I can hear far more than 2 trains per day and the numbers have increased over the past 10 years. Also i see nearly solid ethanol trains in the morning.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
greyhounds schlimm This route, if the schedules are done correctly could have a huge ridership. Galena is #2 or 3 as a tourism spot in Illinois, mostly weekenders from the chicago area. Part of the drive is slow and there is a shortage of parking in Galena, so being able to hop a train to and from for a day trip or longer would attract many riders. It's good to hear that the old Iowa Division has had a significant increase in freight business. (Oil trains? From where?) I highly recommend the Galena/Dubuque area for a vacation getaway. It's in an "Unglaciated" area of Illinois and is actually "Unflat". In Galena there is a lot of history, old brick buildings converted into tourist shops, and a restored old hotel that U.S. Grant used. Galena is where he was when the Civil War started. You can tour the house built for him by the town. But he never lived in it. He didn't return to Galena. There are golf and ski resorts. (You can actually ski in Illinois at Galena.) Just a few miles away in Dubuque are two nice casinos and my favorite, a Greyhound track (summer only). For us railfans there is the BNSF line going up to the Twin Cities, the CN's Iowa line (which I hear is now more used) and the interesting curved tunnel that the CN goes through to reach its Mississippi River swing bridge. Weather permitting, you can dine outdoors at the old Dubuque Star brewery which is next to the CN's bridge and the river. Watch the trains on both railroads as you dine. (The BNSF is across the river.) My question about rail passenger service to the area is: "Once you get to the area on the train, how do you get around to enjoy all this stuff?"
schlimm This route, if the schedules are done correctly could have a huge ridership. Galena is #2 or 3 as a tourism spot in Illinois, mostly weekenders from the chicago area. Part of the drive is slow and there is a shortage of parking in Galena, so being able to hop a train to and from for a day trip or longer would attract many riders.
This route, if the schedules are done correctly could have a huge ridership. Galena is #2 or 3 as a tourism spot in Illinois, mostly weekenders from the chicago area. Part of the drive is slow and there is a shortage of parking in Galena, so being able to hop a train to and from for a day trip or longer would attract many riders.
It's good to hear that the old Iowa Division has had a significant increase in freight business. (Oil trains? From where?)
I highly recommend the Galena/Dubuque area for a vacation getaway. It's in an "Unglaciated" area of Illinois and is actually "Unflat". In Galena there is a lot of history, old brick buildings converted into tourist shops, and a restored old hotel that U.S. Grant used. Galena is where he was when the Civil War started. You can tour the house built for him by the town. But he never lived in it. He didn't return to Galena.
There are golf and ski resorts. (You can actually ski in Illinois at Galena.) Just a few miles away in Dubuque are two nice casinos and my favorite, a Greyhound track (summer only).
For us railfans there is the BNSF line going up to the Twin Cities, the CN's Iowa line (which I hear is now more used) and the interesting curved tunnel that the CN goes through to reach its Mississippi River swing bridge.
Weather permitting, you can dine outdoors at the old Dubuque Star brewery which is next to the CN's bridge and the river. Watch the trains on both railroads as you dine. (The BNSF is across the river.)
My question about rail passenger service to the area is: "Once you get to the area on the train, how do you get around to enjoy all this stuff?"
I'm not personally aware of a marked increase in general merchandis traffic on CN's Iowa Division mainline. The mainstays are M337 (westbound from Kirk Yard in Gibson, Indiana to Waterloo) and its eastbound counterpart M338. You do get the occasional extra ethanol and grain trains mixed in from time to time, though. Still would like to see CN add intermodal service for meat and meat products that originate in western Iowa but I know this is the passenger section.
Greyhounds is correct about his assertions on both Dubuque and Galena. Dubuque has seemingly re-invented itself with the new casinos and hotel there - plus the aforementioned Greyhound track as well not to mention the railfanning spots that BNSF, CN and CPRS provide in the Dubuque/East Dubuque area. Galena, though, is nothing short of a hot spot that draws tourists and shoppers from not only Chicago and Wisconsin but from eastern Iowa as well. With parking being an issue in Galena, if you extend the proposed service to Waterloo with stops at Manchester and Independence and maybe even Dyersville as well you will draw from nearby cities and towns such as Cedar Rapids, Oelwein, Monticello and Anamosa just to name a few that only adds to the online stops.
if one stayed in either Galena or Dubuque, a car wouldn't be necessary.
Your description makes me want to head to that neck of the woods for a visit. Been too long since I was in the Dubuque/Galena and a little down the river, Savanna area. Very beautiful area.
Yes, but the CNW/UP doesn't go beyond Rockford, hasn't reached even Freeport for years and never reached Dubuque. So all routes had to use IC/CN after Rockford.
Well, they're using the wrong route in the first place. The better route by far wouuld've been From Chicago to Elgin on Matra and the rest of the way over the UP. That was the plan for a short time and then there was a reversal.
While I can't speak for east of the East Dubuque/Portage area going to Chicago, assuming that the new service someday gets extended to at least Waterloo (like it should), I think the CN, IMHO, would be hard-pressed to cite possible delays as you've got six sidings between Dubuque and Waterloo: Peosta, Dyersville, Manchester (North & South Sidings), Beth (just west of Masonville) and Jesup. The IC, back in the day, had a lot of hot freight traffic (read meat) PLUS both the Hawkeye and Land O' Corn passenger trains.
CMStPnP schlimm Not sure why, but CN train frequency on this line has increased since the route planning and final choice. Additionally, Amtrak wants more than one RT per day. schlimm Not sure why, but CN train frequency on this line has increased since the route planning and final choice. Additionally, Amtrak wants more than one RT per day. You can see why on Youtube........Crude Oil and the plants that use Corn to produce Alchol. Wisconsin and Southerns former Milwaukee Road rural branch lines aren't so marginal anymore for the same reason.
schlimm Not sure why, but CN train frequency on this line has increased since the route planning and final choice. Additionally, Amtrak wants more than one RT per day.
Not sure why, but CN train frequency on this line has increased since the route planning and final choice. Additionally, Amtrak wants more than one RT per day.
You can see why on Youtube........Crude Oil and the plants that use Corn to produce Alchol. Wisconsin and Southerns former Milwaukee Road rural branch lines aren't so marginal anymore for the same reason.
Not just ethanol traffic. There seem to be more general merchandise trains also.
The train goes as far as Dubuque, but Iowa DOT doesn't make any contribution, other than provide a station. The train was scheduled to start service in 2014, but between adding additional trains and the huge increase in freight traffic on the CN/IC since the route was chosen, there are delays.
The new Black Hawk service makes all the sense in the world to me. I also think it was short-sighted back in the early 80's to drop that service, rather than to look for ways to improve it and make it more attractive.
A continuation of the train into and across Iowa to Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Fort Dodge and Sioux City is listed as a route for future study by the Iowa DOT. From an Iowa perspective, the old Rock Island main from Quad Cities to Iowa City to Des Moines to Omaha is a much higher priority, but I don't see Iowa turning down passenger service coming to Dubuque.
http://members.trainorders.com/dr04/BlackHawk/
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