CHICAGO & NORTH WESTERN RAILROAD LANTERN ADAMS & WESTLAKE COMPANY C&NWRy 1895

Description

CHICAGO & NORTH WESTERN RAILROAD
"NORTH WESTERN"
This Vintage piece of Railroad History, made by
THE ADAMS AND WESTLAKE COMPANY
for the
CHICAGO & NORTH WESTERN RAILROAD
. This lantern is marked
THE ADAMS AND WESTLAKE COMPANY CHICAGO NEW YORK C.& N.W.Ry.
PATENTED MAY 28, 1895 last date MAY 5, 1901. The brass burner is marked
P&A MFG CO. WATERBURY, CONN. MADE IN U.S.A.
and is in good working condition. The Corning clear glass globe is embossed
C.& N.W.R.y. Cnx E
NO cracks some tiny flea chips around rims. Please view photos and Email with questions. Thanks for looking.
CHICAGO & NORTH WESTERN RAILROAD
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Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
Map of the C&NW. Black lines are tracks now owned by
Union Pacific Railroad
; green lines are tracks now owned and operated
Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad
; blue lines are now owned by other railroads; dotted lines are abandoned.
Reporting mark
CNW
Locale
Illinois
,
Iowa
,
Kansas
,
Michigan
,
Minnesota
,
Missouri
,
Nebraska
,
North Dakota
,
South Dakota
,
Wisconsin
, and
Wyoming
Dates of operation
1859?1995
Successor
Union Pacific Railroad
Track gauge
4 ft
8
1
?
2
in
(
1,435 mm
)
standard gauge
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
The
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
(
reporting mark
CNW
) was a
Class I railroad
in the
Midwestern United States
. It was also known as the
North Western
. The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before
retrenchment
in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the
Chicago and North Western Railway
(or
Chicago and North Western Railway Company
).
The C&NW became one of the longest railroads in the United States as a result of mergers with other railroads, such as the
Chicago Great Western Railway
,
Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
and others. By 1995, track sales and abandonment had reduced the total mileage to about 5,000. The majority of the abandoned and sold lines were lightly trafficked branches in
Iowa
,
Illinois
,
Minnesota
,
South Dakota
and
Wisconsin
. Large line sales, such as those that resulted in the
Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad
, further helped reduce the railroad to a mainline core with several regional feeders and branches.
[1]
Union Pacific
(UP) purchased the company in April 1995 and integrated it with its own operation.
Contents
1
History
1.1
1859 to 1968
1.2
1968 to 1984
1.3
1985 to 1995
1.4
Post C&NW
1.5
CN&W Tables
2
Passenger train service
3
Additional notes
3.1
Operations
3.2
Logo
3.3
Reused rolling stock
3.4
Rail trails
4
Notable employees
5
Chicago and North Western Historical Society
6
See also
7
Footnotes
8
References
9
External links
History
[
edit
]
1859 to 1968
[
edit
]
Chicago and North Western's
Wells Street Station
, ca. 1900
The old
Chicago and North Western Terminal
ca. 1912, soon after its completion
The office building for the railroad in Chicago circa 1908
The Chicago and North Western Railway was chartered on June 7, 1859, five days after it purchased the assets of the bankrupt Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad. On February 15, 1865, it officially merged with the
Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
, which had been chartered on January 16, 1836. Since the Galena & Chicago Union started operating in December 1848, and the Fond du Lac railroad started in March 1855, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad is considered to be the origin of the North Western railroad system. The
Winona and St. Peter Railroad
was added to the network in 1867.
After nine years in bankruptcy, the C. & N. W. was reorganized in 1944. It had turned rapidly to diesel power, established a huge diesel shop in Chicago. Its Proviso Freight Yard, 12 miles (19 km) west of the city center in suburban Cook County was constructed between 1926 and 1929 and remained the largest such in the world, with 224 miles of trackage and a capacity of more than 20,000 cars. Potatoes from the west were a main crop loading of the C. & N. W., and its potato sheds in Chicago were the nation's largest. It also carried western sugar beets and huge amounts of corn and wheat. This road, like other lines depending heavily on crop movements, was adversely affected by government agricultural credit policies which sealed a lot of products on the farms where they were produced. Although it stood sixteenth in operating revenue in 1938, it was eighth in passenger revenue among American railroads. It served Chicago commuters; its
400
streamliners provided intercity transportation, and it provided an eastern link to bring the Union Pacific's passengers from Omaha and points west to Chicago.
