those rails now :*(

[nordique72]

Atmo,

I now live in Texas- but I grew up in Papillion, NE (Omaha suburb) and Edwardsville, IL (St.Louis suburb) while my dad worked for UP. My mom and dad are both from Wisconsin (Stevens Point area) and live there now that my dad is retired from UP- all my relatives are also spread across WI.

Not to be picky- but a neon sign is a marquee- and if you look closely at it the locomotive's headlight glows rings of neon at night. I've been going to Altoona for 20 years and every time I'm there I look for the 400 club sign to make sure it still exists. That sign is a CNW landmark that's been in Altoona since the days the "400" actually called on the depot across the street.

As for the trains- MSSPR shows up around 0900 to 1100 AM normally- the MPRVP usually shows up in the dead of night like the ZCHEM (0100-0400). The only other freight action besides the locals you'd see is a MDMPR reroute or one of the Roseport trains- and for that you'll need a scanner because they are extras that don't run on a set daily schedule.  The coal train reroutes also only show up when the main line across IL-IA gets congested. It's kind of wishful thinking to always know exactly when every train is coming- like I said railfanning is a hobby that at times takes almost infinite patience- and unfortunately it is not possible for me to post exact train arrival times- schedules are not as concrete as they were in the days of the streamliners.

 

 

[spbed]

While I did not ever work for the CNW I did favor them with my companies business. They were most helpful in assiting me with my career. They also gave me many CNW items as thank you's for the business I favored them with. Check out the below link & see the hat I am wearing, The pix was shot in the Cajon Pass  

http://vgalleries.com/members/railfan1/The+Trainfan.vrg

 

[Cris_261]

Has anybody out there recently seen former Rock Island covered hoppers with speed lettering, but sporting CNW reporting marks? It seems that the few still running have had fresh spots of paint applied over the Rock Island lettering, which makes them easy to spot, but also makes it a bit of a letdown. The North Western must have jumped at the chance to pick up extra covered hoppers from the RI when that road shut down.

[Lord Atmo]

Atmo,

I now live in Texas- but I grew up in Papillion, NE (Omaha suburb) and Edwardsville, IL (St.Louis suburb) while my dad worked for UP. My mom and dad are both from Wisconsin (Stevens Point area) and live there now that my dad is retired from UP- all my relatives are also spread across WI.

Not to be picky- but a neon sign is a marquee- and if you look closely at it the locomotive's headlight glows rings of neon at night. I've been going to Altoona for 20 years and every time I'm there I look for the 400 club sign to make sure it still exists. That sign is a CNW landmark that's been in Altoona since the days the "400" actually called on the depot across the street.

As for the trains- MSSPR shows up around 0900 to 1100 AM normally- the MPRVP usually shows up in the dead of night like the ZCHEM (0100-0400). The only other freight action besides the locals you'd see is a MDMPR reroute or one of the Roseport trains- and for that you'll need a scanner because they are extras that don't run on a set daily schedule.  The coal train reroutes also only show up when the main line across IL-IA gets congested. It's kind of wishful thinking to always know exactly when every train is coming- like I said railfanning is a hobby that at times takes almost infinite patience- and unfortunately it is not possible for me to post exact train arrival times- schedules are not as concrete as they were in the days of the streamliners.

 

 

i go to Altoona every night and i can safely say that the sign still glows proudly on the 400 club. i can even send you a picture if you want. as for wayfreights, the MSSPR has been arriving a lot later these days. i have been to Altoona around 3:00 AM only twice. both times i arrived right when a Westbound manifest was dropping off/picking up rolling stock. both times also when another manifest arrived from the West. usually around 4:00 or 5:00 AM. my guess was that this is MSSPR. one thing remains certain, early morning is the hot time for foaming in altoona. my camera, however, is not. all i can shoot is the scotchlight tape that glows when my camera's flash reflects off of it. not the best, but it DOES let me record the number of the locomotive. saw a coal train reroute come through once. i would have to say the rarities i enjoy seeing are the extra manifest trains. meaning of course i never saw one ever. he only coal train reroute i ever saw was also the only time i have ever seen an AC4460CW

countdown: 2 days :)

and lastly, can it really be assumed that 8575 is completely gone? only the front got the patch, not the hood. i say it's only 25% gone since the vast majority of the unit is CNW colors and the hood still says 8575 on it.

so i hear that when 8701 went to jenks, its CNW color was touched up. meaning the faded spots were repainted? how did jenks still have those colors? i thought they only had armour yellow, harbor mist grey, patch decals, and scotchlight tape

[fuzzybroken]

Has anybody out there recently seen former Rock Island covered hoppers with speed lettering, but sporting CNW reporting marks?

