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Calling All Chicago And NorthWestern Fans!

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 2:31 PM
[banghead] MR reviewed the GP35 not the GP38-2
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 3:26 PM
I'm glad to see this topic active again.

Two weeks ago I bought my son an Athearn SD50 and a Proto2000 GP38-2.This past weekend We went checking out some hobby shops in Illinois and I bought 5 Accurail covered hoppers and a Walthers 65ft gondola.All C&NW.Now I'm waiting for the Walthers bay window caboose to be released so I can get those for him.
I bought myself an Atlas Soo caboose and 2 Accurail Soo covered hoppers.

We're installing masonite paneling on the framed and insulated basement walls that we completed a week ago and as soon as I get some carpeting down we'll start on the benchwork.We're aiming to loosely model the area around the Twin Cities with grain elevators,a couple of flour mills and other industries.

Have a good one.

Bill
Iowa
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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 11:25 AM
Hey Guys! Thought id share my newest addition my RTR athearn AC4400 Boy she runs great ,Im going to install ditch lights on it soon heres a pic



Thanks Carl...
GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 9:14 PM
Nice AC4400. I sure hope you have better luck than everyone else has had with their AC4400's.
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 11:59 AM
Always happy to tap into any C&NW info and dialog. I've been armchair model rr'ing for too many years, finally hard at work doing basement prep work to get down to a layout starting in late Spring. Probably should be a fan of the Santa Fe or Belt RR (grew up blocks from Belt Railway's line and SF's Corwith Yards) or even the Grand Trunk (had a relative worked on it). But for me it was the C&NW in northern Wisconsin and the Michigan UP that has always held my interest. Just came back from a weekend trip photographing locations, like the depot at Eland Junction, WI, Mercer WI and Ironwood MI, along with walking (through the snow, boots would've been a good idea) the old grounds of the yard areas at Monico Junction WI and Watersmeet MI. Will be going back in a few weeks to to do the same in a few other spots -- Watersmeet east to Iron Mountain MI, maybe trek down to Crandon WI. While the basement redecorating continues I've been scribbling away on grid paper for trackplanning, trying to squeeze something reasonable into a modest 11' 9" x 14' 6" space in one end of very irregularly shaped basement. My ideal: carefully replicate Watersmeet MI circa 1950 - 56 or so, with its 8-stall roundhouse, yard, etc. etc. (But my "ideal" far exceeds my modeling skills and available space). Fallback: downtown Eagle River WI with adjacent woodland and a semi-prototypical spur or two (handy to have the C&NW passenger station and freight depot still standing today). Super-fallback: Too prototypical anything goes past my skills, time and pocketbook, so may try a freelance-evolving-towards-the-prototype approach of generic northern Wisconsin/Michigan UP, even cheating a little to sneak some Soo line trackage in there! Now if only I knew where to get an authentic looking R-class 4-6-0 (as opposed to the Bachman ten wheeler) to turn into #1331!
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Posted by james saunders on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 3:37 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by ac4400fan

Hey Guys! Thought id share my newest addition my RTR athearn AC4400 Boy she runs great ,Im going to install ditch lights on it soon heres a pic



Thanks Carl...



nice AC4400 im def. getting one next time im at the LHS! [:D]

James, Brisbane Australia

Modelling AT&SF in the 90s

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:09 PM
i hope y'all have better luck than most w/ the RTR AC4400's. I've decided to model C&NW in the early 1970's. This allows me to run C&NW -2's and CGW F units. My reasoning is CGW (and later C&NW) had a line 200 ft from my house.
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Posted by ericmanke on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:28 PM
blacktrans305. If your ever up ther walkin or poking around I suggest walking any of the Laona line. I believe the line from Tipler to just south of Laona still has track,and has some neat things to see. The line south of Wabeno definately has no tracks, but there are areas of it that are well kept up as ATV/hiking/snowmobile paths. My cabin is just off of the old right of way in Mountain, and I walk them all of the time. There are alot of cool rock cuts, and a few decent size bridges that are still there. Great color in the fall as well.

E
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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 8:31 AM
ericmanke: thanks for the tip. My wife and kids have done the Laona steam trip excursion thing (without me!) a couple times now. I've meant to scout that area, and now that I know there are some bridges to snoop around, I'll definitely do so.
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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 10:32 AM
Blacktrans305 Its sounds like you have your plan right with your future Layout ..When you guys go out scouting It would be nice to see thhe pics Of the Bridges

Best reguards
Carl..
GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 10:34 AM




nice AC4400 im def. getting one next time im at the LHS! [:D]


Yes its a real great! runner so far so good ..i love it!

Carl..
GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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Posted by Gluefinger on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 11:46 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by CNW Jay

The last 3 Unpatched CNWs are gettin patches this week[B)][xx(][V][:(][:O][banghead][X-)][censored][|(][#dots][soapbox]


That one came true...
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Posted by james saunders on Thursday, March 2, 2006 3:25 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Gluefinger

QUOTE: Originally posted by CNW Jay

The last 3 Unpatched CNWs are gettin patches this week[B)][xx(][V][:(][:O][banghead][X-)][censored][|(][#dots][soapbox]


That one came true...


no...no...nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo[:0][:(][V][:(!]

