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Calling All Chicago And NorthWestern Fans!

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  • Member since
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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Monday, January 22, 2007 11:53 AM

Hi guys , Been awhile. but thought id give this thred a bump. I was detailing my C&NW AC4400. Did some painting to the rails act ill post a picture of it when its complete.

Carl..

GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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  • From: MP 175.1 CN Neenah Sub
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Posted by CNW 6000 on Sunday, May 6, 2007 9:01 AM

Morning fellas!

Thought you might like to see this, this, and this. What do you think?

Dan

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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Sunday, May 6, 2007 12:14 PM
 CNW 6000 wrote:

Morning fellas!

Thought you might like to see this, this, and this. What do you think?

Isnt She A Sight! Great Work !Thanks for Posting That.Bow [bow]

Cant Wait to see more of those.

Carl.

GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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  • From: MP 175.1 CN Neenah Sub
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Posted by CNW 6000 on Sunday, May 6, 2007 1:24 PM
Which one do you like better?  I like both -9W's and am considering selling the -8.

Dan

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Posted by ac4400fan on Sunday, May 6, 2007 10:32 PM

 CNW 6000 wrote:
Which one do you like better?  I like both -9W's and am considering selling the -8.

# 2250 Turnout great. Theres alot to work with there

Carl.

GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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  • From: MP 175.1 CN Neenah Sub
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Posted by CNW 6000 on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 10:10 PM
Thanks.  So does anyone know or have any suggestions for the -9W 8730?  This one was supposed to be the 450 Millionth Ton of PRB coal moved.

Dan

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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:04 PM

Dan. Do you have a link to that Loco? I may have some ideas for you

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 matt56 on Monday, January 31, 2011 5:47 PM

This seems like a dead thread but I thought I'd put in my 2 cents. 

I moved around as a kid so I never had an extended chance at rail fanning, and when I was around trains they usually 100+ unit ore trains in Michigan's UP.  My family moved to central Wisconsin 11 years ago but it was only in recent years that I discovered the CNW used to be all around.  I live in Marathon City and it was a stop along the branch line from Marshfield to Eland. 

Seeing as the railroad was abandoned in the early 1980s there was very little to suggest that railroad had once passed through the middle of town.....all the rails and ties were pulled up and the bridges spanning small creeks were also removed.  I guess it was found after some years that the rails were in such a bad a state that a lot of the line would need to be replaced, but CNW just didnt have the money......it was determined the removal of the line would not have any effects on the small towns it passed through and they then abandoned the line.  There is still a grade one side of town that still has ballast and occasional piles of old ties, but it is overgrown and almost not noticeable.  It wasn't until I took a canoe trip down the local river that I discovered one of the last remaining structures from the line.......

If the tracks were to continue off the right of the picture, it would go into my town, but those tracks are long gone.  The tracks going off to the left of the picture are still in place and they go into the bigger city of Wausau, and these are the only tracks still in place from the branch line.  Most of the traffic (from what I've researched) was through freight, including trains that exceeded 200 cars in length!  Now the tracks are only used for industrial switching within Wausau's city limits  because the tracks west of the city are removed and the tracks to the east of the city are removed too.

The CNW was always one of my favorite roads, but now it has to be my favorite.  Researching this abandoned line taught me so much and I found alot of history on the CNW that I didnt realize even existed.  It brought to my attention the different kinds of power that were used on this line too, from Alco switchers to H-16-44s to GP7s and GP-30s.  I also realized the CNW was an important part of Wisconsin at the beginning of the century.  I look at any small town on mapquest and then notice what looks like an abandoned railroad.  I then go on the CNW history website and sure enough I find a picture of a depot in that small town.   Its just all so interesting to me....

 

Just a couple older pics of the railroad in town.

A train pulls up to the depot around the turn of the century

 

These 2 shots of a GP-7 appear to be around 1960-1970 as there is a bit over overgrowth seen

Modeling the C&NW in northcentral Wisconsin, late summer 1976

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Posted by dknelson on Monday, January 31, 2011 9:30 PM

Well, I don't know if it will revive that very old thread ... but thanks for posting those great photos!

Dave Nelson

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Posted by Colorado_Mac on Monday, January 31, 2011 11:20 PM

Well, I'm glad you revived this "dead thread".  I don't model the Chicago Northwestern but I lived a block from the old mainline in Lake Forest, Illinois in the late 90s early 00s.  UP now, but riding the line south into Chicago and biking along the old Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee RoW which paralleled it north to Waukegan definitely kindled an interest in the CNW for me.  So it was interesting reading! Geeked

Sean

HO Scale CSX Modeler

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Posted by wyldmanr8cer on Saturday, February 12, 2011 12:32 AM

I have a 30X60 layout and one of my "branch lines" is modeled after the CNW line into the Powder River basin in Wyoming. I have a large selection of CNW road and switcher power and often run them in my through freights on the main line. I have a special place in my heart for the CNW. I work for the UP and I really think they should have renamed it the CNW after the 1995 merger LOL! Modeling your favorite railroad is one of the best parts of this hobby!!!

