The Chicago & North Western Lives!

Here’s Page Three – keep ‘em coming! When you find them, send them to the webmaster. Our thanks to R.J. DeBerg, Dave Hawley, Ed Henry, Mark Llanuza and Dan Sylvester for the pictures you see on this page. Be patient – there will be more!


The Chicago & North Western is alive and well in Cumming, Georgia! R.J. DeBerg sent us these 7 views of his fine G-Scale (1/29^th size) outdoor layout located in his back yard. This is a “free-lance” operation and is not patterned after any particular railroad or era but does seem to favor the C&NW. Known as the Dakota & Southern, right now it has some 400 ft. of track and is continually being added to. On the roster is a fleet of 22 diesels - SD 45’s, GP 30’s, GE Dash 9’s, F3’s, SD70’s, and RS3’s with most in C&NW paint. Also, 14 steam engines, a complete heavy weight C&NW passenger train and a joint CNW/ UP streamliner train that used to run between Chicago & California. Live steam has also run on the layout. R.J. has been working on this railroad for 3 1/2 years!

Here, we see the 2910 hauling a train of heavyweight coaches with an open end observation car on the rear.

The 4103A on the head end of a streamliner complete with a dome coach and an observation car.

The 8671 on the head end of a coal train.

Here’s the latest on Dick DeBerg’s G-Scale outdoor layout. These three photos came from Dick via Ed Henry and we see the latest addition is a storage structure that holds about 60 cars. Thanks, Dick & Ed!

Dave Hawley spotted this sign is on the former C&NW line that ran north from Marshalltown to Mason City, IA. This is now the Iowa River Railroad. Photo taken on 06/25/06.

This C&NW parking sign at Harvard, IL was hastily changed to read UP but even this did not completely obliterate the C&NW! Photo by Dave Hawley on 08/04/06.	Now in Dan Sylvester’s back yard are the “Yard Limit” & “Station One Mile” signs he rescued from an uncertain fate while traveling out west. The Yard Limit sign was formerly at Shobon, WY at M.P. 699.0 on the Casper Subdivision, 3.4 miles east of Shoshoni where the line returned to the original C&NW track. This line was abandoned between Illco (15 miles west of Casper) and Shoshoni in favor of trackage rights over the CB&Q. The line between Shobon and Shoshoni is still operated by a short line, the "Bad Water Railroad" (BDW). The “Station One Mile” sign came from The Milwaukee Road at McLaughlin, SD, a line now operated by the BNSF. Dan noticed this both items lying in the weeds and decided they deserved a better home. Good decision, Dan!

Bob Unger leaving National St., Elgin enroute to Belvidere on Wednesday morning, October 5, 2005. The 8701 is one of the last engines lettered C&NW. Our thanks to Mark Llanuza for this fine photo.	This C&NW sign was still at Global 1 on 1/05/06. Thanks to Dave Hawley for this photo.

A trio of C&NW C44-9 units is running at the Elmhurst Model Railroad Club on 1/15/06. Photo from Dave Hawley.	Ed Henry found this motor car at the Fennimore, Wisconsin railroad museum on September 22, 2005. If you look close between the water tank supports you will see the narrow gauge steam engine on display. Fennimore was the eastern end of the C&NW narrow gauge line running between that point and Woodman, Wisconsin. This line was abandoned in early 1926 following the last run on January 30, 1926.

Someone in Roscoe likes the Chicago & North Western! And, our thanks to Dave Hawley for this great photo taken on May 21, 2006. Be sure and stop in for a burger if you are ever in the area. Beef-A-Roo / Roscoe Station 5109 Rockrose Court, Roscoe, IL 61073 (815) 623-5279	The C&NW is still alive and well in Milton, WI. They have a Fairbanks Morse engine and a way car on display, both painted in CNW colors. Dave Hawley sent us this photograph, taken on 01/27/07. Thanks, Dave!

Revised: 12/19/09