James, Brisbane Australia

Modelling AT&SF in the 90s

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 2, 2006 5:45 PM
[#ditto]
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Posted by Gluefinger on Saturday, March 4, 2006 2:48 PM
Sarcasm!
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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 4, 2006 3:48 PM
In regards to the last C&NW units getting patched.It's OK guys.There are plenty of C&NW models in HO.Of course,my son and I will be watching trains in our basement instead of going down to the UP mainline that goes thru Cedar Rapids.We have 3 C&NW units so far(SD50 7004,GP38-2 4632,and C44-9W 8653).Walthers is releasing it's bay window caboose in C&NW this month(a 2 pack and an individual car all with different numbers).[tup][:D] Oops! Sorry about the thumbs down thing earlier.Picked a heck of a time to stop sniffing diesel fumes![:D]

Have a good one.

Bill
Iowa
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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Sunday, March 5, 2006 1:06 AM
What a shame But like bill says we will have plenty to look at on our RailRoads[swg]

Carl....
GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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  • From: Greenville, WI
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Posted by ezielinski on Friday, March 31, 2006 10:24 PM
I'm a big C&NW fan. I have been tracking down old depots in the area (northeast WI). So far, the Grren Bay, New London, Eland, and Shawano depots are all restored and well preserved - some of them have been listed as historic places / landmarks.

I spent all day last Tuesday at the North Green Bay yard that is now used by CN. Haven't seen any patched locomotives yet...
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Posted by Gluefinger on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 9:26 PM
::groan::

I was using sarcasm in that post!!!!! They're still around.
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Posted by james saunders on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 9:46 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Gluefinger

::groan::

I was using sarcasm in that post!!!!! They're still around.


lol

James, Brisbane Australia

Modelling AT&SF in the 90s

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 14, 2006 8:25 AM
G'day all from a brand spanking new CNW fan in Australia.

With a two year old son addicted to Thomas the Tank Engine it was time to dig out my grandfather's old model rail gear (all English mind you) but after the recent Model Railway Expo here in Canberra, I really got the bug for American diesel freight, and after casting around a while I settled on the CNW. [:)]

Our one and only stockist of model rail gear in town is having 20% off all stock all through April so I have started out with a Proto 2000 GP38-2, and a few bits and pieces in CNW/CStPM&O/MStL/UP liveries for it to haul. Might try and squeeze the funds for one more loco before the offer winds up. Any suggestions for a non-time specific theme?

I've been looking for photos and info on general running of US freight operations as I really have no idea, so the post from daschilling about "foreign road" cars earlier in this thread was very helpful.

No space for a real layout at the moment, but I'll use the time to study, learn, practice weathering etc so I'm good to go when the space presents itself.

Great to find this forum. Some of the links posted here are great.

Trev
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Posted by dknelson on Friday, April 14, 2006 8:31 AM
Hey Keats some things are TOO serious to joke about. patching those three units is one of 'em.
Don't forget, CNW fans, that the C&NW Historical Society is having its annual convention in Rochelle this May -- just a month away. There will be tours of Global III, the utility near the railroad park, the Illinois RR Museum, a Metra ride on former CNW rails, slide programs on the CNW in Rochelle, on the Chicago Great Western (which ran just a few miles to the north) and on Whitcomb Locomotive Works, once located in Rochelle and a CNW customer back in the day. Plus the usual banquet, auction, model and photo contests, swap meet, and so on.
Dave Nelson
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CNW
Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 30, 2006 1:48 PM
Hey there, Its great to find other people interested in the CNW. I myself model the CNW around the early to mid 90's. I plan to next model the spine line route now owned by the UP from kansas City, MO to the twin cities however I will stop modeling it once I reach Des Moines, IA. I have visited the Kate Shelley twice and plan to return within the next couple months so if any one has questions or would like some pics I will have some good ones comming up! I also have a couple pictures of an old cnw shop in Trenton, Mo.

Greg
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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 5, 2006 10:26 AM
Well I just added another engine to my CNW collection. The BLI EMD SD40-2.



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Posted by cspmo on Friday, May 5, 2006 11:01 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Gumby4

Well I just added another engine to my CNW collection. The BLI EMD SD40-2.




Where's the nose bell?
Brian
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Posted by waltersrails on Friday, May 5, 2006 11:31 AM
nice pic
I like NS but CSX has the B&O.
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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 5, 2006 4:00 PM
Gumby, nice SD40-2[tup]. But that C&NW logo on it looks awful. I don't think it's supposed to have that much white around it.
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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 5, 2006 8:17 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by cspmo

QUOTE: Originally posted by Gumby4

Well I just added another engine to my CNW collection. The BLI EMD SD40-2.




Where's the nose bell?


Unfortunately, BLI only does a generic model of the SD40-2. No nose bell. I guess if all flags had one it would be on.

And yes, the logo is a little disappointing but still works for me.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 3:51 AM
Hi Guys Been Awhile,,thought id dig it out and have some Northwestern fun i have a couple of videos im working on for the layout Of C&NW

Carl..
GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 3:59 AM
I Want to Thank Everyone That Has posted A reply To This Thred In The Last Year!!!!

THANK YOU ALL!! CARL.

Lets keep it alive!
GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin

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