There were three industries that I remember...Hines lumber, Ovaltine, and the one to the north of the freight station which sold stone, gravel, sand etc. It's amazing how all of it is gone now.
I don't mind saying I surprised myself at how excited I was when I saw this RUclips posting. And will anxiously await the next. Thank you for your work!
I have been enjoying your nicely produced videos, especially interesting to me as I grew up outside of Dubuque, Iowa. I watched this one because years ago, I had relatives in Graf. Imagine my astonishment to see a reference to Smitty's Place, which was owned by my uncle. And then - my god! - the footage of a 1986 interview with my uncle himself, Arvel "Smitty" Smith, who I had last seen in the 1970s. I'm still in shock to see and hear him again after all these years. I can't thank you enough for that magical moment!
Wow! Very interesting that Smitty was your uncle! Very glad that you found this video of interest - and thanks for sharing your personal experiences with Graf and the railroad! Thanks too for watching and the words of support! The Smitty's Place interview was actually much longer - and you can access the entire interview video at the following link: www.cityofdubuque.org/2084/From-the-Archives
@@BeHistoric Thank you SO MUCH for the link to the original interview! It was just amazing to see and hear my uncle and aunt again, after so many years. Best wishes, and keep up the great work!
I enjoyed your video of the ex-CGW Heritage Trail. With CGW railfans and my family, I have ridden this section many times mostly in the 1980s. Back then we would start in Durango and head west immediately crossing the CGW's unique, curved platte girder bridge. Lots of old CGW building foundations, ties, some rail, track curve greasers, mile markers were still present along with the telegragh poles and some of the copper wire along the right of way. We always looked forward to some of the large cliffs and rock formations which were a part of the scenic draw the CGW used to entice tourists to ride the CGW's trains. Several times we stopped at the town of Graf. Smitty's Cafe, located on the north side of the trail, featured great hamburgers and cool drinks along with friendly banter from Smitty, the proprietor. Smitty, a lifelong resident of Graf, loved to tell old stories of his town and the railroad. The walls of Smitty's were lined with photos and news stories from the 100 year's of Graf's life. Graf was also our usual turn around spot. The trail back to Durango was a descending grade making it a fast, easy ride. In fact you had to be careful lest you slide and crash on the crushed limestone trail. We all looked forward to stopping at the little Durango Cafe which stood just north of the trail and the curving platte girder bridge. We usually bought ice cream cones and refreshing drinks as well as enjoyed a cool AC respite from the sometimes sweltering heat of a hot summer day. Your video has given me a desire to revisit the trail Bill Landis, Lifelong CGW Railfan, Model Railroader and CGW Historian
Very glad that you enjoyed the video! Thanks very much for watching. It sounds that the trail has changed much since you rode it in the 1980s. Thanks for sharing your experiences with trail and with Smitty's at Graf and the Durango Cafe. One wonders what happened to the memorabilia that Smitty's had on their walls. Hopefully, it found a good home. We found the current trail to be very good - good amenities throughout, well maintained, beautiful scenery, and still much to see regarding the former railroad - although not nearly as much as when you rode it. Thanks again!
Did you have a motor car? Working in the Fairgrounds yard. I heard of business car hunting off the back platform of the train on this section of line. My conductor also used the train for hunting. So I loaded a friend and his family up on the engine I was in charge of. And off we went. Got as far as Graf and went back. There was only one train a day then. And I made it up. After he was gone I knew there was nothing else out there. Their was a box car on the ground in Fairgrounds, The Agent Tom Going talked me into living in it. It had a bedroom and a small kitchen and a outhouse. My showers were in the pump house. I liked the area and the job. Until I was bumped out by a Illinois division engineer. I also liked the fact I could take my dog with me to work in Dubuque. Tom's kid went on to be a engineer like me on the California Mainline of the C&NW Iowa Division. Even he must be retired now. I never knew about Twin Springs.
@@BeHistoric The shame is when companies take over others the history goes into the dumpster. Unless some one picks it out. What is out there today is a tiny piece of what was.
Indeed! We will not live to see it - but wondering how changes in transportation continue to shape the landscape over the next 100 years or more? But, yes, the dramatic shift in transportation, from rails to trucks and roads happened within the span of 50 years or so, all across the United States. Many reasons why - but it is a shame that we no longer have too many options regarding passenger rail in the US. Hopefully that will change in the coming years. Thanks again for watching!