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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Saturday, February 12, 2011 12:46 PM

Thank You so much for reviving this thread.  I haven't been on in awhile do to working, and family issues.

needless to say my layout has been on hold as well covered with plastic, But 2 days ago i took off the plastic cleaned my C&NW AC4400's engines and track, And well she purred like a kitten. So im doing some scenery work today, And will post some on the WPF Thread.

 

Carl...

GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
  • Member since
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  • From: Greenville, WI
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Posted by ezielinski on Sunday, February 13, 2011 12:34 AM

Wow.  I've been a member here for a long time and never saw this thread.  I was born and raised in Des Plaines, IL.  My dad would take my brother and I to the hobby store in downtown Des Plaines every week.  The hobby store faced the CNW commuter line that went to Chicago.  I fondly remember the yellow and green F7's that rumbled by every time. 

I have alot of CNW motive power and cars on my layout, and routinely "hunt down" the real things hiding in yards and riding the rails here in Wisconsin.  I post some pics when I get a chance.

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Posted by mobilman44 on Sunday, February 13, 2011 7:30 AM

Hi!

Thought it was about time I put my words in here...............

I was born in Chicago (1944) and lived there until I was 21.  Ten years of my childhood were spent on the northwest side (Diversey/California) near the C&NW racetrack.  I spent many days roaming near trackside, and was fortunate enough to see first hand all those steam powered commuter trains.  Yup, give me an RC cola and a bag of chips and I could literally spend hours watching those trains.

Sadly, when they began building the NW (Kennedy?) expressway, my vantage spots began to disappear, and the motor bikes, high  school (Lane Tech 62), cars and girls began to take up my time.

In hindsight, sitting in a tree near the tracks on a warm summer day watching trains was about as good as it gets......................

ENJOY  !

 

Mobilman44

 

Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central 

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Posted by AltonFan on Sunday, February 13, 2011 10:32 AM

paugust
Hi John,

Are you familiar with the Palatine, Lake Zurich & Wauconda? The PLZ&W met the C&NW at the Palatine Depot, and headed out thru Lake Zurich and ended at Wauconda. Died off in the Depression, but there is still a ROW in certain places.

Paul August




I realize it's been awhile since this was posted but for anybody interested in the Palatine, Lake Zurich & Wauconda, this is the best (and only) book on the subject.

The book tells the line's story in great depth, but it is thinner than I would have liked on the railroad's operations, equipment, and rolling stock.  But I suspect that Mr. Whitney has presented just about all the available information on this short-lived short line.

Dan

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Posted by matt56 on Monday, February 14, 2011 10:48 PM

ac4400fan

 But 2 days ago i took off the plastic cleaned my C&NW AC4400's engines and track, And well she purred like a kitten.

Carl...

Last year I impulse bought Embarrassed an AC4400......I should get around to weathering it one of these days....

Modeling the C&NW in northcentral Wisconsin, late summer 1976

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Posted by ChevelleSSguy on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 6:29 PM

Wow, I cant belive I missed this thread either. I just spent the last hour going through every page of this thread. CNW has been one of my all time favority RRs. I cant stand UP for taking my favorite RR away from me. Not that it would guarantee CNW would have survived on thier own today though. I model BNSF and CNW in current era. So I plan to custom paint Gevos and any modern era equipment in CNW colors so at least they are still alive under my roof. Its fun to try to come up with new paint jobs that never really existed. I plan to do intermodal equipment as well in CNW decorations. I also plan to build a UP1995 unit without any of the UP designations on it. Im thinking it might be a nice current paint scheme for modern CNW units. Ill just change the numbers from 1995 and come up with my own series of numbers for the new SD70Ace units I plan to do. I like the large logo on the sides of the hood instead of the cab.

There appears to be a lot of CNW fans in this thread. Can someone tell me what CNW's "Falcon Service" was a designation for? I have 2 Athearn SD40-2's that have the Falcon Service designation on them. I cant come up with any decent pictures of units with this slogan painted on it. I can only find a few poor pictures. If this is the designation for thier piggyback service which what I can come up with in a search. Ill be continuing that livery with my planned CNW intermodal equipment. Maybe a few Gevo units with Falcon Service on them and perhaps a few container cars with falcon service logos on the sides.

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 8:27 PM

ac4400fan
I Was wondering if theres alot of us out there ,or,far and between,if so we can make this our C&NW Spot...........

Carl Smile" />

Do I qualify?

Born and raised in Chicago, had an American Flyer set with a C&NW Baldwin Diesel as a kid.