I got some *ok* pictures of a CNW covered hopper with BOTH Rock Island "speed" and Route Rock shadow lettering!  That car really looked bad, but cool at the same time to see TWO paint schemes of a long-fallen flag...

Also, I have a picture of NAHX 82179

[nordique72]

Cris,

Those ex-RI hoppers are still running around on UP's vast system, we still get quite a few of them on the grain shuttles that come down to the Gulf ports via Houston.

The cars in speed lettering are harder to see because they are in the as-delivered scheme from 1973-74, when the Rock reorganized in 1975 and changed their colors to the "bankruptcy" blue- older hoppers were randomly cycled through the shops for new coats of paint. After the CNW picked them up- some were grey- most were blue. CNW fully patched some, while some others only got new numbers and a little CNW herald stencil. As this paint wore of over the years- the cars were repatched with the new sans-serif CNW style numbers, and the speed lettering was blanked out as well. I would say 1 out of every 10 grey cars that I see still have the speed lettering on them, while the rest have been patched.

And yes- the CNW did jump at the trustee's offering of those hoppers, as well as several hundred boxcars (40 and 50 foot), gondolas, and airslides. The hoppers were mainly picked up to help with car supply on their newly aquired ex-RI grain lines in Iowa (and the Spine line.) Other cars and locomotives were simply returned to their financier- like the ex-UP/RI hopper Mark photographed- those were financed for RI by UP, and when they went belly-up the cars were returned to UP.

[nordique72]

Atmo,

Thanks for the offer but I've got my own shots of the building and sign.

[Lord Atmo]

aight. oh and i dont think the locomotive painted there lights up anymore. just the words now

[cr6479]

Hey Lord Atmo. I have seen some CNW engines but they are patched numbers not the road name.

[Lord Atmo]

which were they? UP repainted most of them completely. only 4 patched SD40-2s left and 3.5 C40-8s. ("8575" is still on the long hood!) and a few others. i saw a patched SD40-2 once. it made me sad seeing the great look ruined by more yellow than it needed to have and the loss of the ball and bar. but the ones that are owned by leasing companies are not too bad. save for the black square on the nose. i will never accept armour yellow as the better and cooler look to these units. it looked nice when it wasnt everywhere...

[Cris_261]

Thanks for the info nordique, and for the link to the photo fuzzybroken!

Incidently, I have a photo of one of the RI speed lettered covered hoppers w/CNW reporting marks, except that it's not one of the smooth-sided hoppers.

[nordique72]

Incidently, I have a photo of one of the RI speed lettered covered hoppers w/CNW reporting marks, except that it's not one of the smooth-sided hoppers.

Cris,

Glad to hear you've got an example on film- as for the smooth side centerflows, CNW only briefly leased some of the 800000 series ACF centerflow hoppers from the RI trustees before returning them. (CNW never seemed to excited about centerflow grain hoppers- only leasing a small fleet in the 172000 series, which were off the roster by 1987. Cement centerflows were a different story...)  Most of the other RI centerflows were UP financed so they went straight to UP after the bankruptcy. CNW only purchased Pullman-Standard 4750 cuft and 4740 cuft ribside hoppers from RI trustees.  

Matt Holman

Spring, TX

[cr6479]

Today i saw 2 CNW on UP pulling a piggyback train heading westbound.

[cr6479]

Today i saw 2 CNW on UP pulling a piggyback train heading westbound.

2 CNW with UP heading eastbound auto rack cars.

[CNW 6000]

Near Proviso?

[cr6479]

Near Proviso?

No in rochester ny.

[CNW 6000]

Still cool tho...what were the #'s?

[cr6479]

The numbers were very very very hard to read.

[CNW 6000]

That's ok.  A picture would be too much to hope for!  No worries man.

[cr6479]

CNW real good photos are really hard to find.