Thank you for another episode of the Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western from Budd to Graf. I found the information in this episode interesting and informative. I liked your stop at Split Rock. The photos of Split Rock over the years showed how Split Rock changed over time. After I viewed the video, I looked though the book "Chicago Great Western: Depots Along the Corn Belt" by Joe Piersen and Jerry Huddelston had to say about Budd, Twin Springs and Graf, Iowa. On page 23 the book indicates that the depot at Budd was 10 x 16-foot structure. The Graf depot was a Standard 16 x 40-foot structure. There is no mention of a depot at Twin Springs on this page. In the Section of the book titled "CGW Depot Data Base by Joe Piersen, the following information appears on page 82 for Budd, Iowa: 1940 Retire depot 10 10 x 16'; Long passing siding. Ho town site. Unknown use of depot. 1940 Remove depot to Oelwein, Iowa. 10 x 16'. Depot remodeled and converted to water station (like a pump house.) On page 93 the information for Twin Springs, Iowa indicates that no depot is listed. The track valuation map was checked. Very close to Graf. The information for Graf, Iowa on page 86 indicates that the depot was painted in 1906;1924 Agent's residence. 24 x 28'. Plan J-1116. AFE dated 8/23/23 (Date is not typo.) Rent was $10.00 per month. 1925 Raise depot/install concrete. Concrete used for floor in freight room and probably for foundation. 1951 Retire depot 16 x 40' not dure how this compares with the other retirement listed. 1957 Retire depot, 1957 Retire Agent's Residence 24 x 28'. No plumbing or heating. Sold to Kenneth Cole. Since the above-mentioned book is a book about CGW depots, there is no mention of the coaling tower or the water tower at Graf, Iowa in the book. The reason why the track valuation map that Joe Piersen checked for information on Twin Springs, Iowa contained no information on that location was probably because the date of the track valuation map was after Twin Springs, Iowa ceased to be a place where trains stopped.
Thanks for the continuing support! It is very much appreciated! And thanks too for all of the additional information from Piersen and Huddleston's book - that's an excellent resource. Regarding Twin Springs, it may also be that the property was actually held by a subsidiary of the Chicago Great Western - and perhaps their books were kept separately. If you look at plat maps from 1906, you can clearly see the ownership by their subsidiary company - which confirms multiple other sources regarding their 1893 purchase. This seems to have been a fashionable thing to do in the 1890s and early 1900s - create a resort as a destination for nearby metro areas. However, it didn't work out in the long run for them. Thanks again for the comments!
The Heritage trail was the third rail trail I rode on and one of the best. Plenty of benches and tables for resting every couple of miles and several sets of bathrooms. Iowa must be very proud of this trail. I have seen almost the entire trail except the last 3-4 miles outside of Dyersville. I watch your videos from home while it's 35 degrees outside but already making plans for bike rides in the spring of 2024. The Chicago Great Western railway passed through Sycamore where I worked and live nearby
Thanks for leaving a comment! Yes, the Iowa Heritage Trail is a wonderful bike trail - well maintained, lots of amenities and benches, well marked, and informative historical markers as well. Would strongly recommend this trail to anyone for its scenic beauty, a nice ride, and the nice communities through which it passes.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the early days of the bike trail! Yes, we've heard from many people that Smitty's was the place to be along this stretch. Too bad he was long gone by the time we made our ride. Thanks again for sharing!
Love your video series about the CGW. What a RR. I went to engineering school in Platteville in the mid 1070's and discovered Dubuque during those years, but was un aware of the CGW. I was a Milwaukee Road fan as I grew up close to the main line in Tomah, WI. Rode bike on the new Sparta Elroy trail many times, through the tunnels when it was a new thing in the 60's.
Thanks for watching and supporting our channel! And thanks too for the kind words regarding our videos. Glad that you enjoy them. We may tackle the Sparta Elroy trail at some point in the not too distant future. Thanks again!
Had to wait until Sunday night to see the latest installment. I just finished it, & as always, enjoyed it. I learned a few new things again. Not sure what happened to the building from Budd, but suspect that it is long gone as under CNW & UP much was torn down. You can see why Twin Springs was popular before Dubuque opened its park etc. I also agree with your opinion on the depot location for Twin Springs. There is so much more I could say. I will add 1 lst comment however. Looking at the age of the trees along the route, it is obvious they re 40 years or younger because the trains etc are no longer there to have any effect on either side of the track/trail. Again, looking forward to the next installment.
