Iowa's Counties

[nanaimo73]

Murph-
I get really tired of working on these after two or three weeks. I can't imagine spending two or three years on a book.

Perhaps Brian is adding that scenery via Photoshop ?[(-D]

[Murphy Siding]

From what I see in Brian's pics, Cedar Rapids has a lot more scenerey. Our landscape consists of bean and corn, corn and beans.[xx(]

[nanaimo73]

QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel

The April 1986 Iowa issue of Trains has a picture by Thomas E Hoffmann taken in 1979 very similar to that but with the gantlet bridge. I guess the CRI&P bridge was still in use then. I wonder if IANR could have made a go of the rest of the line to Burlington ?

Your other shot is one of those artsy-fartsy glint shots that some people love.

Cedar Rapids and Sioux Falls seem to be a bit similar to me. Cedar Rapids had C&NW, CMSP&P, CRI&P and IC (and CR&IC) while Sioux Falls had C&NW (CSPM&O), CMSP&P, CRI&P, IC and GN.

[blhanel]

QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel

Great minds think alike! They've beaten you to it. Took awhile, though- for many years, whomever had title to the abandoned RI bridge (I think it was CRANDIC?) blocked all attempts by UP to remove it so they could double-track the Cedar River crossing. They called it a "historic structure". Finally, IIRC, the city took over the property, and now we do have an excellent paved trail that ties into the trail system, including the 50-some-mile Cedar Valley Trail that runs from CR to Waterloo. This stretch follows the old RI ROW from downtown to Highway 30. Unfortunately, due to the mesh used on the pedestrian overpass and the proliferation of power poles/power lines paralleling the ROW, picture-taking from the ped bridge is not that great. I do have a few shots from there that I've neglected to get uploaded to rrpicturearchives- maybe tonight.

Found those shots and uploaded them- I may reconsider my choice of favorite photo spot. I hadn't realized that the east-facing shots were this good!



But, as you can see, the westward view leaves lots to be desired-

[Murphy Siding]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nanaimo73

QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel

I take it you're retired, hence your ability to spend lots of time on this?

Nah, I'll retire in 15 or 20 years. I work afternoons so I do this in the mornings. I have not railfanned since my camera got stolen several years ago, I have not started modeling yet, and golf costs to much in my view.

When you retire,write books! Remeber, you heard it here first.[;)]

[blhanel]

QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel


The split to the right on that map is an ancient alignment that had all but disappeared even before I came to town, but I remember seeing some evidence of it running through town back then, as well as mention of it in Marion's historical accounts. I'm not sure why- another topic to research.

Was just checking a couple of books I have on the history of Marion- looks like that right-hand branch is the original ROW established by the Dubuque, Southwestern Railway when it was built through Marion to CR in 1865. LOL- the account says this RR soon acquired the name, taken from its initials, of "D***ed Slow Way of Riding".

[nanaimo73]

QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel

I take it you're retired, hence your ability to spend lots of time on this?

Nah, I'll retire in 15 or 20 years. I work afternoons so I do this in the mornings. I have not railfanned since my camera got stolen several years ago, I have not started modeling yet, and golf costs to much in my view.

[blhanel]

That I couldn't tell you. I seldom get down to IAIS territory to watch them. If you've browsed the rest of my picture collection, then you've seen all of the pictures from all of my visits to the line.

I take it you're retired, hence your ability to spend lots of time on this?

[nanaimo73]

You have a pretty interesting city for railfanning. All you need are some Chinese steam locomotives.
Do any of the 4 LLPX ex Reserve Mining SD38-2 show up on the IAIS coal trains ?

 

[blhanel]

Great minds think alike! They've beaten you to it. Took awhile, though- for many years, whomever had title to the abandoned RI bridge (I think it was CRANDIC?) blocked all attempts by UP to remove it so they could double-track the Cedar River crossing. They called it a "historic structure". Finally, IIRC, the city took over the property, and now we do have an excellent paved trail that ties into the trail system, including the 50-some-mile Cedar Valley Trail that runs from CR to Waterloo. This stretch follows the old RI ROW from downtown to Highway 30. Unfortunately, due to the mesh used on the pedestrian overpass and the proliferation of power poles/power lines paralleling the ROW, picture-taking from the ped bridge is not that great. I do have a few shots from there that I've neglected to get uploaded to rrpicturearchives- maybe tonight.

[nanaimo73]

QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel

If you're referring to the spur that curls north from the right edge, that's still there- not used for much, other than to park an occasional low-priority UP train on, such as this one.

It's my understanding that all of the C&NW passenger trains used that line, so they must have had their station closer to downtown. The Kate Shelly 400 last served your city in October 1957, so that's a passenger spur without passenger trains for almost 50 years. I wonder if Amtrak had started that Chicago-Seattle Pioneer passenger/fast freight train a few years ago where it would have stopped.