[Lord Atmo]

well considering CNW is becoming harder and harder to photograph. anyone know about a CNW SW1500 left? sold off of UP's fleet before it was patched or repainted. one of those all out there

[Cris_261]

Last time I saw a CNW unit was a C44-9W with the "patch job" renumbering, UP shield sticker for the front end, and the original number blanked out with gray primer. Aside from those aberrations, the rest of the unit looked pretty good.

Btw- is CNW's Operation Life Saver C44-9W now in a coat of UP Armour Yellow?

[cr6479]

Looks like CNW is becoming a conrail a fallen flag

[cr6479]

It is sad to see CNW become a fallen flag

[Lord Atmo]

it has always been a fallen flag since evenb before this topic was started. CNW is dead as far as UP's fleet goes with what little remains of it scattered across the US.  if i ever get a terminal illness, i will be  illegally slapping CNW stickers on the patched UP locomotives. because then it wouldnt matter if i went to jail as soon i will just succumb to the illness.

[Anonymous]

Another CNW junk sighting to report.  GP-7 4160 rusting away at Janesville yard.  Last week there were two CNW engines sitting in Belvidere yard.  They're most likely gone now. 

[nordique72]

Well let's see- CNW had one SW1500, the 1301. Purchased from Minnesota Transfer in 1973- it went to NRE in 1985 who then sold it to the Marinette,Tomahawk & Western Railway in 1987 (now the Tomahawk Rwy.) as their 1587. UP never had this engine on their roster- they only had the CNW's MP15DCs.

 

[nordique72]

Btw- is CNW's Operation Life Saver C44-9W now in a coat of UP Armour Yellow?

Repainted into UP yellow as 9821 in May 2001.

[cr6479]

it has always been a fallen flag since evenb before this topic was started. CNW is dead as far as UP's fleet goes with what little remains of it scattered across the US.  if i ever get a terminal illness, i will be  illegally slapping CNW stickers on the patched UP locomotives. because then it wouldnt matter if i went to jail as soon i will just succumb to the illness.

WELL... Conrail is a fallen flag befor i posted CONRAIL THEARD.

[cr6479]

I have seen alot of CNW engines w/ theoperation Life Saver on them.

[nordique72]

cr6479- the engines your are seeing are patched AC4400CWs- the 8801-8835 units all came delivered with OLS decals and quite a few of these are still patched in CNW paint.

[jeffhergert]

Another CNW junk sighting to report.  GP-7 4160 rusting away at Janesville yard.  Last week there were two CNW engines sitting in Belvidere yard.  They're most likely gone now. 

 Does that GP-7 still have a short, high nose?  The elevator at Ralston, Iowa has two ex-CNW GP-7s that had there noses chopped after being sold off. One is/was still in CNW paint, the other in a solid blue. One of the elevators at Fremont, Nebraska also has ex-CNW GP-7, still in CNW paint, nose chopped. All retain there CNW number.

 Many of those 4100 series GP-7s were ex-Rock Island. Most were rebuilt by the RI in the late 70s and retained there high nose. When the CNW acquired them, they shopped them but didn't chop the noses. I myself, liked the high nose better on the early geeps.

 Since this is a CNW thread and I'm a RI fan, I'll stop here.

 Except, that I saw an ex-Rock blue box car that the CNW repainted into the yellow scheme. Except for the ends, still blue. Must have needed that car real bad.

  Jeff 

    

[Lord Atmo]

8 hours and counting!!!

[CNW534]

8 hours and counting!!!

 

I'm a little pissed that UP would only allow UP employees, retirees, and family to the unveiling.  We cancelled our father-son road trip after I read that here.  They essentially blew off the C&NW folks.  My dad wanted to see it SO bad.  He retired from the C&NW in 1994 after working for them for 42 years.

Thanks a lot, UP. 

Mark

[Lord Atmo]

UP never said it was closed to the public. they just said that it was open to employees. but nowhere did it say "employees only". do that trip. i have a feeling you wont be let down. spend some quality time with your father. i kow you'll se that locomotive whether it's at the ceremony or not

[CNW534]

UP never said it was closed to the public. they just said that it was open to employees. but nowhere did it say "employees only". do that trip. i have a feeling you wont be let down. spend some quality time with your father. i kow you'll se that locomotive whether it's at the ceremony or not

 

It's too late.  I live 50 miles west of you.  In the  up to unveil cnw heritage locomotive sd70ace......  thread, it was mentioned that you need a UP employee ID to get in. Mark

[Anonymous]

 Does that GP-7 still have a short, high nose?  