Thanks for the continuing support! And glad that you enjoyed it and learned a few things! Agreed that the Budd building is not likely any more - but it's possible. It's interesting how they recycled these small and modest sized buildings. Very little wasted. Thanks for your thoughts regarding Twin Springs. Would be interesting to explore this area further to see whether anything is remaining of the depot .... foundation blocks, raised platform, etc. Also to pinpoint the location of other key buildings, such as the dance hall. Yes, agreed too that many of the trees directly adjacent to the trail are younger than 40 years. It's really a beautiful trail. Iowa and Dubuque did well by this. Thanks again for the interesting comments!
Due to RUclips's 5K character limit on video descriptions, we are once again forced to include the IMAGE CREDITS here, in the comments section. Our apologies for not including them directly in the video description, but it is beyond our control. IMAGE CREDITS - www.loc.gov - Iowa Department of Natural Resources, www.iowadnr.gov - David and Deb Keller - Bob Williams - Friends of the Dubuque County Conservation Board - University of Alabama - www.wx4.org (Habegger Collection) - www.findagrave.com (Jerald Wick, Cheryl Locher Moonen, Karen, Kimberly L, Mary Atkinson Severson) - www.wikipedia.org - www.davidrumsey.com - www.ebay.com - www.archive.org (Railway Conductors Monthly, Dubuque and Its Neighborhood, History of Dubuque - Quiqley, Official Guide for Railways and Steam Navigation, Railway Age) - Loras College Digital Archives, digitalcollections.loras.edu - Facebook (Brent Hegstrom, Jim Schilling, John Thraen) - Bing Image Creator - www.newspapers.com (Sioux City Journal, Luxemburger Gazette, Morning Democrat, Council Bluffs Nonpariel, The Gazette, Decorah Public Opinion, The Courier, Evening Times Republican, Des Moines Register, Freeport Evening Standard, Freeport Journal Standard, Daily Nonpariel) - www.historicmapworks.com - US Geological Survey - Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections, idnc.library.illinois.edu (Galena Daily Gazette) - H J Loemker Collection - www.worthpoint.com - www.encyclopediadubuque.org - Ardi Carl - Mark Petersen - Chuck Finch Collection - Iowa Digital Library, digital.lib.uiowa.edu - www.railpictures.net (Steve Patterson) - www.flickr.com (John W Barriger Collection) - www.pinterest.com (Anna, Ruhr Bergbau Historisch, Monceau Fontaine, L'Horme, - americanrails.com - trains.com (H Roger Grant) - Marty Bernard - Roger Puta Collection - US Post Office Archives, www.archives.gov - City of Dubuque Media Archives, www.cityofdubuque.org/2084/From-the-Archives - Western Science Center, www.westernsciencecenter.org - www.thefossilforum.com (nimravis)
Thanks for a great video series. I didn't know that the heritage trail was there. I have been out and biked on it twice in the last 2 weeks. Very nice trail!
Thanks for watching the series and for the kind words! Glad that you enjoyed it so far! The Heritage Trail is indeed a very nice trail - beautiful landscape, well maintained, plenty of benches, and well marked. Dubuque County has a very nice asset in this trail!
I enjoyed "riding along" on this segment! With interesting music, I can imagine being on a train traveling the line. I set up my Google Earth to follow along on your journey and it took a minute to find Split Rock, but your drone footage helped identify it. Nice catch on the mile post marker! I thought I caught a telegraph pole at 17:34... It fascinates me that what are quiet spots today were bustling train areas back then. Thanks!
Great catch regarding the telegraph pole! Glad that you enjoyed the video and found it informative. We specifically set the playback speed of the recording at approximately the speed of trains traveling through the area. Yes, Split Rock is a bit hard to find via the maps. In fact, some maps misidentify it as being east of Durango. There are multiple places where the trackway cut through the rock ledge along this trail - but Split Rock stands out and is a bit more dramatic than most. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for the wonderful video! I've ridden that trail many times and knew some of the history but learned a lot more through this video. I'm now a subscriber and look forward to seeing more of our videos.
Thanks for watching and for the comment! Glad that you enjoyed the video and learned a few things! There is much history along this former route. We view the Chicago Great Western route as the story of many railroads building through mid America - creating new towns, building up existing towns, leaving others high and dry. And then when they pulled out, many of these places have struggled to survive - although some have thrived. It's a fascinating story. We hope that our viewers think so too. Thanks again for the comment and kind words!
It's interesting that as you go west you actually find more railroad sites instead of fewer. I was rewatching the first video in the series and realized there's evidently more in 5 miles of Iowa than Chicago-St Charles. I've ridden all three "Great Western" trails in IL in IA and need to do the Heritage trail someday.