[2]
The North Western had owned a majority of the stock of the
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway
(Omaha Road) since 1882. On January 1, 1957, it leased the company, and merged it into the North Western in 1972. The Omaha Road's main line extended from an interchange with the North Western at
Elroy, Wisconsin
, to the Twin Cities, south to
Sioux City, Iowa
, and then finally to
Omaha, Nebraska
.
C&NW Streamliners, 1942
C&NW caboose at Proviso yard, Chicago, April 1943
C&NW railway station in
Escanaba, Michigan
, 1953
The North Western acquired several important short railroads during its later years. It finalized acquisition of the
Litchfield and Madison Railway
on January 1, 1958. The Litchfield and Madison railroad was a 44-mile (71 km) bridge road from
East St. Louis
to
Litchfield, Illinois
. On July 30, 1968, the North Western acquired two former interurbans ? the 36-mile (58 km)
Des Moines and Central Iowa Railway
(DM&CI), and the 110-mile (180 km)
Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railway
(FDDM&S). The DM&CI gave access to the Firestone plant in
Des Moines, Iowa
, and the FDDM&S provided access to gypsum mills in
Fort Dodge, Iowa
.
On November 1, 1960, the North Western acquired the rail properties of the 1,500-mile (2,400 km)
Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway
. In spite of its name, it ran only from
Minneapolis, Minnesota
, to
Peoria, Illinois
. This acquisition provided traffic and modern rolling stock, and eliminated competition.
1968 to 1984
[
edit
]
On July 1, 1968, the 1,500 mi (2,400 km)
Chicago Great Western Railway
merged with the North Western. This railroad extended between Chicago and
Oelwein, Iowa
. From there lines went to the Twin Cities, Omaha, Nebraska, and
Kansas City, Missouri
. A connection from
Hayfield, Minnesota
, to
Clarion, Iowa
, provided a Twin Cities to Omaha main line. The Chicago Great Western duplicated the North Western's routes from Chicago to the Twin Cities and Omaha, but went the long way. This merger provided access to Kansas City and further eliminated competition. After abandoning a plan to merge with the
Milwaukee Road
in 1970,
Benjamin W. Heineman
, who headed the CNW and parent Northwest Industries since 1956, arranged the sale of the railroad to its employees in 1972; they formed Northwest Industries to take over the CNW in 1968.
[3]
The words "
Employee Owned
" were part of the company logo in the ensuing period. The railroad was renamed from Chicago and North Western Railway to
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
. The railroad's reporting marks (CNW) remained the same.
C&NW#8540 at
Shawnee, Wyoming
After the
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
(Rock Island) ceased operating on March 31, 1980, the North Western won a bidding war with the
Soo Line Railroad
to purchase the roughly 600-mile (970 km) "
Spine Line
" between the Twin Cities and Kansas City, Missouri, via
Des Moines, Iowa
. The
Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC) approved North Western's bid of million on June 20, 1983. The line was well-engineered, but because of deferred maintenance on the part of the bankrupt Rock Island, it required a major rehabilitation in 1984. The company then began to abandon the Oelwein to Kansas City section of its former Chicago Great Western trackage, which duplicated Spine Line service.
1985 to 1995
[
edit
]
In 1985, the
CNW Corporation
was formed to take over the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company; the employee-owned stock of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was transferred to the new CNW Corporation.
In 1988, the
Blackstone Capital Partners, L.P.
formed the
Chicago and North Western Acquisition Corporation
to purchase the CNW Corporation; the CNW Corporation was acquired by Blackstone Capital Partners under the Chicago and North Western Acquisition Corporation subsidiary from the employee owned stock; Blackstone Capital Partners now controls the CNW Corporation and the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company under the Chicago and North Western Acquisition Corporation subsidiary.
Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation
(or "CNW Holdings Corporation" and "Chicago and North Western Holdings Company") was formed and took control of the Chicago and North Western Acquisition Corporation which controlled the CNW Corporation and which the CNW Corporation controlled the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company.
[3]
The Chicago and North Western corporate structure under the Blackstone ownership:
[4]
Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation
Chicago and North Western Acquisition Corporation
CNW Corporation
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (formerly Chicago and North Western Railway)
In February 1994, the Chicago and North Western Acquisition Corporation and the CNW Corporation merged into the Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation, leaving only the Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation and the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company. In May 1994, the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company reverted to its original name,
Chicago and North Western Railway
and the Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation was renamed to the second
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
.
[5]
The Chicago and North Western corporate structure now follows:
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (formerly Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation)
Chicago and North Western Railway (formerly Chicago and North Western Transportation Company)
In April 1995, the
Union Pacific Corporation
acquired the former Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation (the second Chicago and North Western Transportation Company) under subsidiary
UP Rail
(or UP Rail, Inc.), Union Pacific now controls the former Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation (now the second Chicago and North Western Transportation Company) and the Chicago and North Western Railway (formerly the first Chicago and North Western Transportation Company) under UP Rail subsidiary.
[6]
[5]
The Chicago and North Western corporate structure under Union Pacific ownership:
UP Rail (or UP Rail, Inc.)
Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (formerly Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation)
Chicago and North Western Railway (formerly Chicago and North Western Transportation Company)
The Union Pacific Corporation merged UP Rail into the
Union Pacific Railroad
and then merged the second Chicago and North Western Transportation Company and the Chicago and North Western Railway into the Union Pacific Railroad, the Chicago and North Western system is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad system.
[7]
A joint UP-CNW subsidiary,
Western Railroad Properties, Inc.
, was also merged into the Union Pacific system in the acquisition.
Post C&NW
[
edit
]
UP Heritage Unit#1995
and the two C&NW Dash 9s lead a train through
Rochelle Railroad Park
Steam locomotives
of the Chicago & North Western Railway in the
roundhouse
at the Chicago rail yards (December 1942)
Chicago and North Western locomotives continued to operate in their own paint schemes for several years after the acquisition (although some of them were gradually repainted into UP colors.) Many former C&NW units have received "patches" with a new road number and reporting mark to match their new owner's roster. Approximately 40 "patched" units remain on the Union Pacific and several others work under different owners. However, it is still possible to find untouched C&NW units in service. For instance CNW 1518, CNW 411, CNW 414 (METX 308), and CNW 6847 are preserved at the
Illinois Railway Museum
, CNW 4153 now works at a
grain elevator
in
Fremont, Nebraska
, and several other GP7s, GP9s, and a few other C&NW locomotives are owned by various regional railroads, short lines, or industries.
Union Pacific continues to follow its new tradition of releasing "Heritage"
EMD SD70ACe
units to represent the paint schemes of companies absorbed by UP. After completion of painting at the
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
's Horicon, Wisconsin shop,
UP 1995
, painted in a "Heritage" C&NW paint scheme, was unveiled on July 15, 2006, at
North Western Station
in Chicago, Illinois. North Western Station now serves as UP's
Metra
terminus (although the station is officially designated the
Ogilvie Transportation Center
, many locals still refer to the station as the "North Western Station", or as the employees still refer to it, "CPT" - Chicago Passenger Terminal).
CN&W Tables
[
edit
]
Revenue Freight Ton-Miles (Millions)
C&NW + CStPM&O
CGW
M&StL
L&M
1925
9866
1967
1217
28
1933
5641
1430
645
38
1944
13609
3104
1503
89
1960
12225
2474
1181 (merged C&NW 1960)
(merged C&NW)
1970
19729
(merged)
Route miles operated at end of year
C&NW
CStPM&O
CGW
M&StL
L&M
1925
8469
1842
1496
1628
44
1956
7787
1616
1470
1397
44
1970
11046
1981
8256
Passenger train service
[
edit
]
Passenger terminal, Chicago and North Western Railway, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1911-1914
Advertisement for C&NWRY passenger service, 1898
This section
may be
confusing or unclear
to readers
. In particular, the following section contains false or inaccurate dates. Rapid City-Pierre line not built until 1905-1907. Colony Line was not built yet.