    

It's a high nose.

[Lord Atmo]

yeah i think there's a few high hoods out there too and maybe a SW1500 which i would LOVE to find. a transportation museum in IL has a GP& on display, as i have said before. and i hope it's a high hood. wasnt EMD's very first geep ever made a GP& purchased by CNW? i think that one's actually still around in full CNW paint too

and how bout that Alton and Southern?

[n012944]

yeah i think there's a few high hoods out there too and maybe a SW1500 which i would LOVE to find. a transportation museum in IL has a GP& on display, as i have said before. and i hope it's a high hood. wasnt EMD's very first geep ever made a GP& purchased by CNW? i think that one's actually still around in full CNW paint too

and how bout that Alton and Southern?

Illinois Railway Museum has CNW 1518 the first GP7 on hand.  It is currently undergoing restoration.  They also have CNW F7 411 which is getting repainted right now and should be back on the property in the next week. 

 

Bert

[Lord Atmo]

ah CNW will come back. now if only UP would retire an SD40-2 with the bell on the nose and that a museum would restore its CNW colors

[nordique72]

yeah i think there's a few high hoods out there too and maybe a SW1500 which i would LOVE to find. a transportation museum in IL has a GP& on display, as i have said before. and i hope it's a high hood. wasnt EMD's very first geep ever made a GP& purchased by CNW? i think that one's actually still around in full CNW paint too and how bout that Alton and Southern?

 

Atmo- please see my previous post regarding CNW's SW1500. There may be some MP15DCs in patch paint still left as UPY units (1315-1328)- but there is no CNW SW1500 around in green and yellow. There are quite a few CNW GP7s floating around still- had CNW 4130 come through Houston in February, bound to a new contract switching assignment by it's new owner.

GP7 1518 is kind of a "born again" high hood unit- the CNW rebuilt it at Oelwein, IA and renumbered it the 4311 and chopped it's nose. In 1987 the unit was retired and IRM aquired it from CNW- as part of the deal CNW sent it back to Oelwein, rebuilt the high nose and repainted it as the 1518 (not a perfect reproduction of the original scheme- but good enough!). It is now at IRM being fully backdated to it's original appearance in their shop (pics are on the IRM site.) The 1518 is the first production GP7- a main reason why IRM got it.

Alton and Southern was once a joint venture owned by CNW and MP- the paint scheme was a combination of CNW's and MP's (using CNW yellow and MP blue) as was the logo (a CNW bar over an MP buzzsaw). The CNW sold it's interest in A&S to the SP in the early 70's- but still utilized them as their main St. Louis connection.

[Anonymous]

Ah, the legendary ex-CGW Oelwein shops. CNW rebuilt so many GP7s & GP9s there.

The south end of the "running repair" shop

 

North end

 

South side of the main shop

 

I've got a few more pics, but that's enough for now.

[wctransfer]

Wow! Dingoix thanks for posting that! That last shot makes you feel like your there! Is that the museum part?

Alec

[Lord Atmo]

there's a museum there?

[cr6479]

That last pic does look like museum, but i am too sure.

[jeffhergert]

 Here are a couple of links to what they have in Oelwein.  

 http://www.cgwo.org

 and

http://www.oelwein.com/railroad.php

Jeff

[railfanespee4449]

If you want to see a patched CNW SW (Now ADM 1218)  go to the ADM plant in Des Moines, IA

Here are some CNW units I've seen recently

 

[cr6479]

If you look close in the last photo you can read the on EX-CNW now UP 9798. CNW# 8694

[cr6479]

Is UP 9798 EX-CNW #8694 a DASH 8????

[Anonymous]

No, the mueseum is on the opposite side of the tracks

The yard tower was restored a few years ago and the mueseum is the brick building behind the tower.

[Lord Atmo]

wow i need to go to see that museum

[blhanel]

I should have seen it by now- heck, I'm only 30 miles away- but I didn't even know it existed.

