Chicago & North Western Railway 1975-1955 Photo Archive Frank Jordan Soft cover

$25.00

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126 Pages

Soft Cover Reflection from the lights on some photos

In April 1995, the Chicago & North Western Railway was absorbed by the Union Pacific Railroad, thus ending a 147-year-old Midwestern railroading tradition. Within days after the C&NW surrendered its independence, its identity and many of the images so long associated with it began to disappear. The C&NW's "Ball and Bar" heraldry and its yellow and green colors were soon smothered by the armour yellow and gray of the UP. The C&NW's trademark first-generation diesel locomotives were quickly retired. Operations at the huge Chicago Proviso Yard, once the largest freight yard in the country, were scaled-back, as its significance had been diminished by that of the UP's massive North Platte, Nebraska facility. Certain branch lines and remote operations, which had become redundant, were put up for sale, while buildings and various landmarks were scheduled for closure and, in some cases, demolition.

The intent of this book is not to bemoan yet another loss of a Class 1 system. Rather, Chicago & North Western Railway 1975 through 1995 Photo Archive celebrates the final 21 years of what was a most diverse and colorful railroad. The Chicago & North Western operated a far-ranging system that sprawled from the coal fields of Wyoming to the busy hub of Chicago, and from the port of Duluth-Superior to St. Louis. The closing decades of the C&NW provided railroading enthusiasts with a chance to witness an exciting variety of motive power. The C&NW, which had purchased some of the first EMD road switchers in the early 1950s, had also helped pioneer AC-traction technology through its purchase of hi-tech General Electric locomotives. Few railroads employed motive power that could rival the sight of first generation EMD GP7s teamed with GE C44-9Ws, as they moved legions of coal, grain, potash, ore, and merchandise trains. (Although this variety of motive power and commodities did reflect the diversity of the C&NW in its waning years, its backbone had become the east-west mainline operation. Running from Fremont, Nebraska to Chicago, it hosted a fleet of piggyback and intermodal traffic and carried bridge traffic that brought the Union Pacific east into Chicago.)

Chicago & North Western Railway 1975 through 1995 Photo Archive provides a taste of what the C&NW was like in its final years of independent operation. As a dominant player in Midwestern Granger railroading, it held a vital and an historic position. Surely, the Chicago & North Western will be missed.

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