Please help us
clarify the section
. There might be a discussion about this on
the talk page
.
(
May 2018
)
(
Learn how and when to remove this template message
)
The CNW's most famous train, the
Twin Cities 400
from Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul, was introduced in 1935 to compete with the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
's
Zephyr
s and the Milwaukee Road's
Hiawatha
s. This train was named so, because it traveled the 400 mi (640 km) between the cities in 400 minutes. CNW was the first system to start a high-speed Chicago-Twin Cities schedule because it used refurbished instead of new equipment, but in 1939, modernized the
400
with new
E3A
diesel locomotive pairs and streamlined cars. Other named trains the CNW operated included the
Ashland Limited
,
Duluth-Superior Limited
, and the
North Western Limited
[8]
CNW eventually renamed the first
400
to the
Twin Cities 400
as the CNW labeled almost all of its passenger trains with variations of the
400
moniker, including the
Flambeau 400
,
Rochester 400
,
Valley "400"
,
Shoreland "400"
,
Dakota 400
and the
Kate Shelley 400
.
[9]
CNW ceased running the
Twin Cities 400
in 1963, and all intercity passenger service on CNW ended with the formation of
Amtrak
in 1971.
Amtrak
bought a dozen of C&NW's bilevel railcars and painted them into
Phase III
paint. They are not in use today.
In conjunction with Union Pacific and
Southern Pacific
, the North Western operated some long distance
passenger trains
, including the
Overland Limited
,
City of Los Angeles
,
City of San Francisco
,
City of Denver
, and the
Challenger
. These services lasted from 1889 to 1955, after which the CNW route to Chicago was changed to the Milwaukee Road's on account of poor track conditions.
A C&NW commuter train at Oak Park, 1968
A cab car leads an inbound
Northwest Line
train through
Irving Park
. Most commuter rail lines in Chicago, including today's
Metra
, used cars of this design.
Chicago and North Western also operated commuter train service in the Chicago area, where they developed what was perhaps the first
control car
. A modified
gallery car
was built in 1960 with locomotive controls to allow push-pull operation. Today, it is preserved at the
Illinois Railway Museum
.
[10]
The C&NW also pioneered the concept of Head End Power (HEP), generating 480 volt electricity from the locomotive to power the air conditioning, lighting, and heating on the new bi-level cars. This eventually became the standard for all railroads in the United States.
Three commuter lines radiated from North Western Station; the
C&NW West Line
to
Geneva, Illinois
; the
C&NW Northwest Line
to
Harvard
, Illinois; and the
C&NW North Line
to
Kenosha, Wisconsin
. All three are still operated by
Metra
. At Crystal Lake Junction, some trains branched off to Williams Bay and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The West Line also had branches to Aurora, Freeport, and Crystal Lake. A fourth commuter line operated on the
KD Line
between Kenosha and Harvard until 1939.
In 1974, responsibility for the commuter lines and equipment ownership transferred to the newly formed
Regional Transportation Authority
, later branded in 1983 as Metra. A "purchase of service" contract was signed with the C&NW, by which the railroad would be paid to maintain the line and operate trains on behalf of Metra. This arrangement continues with the Union Pacific today.
All three C&NW commuter lines live on in the Metra system, with the Geneva line having been extended west to
Elburn
; however, service on the branch to Williams Bay was gradually cut back over the years, also resulting in changes to the name of the branch. In 1965, service was abandoned between Williams Bay and Lake Geneva. In 1975, service ended between Lake Geneva and Richmond. In 1981, service between McHenry and Richmond ended. Rails and ties north of the Cargill plant in Ringwood were removed during the 1980s, and the right of way converted to a trail.
Additional notes
[
edit
]
Operations
[
edit
]
A set of WRRS Center Harp shortie wigwag signals commonly seen on the C&NW during the 20th Century.