QUOTE: That little parking lot on the right center edge of the terraserver picture, just west of the interlocking, is my favorite railfan hangout. Alot of my UP shots are taken from there.

Perhaps they could put a hiking-biking trail on the former Rock Island line on the west side of the river with a bridge over the tracks. That would be a great place for photos.

[blhanel]

If you're referring to the spur that curls north from the right edge, that's still there- not used for much, other than to park an occasional low-priority UP train on, such as this one.


A few years back UP used it as a detour while they did some work on the Cedar River bridge (used to be a single-track bottleneck, they stretched the piers and added a second track); they ran a few trains up through downtown CR and back down to Beverly. Talk about a royal pain in the ***. Currently nearly all of the local interchange is run through the Beverly side, and the furthest anything comes down from town is the Cargill plant just around the next bend upstream.

That little parking lot on the right center edge of the terraserver picture, just west of the interlocking, is my favorite railfan hangout. Alot of my UP shots are taken from there.

[nanaimo73]

Trains says ICG bought the Marion-Cedar Rapids line, but I guess they only had it for a couple of years.

How much of the C&NW passenger beltline survives ? It started just east of the former gantlet bridge over the River.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=12&Z=15&X=766&Y=5805&W=1&qs=%7ccedar+rapids%7c%7c  

http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.947362,-91.634431&spn=0.00849,0.018969&t=k&om=0

[blhanel]

Unfortunately, I didn't move down here from Minnesota until '74, so I missed seeing any passenger service. My wife, though, who is Cedar Rapids born-and-raised, has taken the train from Marion to Chicago and back on at least one occasion.

The split to the right on that map is an ancient alignment that had all but disappeared even before I came to town, but I remember seeing some evidence of it running through town back then, as well as mention of it in Marion's historical accounts. I'm not sure why- another topic to research.

[nanaimo73]

Did you see any yellow FP45s pulling the "City of Everywhere" through Marion during 1971 ? I would guess they would have stopped there.

This map shows one line from CR heading north and then splitting half way to Marion.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=15&Z=15&X=95&Y=726&W=1&qs=%7ccedar+rapids%7c%7c  
The Milwaukee Road reached Kansas City through Marion in 1887, and then the Sabula-Muscatine-Ottumwa line opened in 1903.

[blhanel]

You got it! The big white building is a cardboard box manufacturer, and the spur just west of Rockwell Drive is a cement distributor (Holcim). My desk is very close, if not exactly at, the point where the right margin of the picture crosses the center of the large building on the right. That's the Rockwell Collins north complex.

The old MILW main used to continue straight west, crossing the CN line (and another old abandoned ROW) on an overpass. CN is barely visible next to the I-380 (AKA 27) interstate. The construction of the interstate, along with the western extension of Collins Road, wiped out the last vestiges of the MILW line to the west.

EDIT: Started from your link, zoomed in and scanned left- you can still see the old ROW west of where Collins Road currently ends (there's currently a local battle going on to extend it west and then south to Highway 30), and the piers in the Cedar River where the MILW crossed it. Back in my single days, I used to live in the trailer court just north of what is now the west end of the new Collins Road, and frequently walked along the tracks, sometimes as far as that bridge. I think I even have slides showing trains crossing it. If I get a chance, I'll do some digging and slide scanning!

Another fond memory- when I started at Collins back in '74, the Milwaukee Road was still a crack line, and it was a regular occurance to see a fast freight fly across that Blairs Ferry crossing doing 40 or 50 MPH.

[nanaimo73]

Nice pics !
So CN would have about 1 mile of the Milwaukee road left, all of it in this view ?
http://maps.google.com/?ll=42.033771,-91.660781&spn=0.016958,0.037937&t=h&om=0  

It looks like 2 customers, the big white building in the center of the aerial and a spur just west of Rockwell Drive.

That should be all that's left of the CMSP&P Omaha line between Sabula beside the Mississippi and the end of the BNSF line at Bayard.

[blhanel]

Here's a pictorial answer to that one- a scene from downtown Marion, shot a month ago.



What's left of the MILW main now ends just short of Blairs Ferry Road in NE Cedar Rapids, right in front of where I work.

[nanaimo73]

Does CN still use part of the Milwaukee Road mainline to serve any customers in Marion ?