[Lord Atmo]

me neither. i want to see that GP7 though. really badly

[Anonymous]

Brian, a good time to see the mueseum will be August 19-20 9am-5pm. Oelwein's annual RR days.

 

LA, I take you mean FP7?

[Lord Atmo]

uhhh BOTH! the carbody moreso however because that's just old school CNW. but a STEAMER would make my day.

[cr6479]

me neither. i want to see that GP7 though. really badly

I miss those CNW GP7 engines.

[blhanel]

Brian, a good time to see the mueseum will be August 19-20 9am-5pm. Oelwein's annual RR days.

I'll put that on my calendar!

[ShopsYardMaster]

uhhh BOTH! the carbody moreso however because that's just old school CNW. but a STEAMER would make my day.

About the only " servicable" C&NW steamer left is the 1385 at North Freedom, WI (MidContinent RR museum), and it's been down for rebuild since about 1997. The museum has put it 3 rd in line for overhaul, behind 2 smaller engines, and the first of those isn't scheduled to return to service for at least a few more years.

[CNW 6000]

Hey...I was looking at pics of 1995, 8701, and 8646 the other day and couldn't find any grey paint anywhere on 8701.  Am I merely missing it?  I've looked at about a dozen and a half photos of both sides as well as the front and back.  I'm not complaining but just curious if anyone else noticed that.

[Lord Atmo]

well 8701 went to JEnks shop a few months ago and that was when we were all worried that it would emerge in armour yellow. but they instead touched up its CNW paint. i think maybe they painted the roof green again when they did that.

and i'm starting to think foul play was involved in the patching of 8575. why would hinkle not patch the hood numbers if the locomotive was scheduled to be patched?

[Trailryder]

After watching this thread for a week or so I have been inspired to start a new photo gallery showcasing the Remnants of the Chicago & Northwestern System.

In this gallery you will find bridges, buildings and those pieces of equipment that have managed to retain some form of their Chicago and Northwestern identity.

All of the photos have been taken since May 2005, eventually i will enter the dates and  locations

Your comments are appreciated, as I am no Expert

http://www.pbase.com/trailryder/cnw

 

Later Bill

 

 

[CNW 6000]

Nice photos!  Can you PM me and tell me where the GP-7 is?  That brings back some awesome memories!  I love the MOW pictures too...I've never seen any MOW with CNW on them.  May I save some of those for my modeling purposes?  I'm doing CNW as though they bought UP in HO gauge.

[Lord Atmo]

you are? are you patching UP locomotives?

oh man. i might end up missing UP and hating CNW if that happened. ARRRGH!

well the point is i miss CNW. but yeah show us the HO stuff when you have it complete

[CNW 6000]

you are? are you patching UP locomotives?

oh man. i might end up missing UP and hating CNW if that happened. ARRRGH!

well the point is i miss CNW. but yeah show us the HO stuff when you have it complete

Yes I am doing this as though CNW bought UP.  I have already purchased a "Centennial" diesel in full UP livery that'll be the first repaint.  I have two -9's, and a -8 (and I know you LOVE them) spartan cab that will be patched.  Ball and Bar on green background under the cab window....should be fun!  I'll post pics when I have them.

[nordique72]

The CNW GP7 4120 on Trailryder's webpage is at a grain elevator in Seward, IL (on the CN's ex-IC Chicago-Dubuque main line)

[Lord Atmo]

you are? are you patching UP locomotives?

oh man. i might end up missing UP and hating CNW if that happened. ARRRGH!

well the point is i miss CNW. but yeah show us the HO stuff when you have it complete

Yes I am doing this as though CNW bought UP.  I have already purchased a "Centennial" diesel in full UP livery that'll be the first repaint.  I have two -9's, and a -8 (and I know you LOVE them) spartan cab that will be patched.  Ball and Bar on green background under the cab window....should be fun!  I'll post pics when I have them.

now now now. i may say i like spartan cabs and nothing else, but the fact is i like all locomotives, just some more than others. widecabs and spartan cabs are both nice. "ugly" was a step too far on my part and i apologize. i'm a fan of variety and was just mad that all that remains of CNW is widecabs. but i DO like them as well. i find it is not easy to hate any kind of train (aside from green goats. eeewww) and i like when  a GE widecab shows up in Altoona. i dont see them often. ok actually the widecabs i stone hate are SD60Ms. but that's probably it. no that IS it. but enough of my incoherant ramblings

are you patching any of the UP stuff? that should be interesting to see. i cant wait to see the pictures

[chicagorails]

 saw the the cnw "ace" rolling thru rochelle yesterday west at 1130am. pulling a mix frt.  that engine needs to be doing justice in respect of cnw, let her pull a high life porky piggy or stack, not a lowly  dirty graffiti,marked train.