The CNW was known for running
on the left-hand side
when running on double track mainlines. In the United States, most railroads used the right-hand track along double-track mainlines, while left-hand running was more common in countries where British companies built the railroads. According to a display in the
Lake Forest station
, the reason for this was a combination of chance and inertia. When originally built as single-line trackage, the C&NW arbitrarily placed its stations on the left-hand side of the tracks (when headed inbound toward Chicago). Later, when a second track was added, it was placed on the side away from the stations so as not to force them to relocate. Since most passengers waiting at the stations were headed toward Chicago, the inbound track remained the one closest to the station platforms. The expense of reconfiguring signals and switches has prevented a conversion to right-hand operation ever since.
The Chicago and North Western was known for its installation of Western Railroad Supply Company
wigwag
signals at many of its crossing in the 1920?1940s. Almost every town on their route had at least the main crossing in town protected by them. The most common style were the Center Harp shorties. They were almost iconic to the CNW. Many of them, which were grandfathered in after the
Federal Railroad Administration
ruled them inadequate protection in 1949, survived until the 1970s and a few remain on lines in Wisconsin that have been sold off to other railroads. Lack of available parts and upgrades to roads have replaced all but a few of them.
The Wood Street "potato yard" in 1959 with boxcars filled with potatoes.
The railroad operated what was once the largest "potato yard" or potato market, at its Chicago Wood Street yards. Potatoes came to the yard from every point in the United States to be bought or traded by produce dealers and brokers. While the facility came to be known as the "potato yard", it was also a site where other vegetables could be bought, sold or traded.
[11]
[12]
Logo
[
edit
]
In 1891, the CNW adopted the famous "ball and bar" logo, which survived a few modifications throughout its 104-year existence. This included the changing of text:
The North Western Line (1891-1902)
Chicago & North Western Line (1902-1944)
Chicago & North Western System (1944-1957)
Chicago & North Western Railway (1957-1971)
North Western: Employee Owned (1971-1982)
Chicago & North Western System (1982-1995)
Reused rolling stock
[
edit
]
The railroad also purchased a great deal of its equipment second-hand. CNW shop forces economized wherever possible, earning the railroad the nickname "Cheap and Nothing Wasted." Sometimes employees referred to the condition of equipment as "Cardboard and No Wheels."
Rail trails
[
edit
]
The
Cowboy Trail
is a
rail trail
that follows the abandoned CNW line between
Chadron, Nebraska
and
Norfolk, Nebraska
. When completed, it will be 321 miles in length.
The
Sangamon Valley Trail
is another rail trail, currently 5.5-mile (8.9 km) in length, on the west side of
Sangamon County
in
Illinois
, which skirts
Springfield, Illinois
. It is a segment of a former
St. Louis, Peoria and North Western Railway
38-mile (61.2 km) right-of-way (which was later folded into the CNW) that has been set aside for rail trail use. The entire right-of-way connects
Girard, Illinois
, on the south end, to
Athens, Illinois
, at the north end. The right-of-way spans the western half of Sangamon County in a north-south direction, and also traverses small sections of
Macoupin County
and
Menard County
.
Notable employees
[
edit
]
Silas B. Cobb
,
Chicago
industrialist and philanthropist, former member of C & NW board of directors.
Clarence Darrow
, noted attorney and a former Chief Counsel for the C & NW.
Albert Hammond
, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
Fred H. Hildebrandt
, U.S. Congressman from South Dakota
Charles Ingalls
,
De Smet
, South Dakota (1879?1880); father of
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Carl Ingold Jacobson
,
Los Angeles
, California; City Council member, 1925?1933.
William B. Ogden
, the first mayor of Chicago and the first President of the C & NW.
Merritt Clarke Ring
,
Neillsville, Wisconsin
; lawyer and politician.
Abe Saperstein
, founder of the
Harlem Globetrotters
.
Perry H. Smith
,
Chicago, Illinois
, politician and businessman.
George Gilbert Swain
,
Delton, Wisconsin
, politician.
Chicago and North Western Historical Society
[
edit
]
The
Chicago and North Western Historical Society
was organized by a number of railfans in 1973. The Society's purpose is to preserve the history and memory of the Chicago and North Western Railway through the publication of a quarterly magazine, the preservation of railroad paraphernalia, and an Annual Meet. The Society's journal, North Western Lines, is published four times a year.