[blhanel]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nanaimo73

I believe the CR&MC had their own line to Marion, beside that IC line on this link along the west side of Indian Creek.
.http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=14&Z=15&X=192&Y=1453&W=1&qs=%7cmarion%7c%7c

Now that I think about it, I believe you're right. The MILW spur didn't veer off the main east-west line until it was several hundred yards west of Indian Creek, and the main crossed Indian Creek north of Marion Boulevard. The pictures on the club's website show the interurban line as paralleling Marion Boulevard on the south side where it crossed Indian Creek, as far as I can tell from looking at them, anyway. They sure look like they're shots of the same bridge from opposite sides, and the lay of the road is nearly identical to today's Marion Boulevard. The location of the interurban would then be the wrong side relative to the MILW. I'll have to ask the old hats and the history buffs at the club next time I make it to a meeting.

[nanaimo73]

Thanks for the link Brian.
I think you would enjoy the Iowa issue if you could get it. Perhaps some day you'll see it for sale at a model train show or something.
I believe the CR&MC had their own line to Marion, beside that IC line on this link along the west side of Indian Creek.
 http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=14&Z=15&X=192&Y=1453&W=1&qs=%7cmarion%7c%7c

[blhanel]

Finally remembered to check- the oldest issue of Trains in my stash is March of 93.

Oh, and here's the local railfan site-
http://hometown.aol.com/cedarrapidsrail/CRARA.html

[blhanel]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nanaimo73

Hey Brian. I was wondering if I could fini***his before you found it.
I should be done Arpil 25th.
Do you have the April 1986 Trains ? 20 years later and it is still one of the best.
I decided the CR&MC was a streetcar line and left it off.
http://www.cedar-rapids.org/documents/cr&mc_carbarn.pdf

I'm not sure, but I don't think my stash goes back that far. I will check when I get home tonight. As far as the CR&MC is concerned, yep, it was just a streetcar operation, but I think it ran on the same line as the MILW spur between Marion and CR. Our local railfan club has photos of the streetcars as their banner shots.

[MP173]

I talked to the Iowa DOT map guy...Craig O'Reilly today and thanked him for the great detail on the map.

He said the class 1's are required to provide the info to him and the smaller lines must fill out an annual report including density.

I thought the Iowa map was great til I caught site of the Georgia stuff. WOW.

ed

[MP173]

Dale:

I talked to the map guy at Iowa DOT...Craig O'Reily today. Quite a map. I asked him about the data and how they got it. He indicated the class 1's are required in Iowa to submit the data on their routes. They either do this on a line by line segment or they give him the system data (sure would like to get that info, but he didnt bite when I asked about "public system data").

I am piecing together info, as I get it, unfortunately two of the Trains issues you referenced are not in my office. Hmmm.

ed

[nanaimo73]

Hey Brian. I was wondering if I could finish  this before you found it.
I should be done Arpil 25th.
Do you have the April 1986 Trains ? 20 years later and it is still one of the best.
I decided the CR&MC was a streetcar line and left it off.
http://www.cedar-rapids.org/documents/cr&mc_carbarn.pdf  

Ed-
The only other tonnage map I have seen on line is Georgia. Some day I'm going to search for them.
http://www.dot.state.ga.us/DOT/plan-prog/intermodal/rail/railmaps.shtml

[blhanel]

HOLY SH**!!! Looks like I need to visit this side of the forum more often!

Dale, you really need to get a life.[:D]

Seriously, wow, excellent breakdown.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP173

Oh come on Dale...do Illinois!

You have conquered the Mississippi River, Iowa, Amtrak routings...what is next?

I am in Chicago probably 3x a week and it is truly an amazing railroad center.

Paul, I would tend to agree that Clearing may be the center of the universe for railroading, at least in North America. I always enjoy driving on Cicero Avenue. Also, there is an interesting place south of the yard in the Industrial park where you can sit in your car (not trespassing) and watch the hump.

Has Clearing remained as busy as always, or has it slowed down with the mergers, etc?

ed

In the early 1990's, Clearing had all but shut down, but has since recovered quite nicely. There was a lead-off news article in TRAINS about how BRC managed to pull off this recovery. The C424's and cow-calf sets are long gone, but I still sneak a peek regularly from near the Wal-Mart when I'm running errands. The SD40-slug sets on the hump are a good replacement for the cow-calf sets.
There are several legal spots around the fringes that I check out depending on where I'm going and how much time I have available. There is a public road along the north edge of the west departure yard that I check periodically and the grade crossing at 65th and Harlem is also pretty good.

[MP173]

Dale:

One more thing...I am a traffic density geek. Like to know how much is on rail lines and I have looked at the Iowa map and also the rrpictures site.

Do you have any other web sources for tonnage? I believe you responded on my traffic density thread with Trains issues, but was just wondering if you found anything else.

Thanks.

ed

[nanaimo73]

I don't even think I could do the Calumet area of Chicago, with CRL, CSL, LSBC, ect.
The Peru area is / was almost as bad.
LSBC was one mysterious railroad, and not only with boxcars.