[railfanespee4449]

I think it's a DASH-9- look at the trucks, but I'm not sure

I've seen a lot of patched CNW stuff recently- check this stuff out.

[Chris30]

Picture from the Lord... Atmo

Ok, I must not be very familiar with those remote devices. Is there really a button on the belt pack for rollover and play dead??? Good boy!

CC

[Lord Atmo]

nah. remotes are just job-eating horrid machines...

also those patched units in the pictures, at least the first one, is an AC4400CW. you can tell because the walkway on the conductor's side is really long

[Lord Atmo]

also i dont know if any other units had OLS or not but i'm fairly confident that C44ACs were NOT the only ones

[Chris30]

Well, the remotes might be "job-eating horrid machines", but looking at your picture I would have to say a posistion just opened up.

CC

[Lord Atmo]

well i hope the RCOs will stop being used and engineers will be able to keep their jobs. i like how CNW never used these. ah they were such a great road!

[Anonymous]

I thought that rco's are supposed to be safer, but I guess anything can happen.  I also miss the CNW colors. UP yellow is kind of boring.

[n012944]

well i hope the RCOs will stop being used and engineers will be able to keep their jobs. i like how CNW never used these. ah they were such a great road!

 

The only reason the CNW never used remotes was that it was taken over by the UP before it got the chance.

 

Bert

[Lord Atmo]

I thought that rco's are supposed to be safer, but I guess anything can happen.  I also miss the CNW colors. UP yellow is kind of boring.

yeah. i dont think armour yellow looks bad, but it's boring now. too much of it. that was the word i'm looking for. and now with the FRA changes, there's even MORE yellow on them. i need a break from UP. i'm headed to a CN line soon...

oh CNW... :(

[Lord Atmo]

BUMP!

CNW may have died, but i wont let this thread die too. i was in altoona yesterday morning and got an up close and personal view of 2 UP SD40-2s. their numbers, UP 3017 and UP 2976. or as i call them by their real names, CNW 6836 and CNW 6828. their bells were sadly removed...

[nordique72]

When the CNW switched back to the old yellow they went kind of hog wild with painting units with the Operation Lifesaver decals- various random units were painted in the MP15DCs, GP38-2s, SD40-2s as well as one SD50, one SD60, one C44-9W and the entire series of AC4400s. The only ones left running around with their OLS decals that I know of anymore are the AC44s (there may be one or two patched MP15DCs as well.) CNWHS compiled an entire list in their final CNW roster book "Run of the GEs"

[Lord Atmo]

yeah i have been meaning to buy that book...

i saw in the SP thread pictures of UP units with SP patches for some reason. maybe there are CNW patches out there too or something.everyone keep your eyes peeled


tch...photoshopped images....

and like they said in that topic about SP.

TAKE BACK CNW!!!

[n012944]

Well, IRM is almost done with the restoration of CNW F7 411, here are some pics of it painted, but not yet lettered.

http://www.irm.org/gallery/cnw411paintproj

 

Bert

[espeefoamer]

It's great to see a C&NW F unit preserved.My only ride on the C&NW was on a Chicago to Harvard "scoot" in 1979. It had an F7 and four bi level coaches.

[Lord Atmo]

i like it. i just hope we see a hood unit come back in CNW colors one day. one SD60. and i'll be happy

[Zane]

Hey, could anybody please write a nice piece on what Nelson Yard was like way back when?  I have heard stories of the hotel at the yard and how it was like stepping back in time when you entered the building. 

I am very curious about this as all the old timers talk about this place, and some crazy things that went on there.