Thanks for the comment and the interesting observation. It is true that much of the trail to St Charles has been cleaned up fairly well - although there are some traces remaining, especially around West Chicago. And the Ingalton depot remains (foundation, debris) are still there as far as we know. As we explored west Illinois and Iowa, we've definitely found more remains of culverts, trestles, bridges and markers than we found closer in to Chicago. It would be interesting too to explore in Chicago more, to see if anything remains there. We did see definite evidence in the roads within Maywood for example of the railroad passing through - scars in the pavement. If we had to do it over again, we would have recorded that more carefully. At the time we noticed it, we were not filming. But yes, there are still many artifacts, remnants, and scars of the railroad in these more rural areas than in the more heavily built up places. Thanks again for the thoughtful comment!
@ 16:46 in the video you found an old railroad mileage marker! There are several of these on two old Chicago and great Western railroad lines that are now trails in Minnesota. One is the Canon Valley Trail between Cannon, Falls and Red Wing, and the other one is the Douglas State Trail between Pine Island and Rochester, Minnesota.
Indeed! There were actually several others that we saw along the Heritage Trail that we didn't point out, or that didn't show up easily on the footage. Most are gone, however. Thanks for watching so carefully and commenting! We appreciate it!
Great Informative Video as Always, As you filmed I was Looking at the sides of the road bed. That had to be great task to remove all the material to get a acceptable grade. Would this be done using horses or did railroad have a way of doing this.
That's an interesting question. As you observe, they moved huge quantities of fill material to build up the road bed to make it smooth- the grades levels - and generally out of the flood zones. You get a real appreciation for that going over all of these rail beds. Perhaps one of our better informed viewers may know the answer to this question. However, based upon our reading of their methods for building approaches to tunnels and trestles, we believe that they may have started with horse drawn wagons - for cutting back foliage and general leveling, then laid down narrow guage tracks for materials wagons - to deliver and remove materials from the site. The rails would have made it easier to pull heavy materials by horse or steam, than over the ground itself. Once they had the basic grading done, they could have started laying actual rails, as they built the bed, using the new railway itself to deliver material, usually from local gravel mines and pits, and possibly working from two different directions. Again, that's our best guess, based upon their construction methods elsewhere. Thanks again for the question and comment!
I’m curious about the Split Rock cut. I wonder why the original builders chose to cut through the formation rather than find a route around it. It looks like a few feet on the other side is somewhat flat. Was it a land ownership, right-of-way issue? Also did they blast through with dynamite, or chisel somehow? With limestone I can imagine either. Thanks! Another great video.
That's an excellent question. From what we've read - and from our own personal observations, they really couldn't go around it, as it would require them to go significantly up grade - which they avoided if possible. This large heft of rock was jutting too far within the river valley and so the cheapest approach was to simply cut through it. They likely used both dynamite and cutting equipment to get through this material. We are curious as to whether there was any cleft in the rock to begin with, or whether this was a straight cut through it. Thanks very much for the question. Perhaps one of our viewers may have additional information on this topic. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@WaltANelsonPHD Of course, as we are discussing the topic in the present, not constrained by titles or class distinctions of the past. We presented the contemporary materials which refer to her as "Mrs" and "Madame", ie, it was made plain how newspapers referred to her at the time. Regarding "Mrs George Washington", we would primarily refer to her in the present as "Martha Dandridge Washington", as that is far more informative, rather than anonymizing her as simply the unnamed wife of George Washington. And so we will agree to disagree on this point.
Great pedaling and rail wrangling ❤😊
Thanks for watching, commenting, and for the support! Much appreciated!
Watching the Great Western switching by the Villa Park station was the inspiration for me to become an engineer.
Thanks for watching and commenting! That must have been quite a railyard around Villa Park and Ovaltine at that time!
There were three industries that I remember...Hines lumber, Ovaltine, and the one to the north of the freight station which sold stone, gravel, sand etc. It's amazing how all of it is gone now.
I don't mind saying I surprised myself at how excited I was when I saw this RUclips posting. And will anxiously await the next. Thank you for your work!
Hope that we didn't disappoint! We enjoy making these videos - many more to come! Thanks for watching and for supporting the channel!
