Oooh - I know this one: It's on the WEST side of Tama. I remember from bein corrected before.
It is shown on this map, on the west side of town.http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=12&Z=15&X=668&Y=5806&W=1&qs=%7ctama%7c%7c
I knew there were 4 diamonds, but I guess there was actually 6, including the C&NW branch heading north crossing the CMSP&P mainline.
By the late 70s the MILW was single track over the crossings. At one time there was a third railroad, the Tama and Toledo which may have crossed the MILW and paralled the CNW line. I'm not sure of the exact arrangement of the T&T.
Their last engine, which I've been told was used to switch the elevator, is in a park along US 30. Just as you leave Toledo on the west side of town, there is a park with soccer fields north of the highway. You can see the little critter from 30.
Jeff
Jeff,
The Tama and Toledo did not have an interlocker here at the MILW-CNW diamond- although the line was in the immediate vicinity at the location. The T&T originally ran directly north on street trackage starting at the MILW depot on McClellan St in Tama up to Toledo where it terminated on the northeast side of town- after a street tax in 1919 forced the T&T out of the streets of Tama, they rerouted their trackage to a more circuitous route that ran west out of Tama from the MILW depot paralleling the MILW grade on the north side, then at the tower location, the T&T began to parallel the CNW's Tama and Northwestern line up to Toledo where it tied back into the original remnants of the street trackage there in town (around the intersection of Washington and Park Streets). The T&T was abandoned in 1953.
If you look closely enough you can see the ghosts of the parallel grades as they curve north out of Tama and behind the country club- the CNW grade is now a recreational trail between the two towns.
It is also important to note that in 1978 the diamonds were removed at Tama (and Clinton) and replaced with crossover switches to allow MILW access to the CNW main between those points. Tama Tower itself was destroyed in a wreck of a MILW train in February of 1978, the tower was not rebuilt and soon the crossovers were installed replacing the interlocking.
nordique72 wrote: Jeff, The Tama and Toledo did not have an interlocker here at the MILW-CNW diamond- although the line was in the immediate vicinity at the location. The T&T originally ran directly north on street trackage starting at the MILW depot on McClellan St in Tama up to Toledo where it terminated on the northeast side of town- after a street tax in 1919 forced the T&T out of the streets of Tama, they rerouted their trackage to a more circuitous route that ran west out of Tama from the MILW depot paralleling the MILW grade on the north side, then at the tower location, the T&T began to parallel the CNW's Tama and Northwestern line up to Toledo where it tied back into the original remnants of the street trackage there in town (around the intersection of Washington and Park Streets). The T&T was abandoned in 1953. If you look closely enough you can see the ghosts of the parallel grades as they curve north out of Tama and behind the country club- the CNW grade is now a recreational trail between the two towns. It is also important to note that in 1978 the diamonds were removed at Tama (and Clinton) and replaced with crossover switches to allow MILW access to the CNW main between those points. Tama Tower itself was destroyed in a wreck of a MILW train in February of 1978, the tower was not rebuilt and soon the crossovers were installed replacing the interlocking.
Thanks for the info. I'd been told by some of the "old heads" that the remnant of the T&T was still active into the 1970s and had a few tracks down by the elevator that sits at the west end of what was of the C&NW yard at Tama. The elevator was the only customer by then IIRC. The small engine house may still be there. I'd just guessed that it would have crossed the MILW from this info.
I'd been up in the tower a few times in 1976/77 period. Of course being naive and thinking things wouldn't change, I never took any interior pictures, and too few exterior pictures. I remember on one of the visits a westbound MILW freight went thru and the towerman, my father and myself watched from the tower. Looking back that wasn't the best thing to do considereing a MILW train derailed and knocked down the tower not too long afterward.
There is, at least until it is removed after the CTC is turned on, a hand throw crossover that was good for 30mph just a bit west of the west crossing in town. This was the one that allowed MILW trains to go crossover between the mains once they were on the CNW.
Both the CNW and MILW depots are gone. The CNW offered theirs to the city once it was done with it. The city already had the MILW depot and declined the offer. The CNW tore down theirs. After this, someone torched the MILW depot and it ended up being removed also. Some of the interior wood panelling was saved from the CNW depot and is now in the Boone & Scenic Valley depot in Boone, Iowa.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.