 

Thanks,

Zane

[Anonymous]

C&NW OLS Engines

 MP15DC; 1303, 1304, 1305

GP15-1; 4405, 4410

GP38-2; 4601, 4602, 4604, 4606, 4607, 4614, 4627, 4631

SD18; 6629, 6636

SD38-2; 6652

SD40-2; 6825, 6826, 6886, 6902, 6913, 6930, 6934, 6935

SD50; 7004

SD60; 8029

C42-8; 8551, 8553

C44-9W; 8659, 8717, 8727

AC4400; All 8801-8835; note-CNW 8834 after being repainted to UP 6736, retained its OLS markings

[Lord Atmo]

oh interesting. i didnt know UP ever retained any OLS on repaints

[wjstix]

Ya I was sad to see CNW go. Of all 10-11 railroads that existed here in the Twin Cities when I was born in Nov 1958, they were the very last one still around. Seems like all the contacts I had with CNW people were positive. One guy on my block worked in the Omaha Road HQ in Minneapolis, back when I was a kid and would go out trick or treating as an engineer he always got a big kick out of it and gave me a big handfull of white CNW pencils that I used quite proudly at school the whole rest of the school year. (Wish I had kept a few now of course!!). I was happy to be able to get up to Upper Michigan and take pics of the C-628's back in 1986, not long before they were retired.

BTW someone mentioned the Packer/CNW color coincidence earlier...it's interesting that the Packers entered the NFL in 1920, but it wasn't until 1952 that it occured to someone that the GREEN Bay Packers maybe should wear GREEN jerseys. Before that they wore navy blue and gold, colors Notre Dame grad Curly Lambeau borrowed from his alma mater.

Also someone mentioned Chi Bears Blue and Orange, think the RR they were thinking of was the Chicago and Eastern Illinois that wore those colors too, though their blue was a little lighter than the Bears Navy blue...which I assume the Bears wore because George Halas was in the Navy in World War 1.

But hey, even the baseball Philadelphia/Kansas City A's wore dark blue until Charley O Finley bought them in the sixties (and moved them to Oakland).

[Lord Atmo]

sheesh why didnt i think to just bring this thread back. sure beats ruining other threads.

but onward to my point. there just isnt enough acknowledgement for the remaining CNW rolling stock and other various CNW equipment. but i've devoted myself to documenting these objects with photos. i'm happy to say the quest goes well. here are some of my "greatest hits":

 

autoracks arent as common around here. and so far, that one is the only one i have seen thus far. does anyone know if the ABEBE has a lot of these on it?  

the 180000 rounded hoppers are also less common up here. however i saw a whole cut of them in altoona once. the above image was part of that cut. most of them were brown. that remains the only time i have seen those brown hoppers. hopefully it wont be the last 

here's Altoona's yard office. a CNW building indeed. notice the green signs with yellow wording 

oh goodness. i LOVE these hoppers. smaller 2-bays built by pullman standard. i saw a decent few in my past, but just that one so far in my new fanning life. 

loved these in my past, love these to this very day. the ex-CRIP 750000 series hoppers. this one here still had its CRIP number visible, which i thought was interesting. the CRIP symbol i always thought was neat on those blue hoppers.

ahhh zito boxcars. i've seen 1 or 2. in short, not enough. that's one of my better pics.

the 175 series hoppers. add this to my list of "stuff i only saw 1 of so far". NWL did an article on these 2 issues back. so it was cool to see this one. anyone know if the green or yellow ones are still around?

check out this bridge. that really is something, isnt it? this is a bridge at West Allis, WI. possibly over 50 years old. i wish i could see a train on it.

CNW property in name only. this sign still stands. as well as other CNW warning signs. and yes that's my hat on it. i thought it would fit the theme. 

 

well that's just the highlights of my CNW photo collection. anyone else documenting rolling stock or otherwise too? 

[Cris_261]

Thanks for sharing the photos. I've seen a fair amount of C&NW equipment in UP's Salt Lake Yard, and passing through on trains. Used to regularly see former North Western locomotives passing through too. Mainly C44-9Ws and AC44CWs, with an occasional SD40-2, and even rarer C40-8. The last "C&NW" locomotive I've recently seen was the UP heritage unit heading north towards Ogden shortly after the "heritage photo shoot" in SLC.

Be sure to check out February's "Difference of Decades" article. There's a great picture of a C&NW coal train on the Powder River line.