I have been enjoying your nicely produced videos, especially interesting to me as I grew up outside of Dubuque, Iowa. I watched this one because years ago, I had relatives in Graf. Imagine my astonishment to see a reference to Smitty's Place, which was owned by my uncle. And then - my god! - the footage of a 1986 interview with my uncle himself, Arvel "Smitty" Smith, who I had last seen in the 1970s. I'm still in shock to see and hear him again after all these years. I can't thank you enough for that magical moment!
Wow! Very interesting that Smitty was your uncle! Very glad that you found this video of interest - and thanks for sharing your personal experiences with Graf and the railroad! Thanks too for watching and the words of support! The Smitty's Place interview was actually much longer - and you can access the entire interview video at the following link: www.cityofdubuque.org/2084/From-the-Archives
@@BeHistoric Thank you SO MUCH for the link to the original interview! It was just amazing to see and hear my uncle and aunt again, after so many years. Best wishes, and keep up the great work!
I enjoyed your video of the ex-CGW Heritage Trail. With CGW railfans and my family, I have ridden this section many times mostly in the 1980s. Back then we would start in Durango and head west immediately crossing the CGW's unique, curved platte girder bridge. Lots of old CGW building foundations, ties, some rail, track curve greasers, mile markers were still present along with the telegragh poles and some of the copper wire along the right of way. We always looked forward to some of the large cliffs and rock formations which were a part of the scenic draw the CGW used to entice tourists to ride the CGW's trains. Several times we stopped at the town of Graf. Smitty's Cafe, located on the north side of the trail, featured great hamburgers and cool drinks along with friendly banter from Smitty, the proprietor. Smitty, a lifelong resident of Graf, loved to tell old stories of his town and the railroad. The walls of Smitty's were lined with photos and news stories from the 100 year's of Graf's life. Graf was also our usual turn around spot. The trail back to Durango was a descending grade making it a fast, easy ride. In fact you had to be careful lest you slide and crash on the crushed limestone trail. We all looked forward to stopping at the little Durango Cafe which stood just north of the trail and the curving platte girder bridge. We usually bought ice cream cones and refreshing drinks as well as enjoyed a cool AC respite from the sometimes sweltering heat of a hot summer day.
Your video has given me a desire to revisit the trail
Bill Landis,
Lifelong CGW Railfan, Model Railroader and CGW Historian
Very glad that you enjoyed the video! Thanks very much for watching. It sounds that the trail has changed much since you rode it in the 1980s. Thanks for sharing your experiences with trail and with Smitty's at Graf and the Durango Cafe. One wonders what happened to the memorabilia that Smitty's had on their walls. Hopefully, it found a good home. We found the current trail to be very good - good amenities throughout, well maintained, beautiful scenery, and still much to see regarding the former railroad - although not nearly as much as when you rode it. Thanks again!
Did you have a motor car? Working in the Fairgrounds yard. I heard of business car hunting off the back platform of the train on this section of line. My conductor also used the train for hunting. So I loaded a friend and his family up on the engine I was in charge of. And off we went. Got as far as Graf and went back. There was only one train a day then. And I made it up. After he was gone I knew there was nothing else out there. Their was a box car on the ground in Fairgrounds, The Agent Tom Going talked me into living in it. It had a bedroom and a small kitchen and a outhouse. My showers were in the pump house. I liked the area and the job. Until I was bumped out by a Illinois division engineer. I also liked the fact I could take my dog with me to work in Dubuque. Tom's kid went on to be a engineer like me on the California Mainline of the C&NW Iowa Division. Even he must be retired now. I never knew about Twin Springs.
@@BeHistoric The shame is when companies take over others the history goes into the dumpster. Unless some one picks it out. What is out there today is a tiny piece of what was.
strange to think of the mighty railroad to be gone. But it happened all over the U.S.
I like how much country is still there. Beautiful place.
Indeed! We will not live to see it - but wondering how changes in transportation continue to shape the landscape over the next 100 years or more? But, yes, the dramatic shift in transportation, from rails to trucks and roads happened within the span of 50 years or so, all across the United States. Many reasons why - but it is a shame that we no longer have too many options regarding passenger rail in the US. Hopefully that will change in the coming years. Thanks again for watching!