The C&NW now dominates my HO layout.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by AltonFan on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 9:42 PM

ChevelleSSguy

There appears to be a lot of CNW fans in this thread. Can someone tell me what CNW's "Falcon Service" was a designation for? I have 2 Athearn SD40-2's that have the Falcon Service designation on them. I cant come up with any decent pictures of units with this slogan painted on it. I can only find a few poor pictures. If this is the designation for thier piggyback service which what I can come up with in a search. Ill be continuing that livery with my planned CNW intermodal equipment. Maybe a few Gevo units with Falcon Service on them and perhaps a few container cars with falcon service logos on the sides.

Falcon Service was a piggyback service the C&NW promoted in the 1970s, and possibly into the early 1980s.  I don't recall ever hearing about Falcon Service in the later 1980s, and seems to have been long gone by the time of the UP merger.

That's about all I know.  You might try contacting the Chicago and North Western Historical Society for further information.  There might have been an article in a back issue of North Western Lines.

Dan

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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Friday, February 25, 2011 1:08 AM

richhotrain

 

 ac4400fan:
I Was wondering if theres alot of us out there ,or,far and between,if so we can make this our C&NW Spot...........

CarlSmile <img src=" />

 

 

 

Do I qualify?

http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv90/richhotrain/DSC02211.jpg

Born and raised in Chicago, had an American Flyer set with a C&NW Baldwin Diesel as a kid.

The C&NW now dominates my HO layout.

Rich

 

No Not at all Rich  I bow to you Bow Nice Layout!

Carl.

GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
  • Member since
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  • From: Arizona. Born And Raised In Chicago ILL.
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Posted by ac4400fan on Friday, February 25, 2011 1:23 AM

I hope This Might shed some light on anything heres a thread i found.

http://www.carrtracks.com/ilcnw76cnw5054.htm

And a od ball picture ive never seen before

 

GO> Chicago NorthWestern.BNSF& Illinios Central, AC4400 ALLTHE WAY! DREAM IT! PLAN IT! BUILD IT! Smile, Wink & Grin
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  • From: Wisconsin
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Posted by MRTerry on Friday, February 25, 2011 8:24 AM

Ouch! - A Crandall-cab E unit! At one point the North Western needed more power for the Chicago commuter trains, so it bought some B units from the UP and added cabs. The result wasn't exactly aesthetically pleasing . . .

Thanks for reading MR,

Terry (a former C&NW employee)

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Posted by GP39 on Saturday, February 26, 2011 10:22 AM

Did this slight modification to a GP50, when Falcon Service was new. This was before the Athearn SE set. Never have gotten around to removing the extra logos....

American Train Video Reviews

Non Profit Train Video Review Information.

        William

  http://wjhudson.wordpress.com

 

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Posted by WEUSANDCORR on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 4:42 AM

 

Any C&NW fans still out there. Long tme since I posted. I've now got a bigger layout modeing the area from Proviso[Berkeley metra] to Rockford via Elgin and Belvidere[Chysler car plant]

 

 

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 5:21 AM

WEUSANDCORR

Any C&NW fans still out there. Long tme since I posted. I've now got a bigger layout modeing the area from Proviso[Berkeley metra] to Rockford via Elgin and Belvidere[Chysler car plant] 

It looks like the OP has been AWOL for over 7 years now. But, the C&NW is still alive and kicking on my layout.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by dknelson on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 10:22 AM

I'm still here and still modeling the C&NW.  Still a member of the C&NW Historical Society too.  What a pity that so many prior posters used a photo hosting site that kicked them out when they didn't pay up.  

Dave Nelson

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 10:47 AM

I bet you can still see a couple of UP patched C&NW dash 9's in their original paint.  I used to see some while working in Pleasant Prairie not long ago.

I've always been a fan of C&NW.  I have a couple of those Athearn BB locos, and one Spectrum.  Might just have to dig'em out.

Mike.

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Neenah, WI
  • 235 posts
Posted by sschnabl on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 1:00 PM

I've been on the forum for about 10 years and never saw this thread.  I have always been a fan of the CNW.  I grew up in Appleton, WI about a block away from the line that went up to Green Bay.  This past month I've dismantled my previous layout and have about half of the basic benchwork up for my N scale 1950's era CNW Madison Division.  I'll be modelling the line between Harvard, IL and Elroy, WI.  Phase I will be Merrimac to Elroy that will encompass one half of the basement.  Phase II will start when my kids are grown and some of the larger toys are thinned out.  That will be in the other half of the basement. 

Scott

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Posted by WEUSANDCORR on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 8:53 PM

https://youtu.be/OmYfW8SqUBE Some video done New years with my tablet of the layout.

Les

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  • From: Shenandoah Valley
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Posted by BigDaddy on Thursday, January 10, 2019 7:32 AM

Les, with a layout like that, we need to teach you how to post pictures in this forum. 

We can't see pictures at anyplace where we need to sign in, that means Google and Facebook don't work.

There is a sticky on how to post photos, like DCC, nothing about it is intuitive, you have to follow the directions.  Briefly that means you have to upload the pics to a site like Flickr or Imgur and figure out which link to use.

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/249194.aspx

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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