[Lord Atmo]

i've actually never seen (and never will) a CNW coal train. only pictures

[Mr_Ash]

I allways loved seeing the C&NW Yellow & Green Bi-Level commuter trains when I went to the doctor as a kid, infact I liked them more than the BN commuter trains that ran (Metra now) a few blocks from my house. Maybe it was just the colors IDK... I liked that some of there freight engines had the Operation Lifesaver logo on them too, wish more RR's did that

[Lord Atmo]

yeah, all the AC44s had OLS. and at least 1 SD50 and 1 SD60. i believe 1 dash 8 and 1 crash 9 also had OLS. and a few SD40-2s. possibly a few geeps too

[coborn35]

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, MN owns a fair amount of former C&NW equipment.

 

C&NW Parlor/Lounge #6700 The Deerpath. C&NW 6700, formerly 6700, the Deerpath, formerly 6511, was built in 1946 for the Twin Cities 400 by Pullman Standard. It was configured as a 1 drawing room, 22 seat parlor car. In 1961 the car was modified with the removal of the drawing room and the adjacent smoking lounge. At this time the car's conventional 32-volt power system was also removed and replaced with a 480-volt system that was compatible with the C&NW bi-level commuter equipment. From then until retirement it served as a club lounge on Chicago commuter trains.

We own two former C&NW bi-levels, both of which are reapinted in full C&NW livery.

The last piece of C&NW equipment is BUDD Car #9169, which is a RDC-1, was former C&NW, and is the oldest operating Budd Car in the world.

[Lord Atmo]

is the deerpath still in CNW paint?

[Bob-Fryml]

Cris,

Those ex-RI hoppers are still running around on UP's vast system, we still get quite a few of them on the grain shuttles that come down to the Gulf ports via Houston.

The cars in speed lettering are harder to see because they are in the as-delivered scheme from 1973-74, when the Rock reorganized in 1975 and changed their colors to the "bankruptcy" blue- older hoppers were randomly cycled through the shops for new coats of paint. After the CNW picked them up- some were grey- most were blue. CNW fully patched some, while some others only got new numbers and a little CNW herald stencil. As this paint wore of over the years- the cars were repatched with the new sans-serif CNW style numbers, and the speed lettering was blanked out as well. I would say 1 out of every 10 grey cars that I see still have the speed lettering on them, while the rest have been patched.

And yes- the CNW did jump at the trustee's offering of those hoppers, as well as several hundred boxcars (40 and 50 foot), gondolas, and airslides. The hoppers were mainly picked up to help with car supply on their newly aquired ex-RI grain lines in Iowa (and the Spine line.) Other cars and locomotives were simply returned to their financier- like the ex-UP/RI hopper Mark photographed- those were financed for RI by UP, and when they went belly-up the cars were returned to UP.

To add to Nordique72's observations, at various terminals in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming I've seen old Rock Island ballast cars sporting CNW reporting marks.  These cars are full of ballast and often are coupled to flatcars loaded with track panels.  Together this equipment appears to be in some kind of standby service - ready at a moment's notice for movement to a derailment site.

These well-weathered, mineral red ballast cars clearly display the name "Rock Island" in white letters are their car sides.  The cars also have removable canvas covers on top to keep both water and rain out of the loads.  Face it, ballast mixed with ice won't dump very easily.   

[Lord Atmo]

CNW's pullman standard  3-bay grain hoppers in the 750000 number series are all ex-CRIP as well

[nordique72]

CNW's pullman standard  3-bay grain hoppers in the 750000 number series are all ex-CRIP as well

Atmo,

The Pullman Standard hopper cars are in the 752000-753000 series- there are no hoppers in the 750000 series. These are the cars I was talking about in the post that Bob had quoted in his reply. The ballast cars in his post are some of my favorite ex-Rock Island hoppers the CNW acquired- they are in the 791000 series. I can remember watching them go by in the ballast trains in Wisconsin, most of them have been removed from ballast unit train service and retired. Those that survive have been reassigned into the service Bob describes. I saw and photographed 3 of them in this service this summer at Clinton, IA- it was the first time I had seen one of them in several years.

[Lord Atmo]

ah thank you. i wasnt entirely sure what the third digits were, so i left the 7 and 5 and made the rest 0's. perhaps i should gop by "#"s or X's next time. thanks for clearing it up though! :)