Thank you for another episode of the Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western from Budd to Graf. I found the information in this episode interesting and informative. I liked your stop at Split Rock. The photos of Split Rock over the years showed how Split Rock changed over time. After I viewed the video, I looked though the book "Chicago Great Western: Depots Along the Corn Belt" by Joe Piersen and Jerry Huddelston had to say about Budd, Twin Springs and Graf, Iowa. On page 23 the book indicates that the depot at Budd was 10 x 16-foot structure. The Graf depot was a Standard 16 x 40-foot structure. There is no mention of a depot at Twin Springs on this page. In the Section of the book titled "CGW Depot Data Base by Joe Piersen, the following information appears on page 82 for Budd, Iowa: 1940 Retire depot 10 10 x 16'; Long passing siding. Ho town site. Unknown use of depot. 1940 Remove depot to Oelwein, Iowa. 10 x 16'. Depot remodeled and converted to water station (like a pump house.) On page 93 the information for Twin Springs, Iowa indicates that no depot is listed. The track valuation map was checked. Very close to Graf. The information for Graf, Iowa on page 86 indicates that the depot was painted in 1906;1924 Agent's residence. 24 x 28'. Plan J-1116. AFE dated 8/23/23 (Date is not typo.) Rent was $10.00 per month. 1925 Raise depot/install concrete. Concrete used for floor in freight room and probably for foundation. 1951 Retire depot 16 x 40' not dure how this compares with the other retirement listed. 1957 Retire depot, 1957 Retire Agent's Residence 24 x 28'. No plumbing or heating. Sold to Kenneth Cole. Since the above-mentioned book is a book about CGW depots, there is no mention of the coaling tower or the water tower at Graf, Iowa in the book. The reason why the track valuation map that Joe Piersen checked for information on Twin Springs, Iowa contained no information on that location was probably because the date of the track valuation map was after Twin Springs, Iowa ceased to be a place where trains stopped.
Thanks for the continuing support! It is very much appreciated! And thanks too for all of the additional information from Piersen and Huddleston's book - that's an excellent resource. Regarding Twin Springs, it may also be that the property was actually held by a subsidiary of the Chicago Great Western - and perhaps their books were kept separately. If you look at plat maps from 1906, you can clearly see the ownership by their subsidiary company - which confirms multiple other sources regarding their 1893 purchase. This seems to have been a fashionable thing to do in the 1890s and early 1900s - create a resort as a destination for nearby metro areas. However, it didn't work out in the long run for them. Thanks again for the comments!
The Heritage trail was the third rail trail I rode on and one of the best. Plenty of benches and tables for resting every couple of miles and several sets of bathrooms. Iowa must be very proud of this trail. I have seen almost the entire trail except the last 3-4 miles outside of Dyersville. I watch your videos from home while it's 35 degrees outside but already making plans for bike rides in the spring of 2024. The Chicago Great Western railway passed through Sycamore where I worked and live nearby
Thanks for leaving a comment! Yes, the Iowa Heritage Trail is a wonderful bike trail - well maintained, lots of amenities and benches, well marked, and informative historical markers as well. Would strongly recommend this trail to anyone for its scenic beauty, a nice ride, and the nice communities through which it passes.
Its your channel...
My Dad and I rode the Sageville to Graf section several times a summer throughout the early ‘90s. Cold lemonade at Smitty’s was a highlight.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the early days of the bike trail! Yes, we've heard from many people that Smitty's was the place to be along this stretch. Too bad he was long gone by the time we made our ride. Thanks again for sharing!
anther great vid .. added these stations to my map
Thanks for the ongoing support and for watching the video! Glad that you enjoyed it!
Thanks 🙏, excellent as always , see you soon
Thanks for watching and for the ongoing support! Thanks too for leaving a comment!
Love your video series about the CGW. What a RR. I went to engineering school in Platteville in the mid 1070's and discovered Dubuque during those years, but was un aware of the CGW. I was a Milwaukee Road fan as I grew up close to the main line in Tomah, WI. Rode bike on the new Sparta Elroy trail many times, through the tunnels when it was a new thing in the 60's.
Thanks for watching and supporting our channel! And thanks too for the kind words regarding our videos. Glad that you enjoy them. We may tackle the Sparta Elroy trail at some point in the not too distant future. Thanks again!
Awesome 👍 Thanks for sharing the history!
Glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!
Enjoy these immensely . Thank you for the professional quality entertaining documentaries.
So very glad that you enjoy our videos! Thanks for the supportive words - and thanks too for watching and commenting!
Thanks for taking me along. Thanks for sharing the video.
Thanks for watching and the support! We appreciate it!
Had to wait until Sunday night to see the latest installment. I just finished it, & as always, enjoyed it. I learned a few new things again.
Not sure what happened to the building from Budd, but suspect that it is long gone as under CNW & UP much was torn down.
You can see why Twin Springs was popular before Dubuque opened its park etc. I also agree with your opinion on the depot location for Twin Springs.
