Video Fun on the UPRR Geneva Subdivision

[rochsub]

Here's my favorite of the day. For a couple of oeprations videos go to http://genevasub.blogspot.com

[Ian MacMillan]

Very nice Daryl. I like your videos, and one of them helped me in eliminating a duck under on my layout after I had seen how you have trains loop around the staircase wall and then through the stairs.

[Craig Martyn]

Very cool Daryl!

[93cram]

Daryl,

Very nice modern modeling.
Gotta love those meets on double-tracked mainline 
Incidentally, I was doing some research yesterday evening on mainlines through Illinois and found that Rochelle was on the
C&NW double tracked line between Chicago and Omaha, yet with a CB&Q branch crossing.
My understanding is that the Q used the C&NW tracks for some distance to get from one side of the town to the other.
Is that correct ?

Marc 

[rochsub]

Daryl,

Very nice modern modeling.
Gotta love those meets on double-tracked mainline 
Incidentally, I was doing some research yesterday evening on mainlines through Illinois and found that Rochelle was on the
C&NW double tracked line between Chicago and Omaha, yet with a CB&Q branch crossing.
My understanding is that the Q used the C&NW tracks for some distance to get from one side of the town to the other.
Is that correct ?

Marc 

Could be correct.  There is a branch line that connects with the BNSF on the northwest side of town that runs up to Rockford.  It is still in use today.  Can't think of the name of the branchline.

Daryl

[93cram]

Thx Daryl,

This what a 1958 map show for RR lines that went through Rochelle :



Things were definitely more complex that I was believing
 :-[

[93cram]

Daryl,

Hope you don't mind a small follow up concerning 'ol days' Rochelle 
The Q track through the town was inherited from the Chicago & Iowa, a company absorbed by the Q in the late 1800's.
This line was part of the Q mainline to and from the Twin Cities, no less !
Thus, beside a fair number of freight trains, various famed named trains passed by :
- The Twin Cities Zephyr
- The Blackhawk

and, hold your breath...

- The Empire builder
- The north Coast Limited
- The Mainstreeter
- The Western Star

Not bad, considering the MILW traffic which I don't know about...and the C&NW mainline to Omaha of course.
Rochelle had been a busy place for some time, for sure ! 

Still don't want to model transition era ?  ;D

Marc

[rochsub]

What's the CMSP&P?  From the map it looks like the CB&Q used the CMSP&P from flag center to Steward or vice versa, not the CNW.

Today, the CMSP&P rails are still in use north of Flag Center, but I don't think south of Steward.

I think I stay with modern for now.

Daryl

[93cram]

Daryl,

The CMStP&P (MILW) and CB&Q indeed shared trackage through Rochelle as well as a bit NW and SE of the town, yet I don't know
on which agreement.
May be they both built parallel single tracks through the town and agreed to use these as a double track between respective junctions ?
This was a pretty frequent arrangement back then from what I've gathered so far.

The 1958 map shows the double track South of Rochelle as property of the MILW, then CB&Q's North, but since both roads
had single track South of Steward and North of Flag, I'd doubt the double track was 'purely' MILW built.
An alternative explanation could be that those roads agreed to share double track maintenance cost likewise :
South of Rochelle to the MILW, North to the Q.
I could be entirely wrong of course  :-[

As a matter of fact, the Q had no particular business with the CNW in town, apart from crossing it  ;D despite
what I had previously thought.

Marc

[pedro]

For clarity, the CB&Q owned all trackage through Rochelle from Steward to Flag Center, including the Rockford Branch from Flag to Rockford. The Milwaukee had trackage rights on the Q from Steward to Flag and from Flag to Rockford. Nowadays the Rockford Branch is owned and operated by Illinois Railnet. The Milwaukee branch south of Steward (to Mendota) is long abandoned. Incidentally, Steward to Flag on the CB&Q was one of the first (1929) installations of CTC in the U.S.

As for Q/C&NW interaction at Rochelle, there were some reciprocal switching agreements with Del Monte over the years, with the Q and C&NW "taking turns" year to year switching the main Del Monte plant. This continued for some time into BNSF/UP. There was and is a small yard at Del Monte that both the Q and C&NW could access to pick up and drop off cars for Del Monte or general interchange. There was also an interchange track (now removed) on the north side of the diamond that was used during the `93 flood for detours between the BN and C&NW.
 
Daryl, love the layout, but I think you should at least entertain the idea of a "throwback" op session with C&NW and Q trains. You could even stay modern circa-1993 or 94 with C&NW and BN. Plenty of area modelers could bring stuff to run, and a lot of your coal trains could stand in for the early `90s era. Just a thought I have every time I see your progress reports, as the modern UP leaves me a little cold!

Looking forward to seeing you tackle the bridge at Clinton.

Pete D.

[93cram]

Thx Pete, now that's clarification, at least for me 
The 1958 map had it wrong with regards to MILW trackage ownership as it seems  ???

Marc

[SD70ACe]

Beautiful video! I love the scenery. It also makes me want to go out and get a pair of SD90s.

[wcfn100]

As for Q/C&NW interaction at Rochelle, there were some reciprocal switching agreements with Del Monte over the years, with the Q and C&NW "taking turns" year to year switching the main Del Monte plant.

To be clear, reciprocal switching, and "taking turns" are two different things.


Jason