There is so much more I could say. I will add 1 lst comment however. Looking at the age of the trees along the route, it is obvious they re 40 years or younger because the trains etc are no longer there to have any effect on either side of the track/trail.
Again, looking forward to the next installment.
Thanks for the continuing support! And glad that you enjoyed it and learned a few things! Agreed that the Budd building is not likely any more - but it's possible. It's interesting how they recycled these small and modest sized buildings. Very little wasted. Thanks for your thoughts regarding Twin Springs. Would be interesting to explore this area further to see whether anything is remaining of the depot .... foundation blocks, raised platform, etc. Also to pinpoint the location of other key buildings, such as the dance hall. Yes, agreed too that many of the trees directly adjacent to the trail are younger than 40 years. It's really a beautiful trail. Iowa and Dubuque did well by this. Thanks again for the interesting comments!
Awesome work once again guys!
Thanks very much for watching and the kind words! Very much appreciated!
Due to RUclips's 5K character limit on video descriptions, we are once again forced to include the IMAGE CREDITS here, in the comments section. Our apologies for not including them directly in the video description, but it is beyond our control.
IMAGE CREDITS
- www.loc.gov
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources, www.iowadnr.gov
- David and Deb Keller
- Bob Williams
- Friends of the Dubuque County Conservation Board
- University of Alabama
- www.wx4.org (Habegger Collection)
- www.findagrave.com (Jerald Wick, Cheryl Locher Moonen, Karen, Kimberly L, Mary Atkinson Severson)
- www.wikipedia.org
- www.davidrumsey.com
- www.ebay.com
- www.archive.org (Railway Conductors Monthly, Dubuque and Its Neighborhood, History of Dubuque - Quiqley, Official Guide for Railways and Steam Navigation, Railway Age)
- Loras College Digital Archives, digitalcollections.loras.edu
- Facebook (Brent Hegstrom, Jim Schilling, John Thraen)
- Bing Image Creator
- www.newspapers.com (Sioux City Journal, Luxemburger Gazette, Morning Democrat, Council Bluffs Nonpariel, The Gazette, Decorah Public Opinion, The Courier, Evening Times Republican, Des Moines Register, Freeport Evening Standard, Freeport Journal Standard, Daily Nonpariel)
- www.historicmapworks.com
- US Geological Survey
- Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections, idnc.library.illinois.edu (Galena Daily Gazette)
- H J Loemker Collection
- www.worthpoint.com
- www.encyclopediadubuque.org
- Ardi Carl
- Mark Petersen - Chuck Finch Collection
- Iowa Digital Library, digital.lib.uiowa.edu
- www.railpictures.net (Steve Patterson)
- www.flickr.com (John W Barriger Collection)
- www.pinterest.com (Anna, Ruhr Bergbau Historisch, Monceau Fontaine, L'Horme,
- americanrails.com
- trains.com (H Roger Grant)
- Marty Bernard - Roger Puta Collection
- US Post Office Archives, www.archives.gov
- City of Dubuque Media Archives, www.cityofdubuque.org/2084/From-the-Archives
- Western Science Center, www.westernsciencecenter.org
- www.thefossilforum.com (nimravis)
Thanks for a great video series. I didn't know that the heritage trail was there. I have been out and biked on it twice in the last 2 weeks. Very nice trail!
Thanks for watching the series and for the kind words! Glad that you enjoyed it so far! The Heritage Trail is indeed a very nice trail - beautiful landscape, well maintained, plenty of benches, and well marked. Dubuque County has a very nice asset in this trail!
I enjoyed "riding along" on this segment! With interesting music, I can imagine being on a train traveling the line. I set up my Google Earth to follow along on your journey and it took a minute to find Split Rock, but your drone footage helped identify it. Nice catch on the mile post marker! I thought I caught a telegraph pole at 17:34... It fascinates me that what are quiet spots today were bustling train areas back then. Thanks!
Great catch regarding the telegraph pole! Glad that you enjoyed the video and found it informative. We specifically set the playback speed of the recording at approximately the speed of trains traveling through the area. Yes, Split Rock is a bit hard to find via the maps. In fact, some maps misidentify it as being east of Durango. There are multiple places where the trackway cut through the rock ledge along this trail - but Split Rock stands out and is a bit more dramatic than most. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@BeHistoric I would have never thought of the playback speed matching train travel. Nice touch!
Thanks for the wonderful video! I've ridden that trail many times and knew some of the history but learned a lot more through this video. I'm now a subscriber and look forward to seeing more of our videos.
Thanks for watching and for the comment! Glad that you enjoyed the video and learned a few things! There is much history along this former route. We view the Chicago Great Western route as the story of many railroads building through mid America - creating new towns, building up existing towns, leaving others high and dry. And then when they pulled out, many of these places have struggled to survive - although some have thrived. It's a fascinating story. We hope that our viewers think so too. Thanks again for the comment and kind words!
Love it again
Thanks very much for watching and commenting!
It's interesting that as you go west you actually find more railroad sites instead of fewer. I was rewatching the first video in the series and realized there's evidently more in 5 miles of Iowa than Chicago-St Charles. I've ridden all three "Great Western" trails in IL in IA and need to do the Heritage trail someday.
Thanks for the comment and the interesting observation. It is true that much of the trail to St Charles has been cleaned up fairly well - although there are some traces remaining, especially around West Chicago. And the Ingalton depot remains (foundation, debris) are still there as far as we know. As we explored west Illinois and Iowa, we've definitely found more remains of culverts, trestles, bridges and markers than we found closer in to Chicago. It would be interesting too to explore in Chicago more, to see if anything remains there. We did see definite evidence in the roads within Maywood for example of the railroad passing through - scars in the pavement. If we had to do it over again, we would have recorded that more carefully. At the time we noticed it, we were not filming. But yes, there are still many artifacts, remnants, and scars of the railroad in these more rural areas than in the more heavily built up places. Thanks again for the thoughtful comment!
@ 16:46 in the video you found an old railroad mileage marker! There are several of these on two old Chicago and great Western railroad lines that are now trails in Minnesota. One is the Canon Valley Trail between Cannon, Falls and Red Wing, and the other one is the Douglas State Trail between Pine Island and Rochester, Minnesota.
Indeed! There were actually several others that we saw along the Heritage Trail that we didn't point out, or that didn't show up easily on the footage. Most are gone, however. Thanks for watching so carefully and commenting! We appreciate it!
Great Informative Video as Always, As you filmed I was
Looking at the sides of the road bed. That had to be great task to remove all the material to get a acceptable grade. Would this be done using horses or did railroad have a way of doing this.
That's an interesting question. As you observe, they moved huge quantities of fill material to build up the road bed to make it smooth- the grades levels - and generally out of the flood zones. You get a real appreciation for that going over all of these rail beds. Perhaps one of our better informed viewers may know the answer to this question. However, based upon our reading of their methods for building approaches to tunnels and trestles, we believe that they may have started with horse drawn wagons - for cutting back foliage and general leveling, then laid down narrow guage tracks for materials wagons - to deliver and remove materials from the site. The rails would have made it easier to pull heavy materials by horse or steam, than over the ground itself. Once they had the basic grading done, they could have started laying actual rails, as they built the bed, using the new railway itself to deliver material, usually from local gravel mines and pits, and possibly working from two different directions. Again, that's our best guess, based upon their construction methods elsewhere. Thanks again for the question and comment!
I’m curious about the Split Rock cut. I wonder why the original builders chose to cut through the formation rather than find a route around it. It looks like a few feet on the other side is somewhat flat. Was it a land ownership, right-of-way issue? Also did they blast through with dynamite, or chisel somehow? With limestone I can imagine either. Thanks! Another great video.
That's an excellent question. From what we've read - and from our own personal observations, they really couldn't go around it, as it would require them to go significantly up grade - which they avoided if possible. This large heft of rock was jutting too far within the river valley and so the cheapest approach was to simply cut through it. They likely used both dynamite and cutting equipment to get through this material. We are curious as to whether there was any cleft in the rock to begin with, or whether this was a straight cut through it. Thanks very much for the question. Perhaps one of our viewers may have additional information on this topic. Thanks for watching and commenting!
"MS" Dockstader? Come on! Mrs. D!
Given that she did all the heavy lifting in their act, we'll stick with Ms. :-) Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@BeHistoric You are super-imposing your modern views on that historic family. What's next - Ms. George Washington?
@@WaltANelsonPHD Of course, as we are discussing the topic in the present, not constrained by titles or class distinctions of the past. We presented the contemporary materials which refer to her as "Mrs" and "Madame", ie, it was made plain how newspapers referred to her at the time. Regarding "Mrs George Washington", we would primarily refer to her in the present as "Martha Dandridge Washington", as that is far more informative, rather than anonymizing her as simply the unnamed wife of George Washington. And so we will agree to disagree on this point.