Agree with brianberthold. . . just what we need! I too love your videos. . . Great content(one of my favorite railroads), good music, proper English and sentence structure,. . . Fantastic !!! Regards, EA Wichman
Thank you for commenting and for watching the video! We find the stories of these towns fascinating - as it relates to so many cities and towns across the United States. Thanks again!
Once again, a very enjoyable video. I knew about the bridge remains. A bittersweet reminder of what once had been as well as a sad reminder of the failure to extend the bike trail further West from Dyersville. Once again, I learned some new things throughout the video, including the connection between the CGW & the building of St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. The incident at Oneida with the Italian immigrants especially caught my attention. While my Italian great grandfather didn't reach Oelwein until 1911, I couldn't help but wonder how many of those involved in the incident eventually settled in Oelwein to work at the shops, including who they were as I may have known some of them or their families growing up there. May have to get to the DBQ library to check if the stories included any names of those arrested. Sorry to hear about the problems at Almoral. As always, looking forward to the next video, especially as you are getting closer to Oelwein.
Thanks for watching the video and for your always welcome and interesting observations! Yes, the Dyersville bridge remains are pretty amazing, tucked away on the edge of town. The story of the Italian immigrant workers is one that was a bit comedic, for its overreach, but also a bit sad. We try to include all aspects of railroad related life in our videos, the good, the bad, and the sometimes surreal. Regarding the newspaper stories, you also might find that information at the manchesteria.advantage-preservation.com website, which provides access to many of the historic Delaware County newspapers. The folks at the Manchester Public Library were very helpful when we visited there. Thanks again for the comments and support!
I've been traveling along, and photographing, the old CGW Railway in northern Illinois for the last 25 years, and have very much enjoyed your CGW series. Sure hope you have similar adventures lined up in the future. Best wishes and happy trails, Joyce and Brian.
Thank your the support and for commenting! Yes, we try our best to match the music with the story and spend a fair amount of time on that. It can be a challenge matching the chapter intervals to suitable music - but we are usually happy with the result. Thank you for noticing the music and thanks again for taking the time to comment!
I found most interesting that most of these rural stations closed at the same time as did the CA&E. The closures provide an historical landmark in time, where travel and transportation were coming into a new dominance of both American and worldwide industrial and technical revolution. The closed stations also meant the loss of towns of significant commerce were going to rapidly downsize. Like other viewers, that illicits nostalgic feelings for a time past. But, I would like to think that it can represent the betterment for us all.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment and observation. It does seem that many US railroads were abandoned, closed down, or trimmed back in the mid to late 20th century. As a culture, we apparently became enamored with the automobile as a technology, to the exclusion of all other forms of transportation, including one that played a large part in the growth of our country and society. As a result, our transportation choices are today generally limited - drive a car, or possibily drive great distances to airports to fly. Our sense is that there are many positives to passenger rail systems - but the US may be so far behind with this technology that it would take a huge investment to build that infrastructure up again. Thanks again for the comment!
Thank you for another fantastic installment of your Chicago to Oelwein series. I especially liked your puns describing the sentencing of the men convicted of stealing meat from the derailment!
Thanks for the support and kind words! Yes, the nature of some of these stories is somewhat comedic, and they cry out for bad punning. We did the same with the story of the Italian immigrant laborers shooting game birds. It helps to balance some of the tragic stories associated with the railroad, as in the accidents and deaths. Thanks again for watching and the comment!
Indeed - some of these spaces with broad vistas and a thin line where the sky meets the earth - can change your outlook, at least temporarily. Thanks for watching our videos and for taking the time to comment!
Dyersville held significance not only for us rail buffs with an interest in the CGW but for those of us that built model cars,planes and Star Trek and Star Wars kits Dyersville was a name we eere familiar with as it was where we would mail off for replacement parts for a kit as Dyersville was the home of AMT ERTL until it's being acquired by Racing Champions in the 2Ks. A check of Google Maps shows the die cast ERTL portion of the plant still doing die cast but the plastic kit AMT side seems to be a furniture sales company. (Edit) Apparently the playlist shifted just as I hit send as clearly this was intended for the previous video
Thank you for another installment of your videos on the Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western Railroad. You brought us more information about the Chicago Great Western Railroad stations in Petersburg, Almoral and Oneida, Iowa. You also showed us the remains of a bridge near Petersburg, Iowa. The information about the two other railroad that passed through Oneida, Iowa was informative. I looked through the book Chicago Great Western; Depots Along the Corn Belt Route by Joe Piersen and Jerry Huddelston to see if they had any information to add. On Page 23 they confirm that Petersburg had a 16 x 40-foot station which was replaced in 1954 by a Butler Steel 8 x 10-foot depot. Almoral had a M&NW standard 22 x 55-foot depot which was replaced in 1947 by half if a boxcar. Oneida had a M&NW standard 22 x 72-foot depot. In AFE (Authorization for Expense) Section of the book, the first notation for Petersburg, Iowa is undated, and it says that a 16 x 40-foot depot was added later; it may have replaced one that had burned down. Same as the one in North Hanover. In 1916 an outhouse was installed. A baggage truck was added on 17 March 1917. In 1927 two toilets were installed. There is a drawing showing where they were installed. (The drawing is not part of the information in the book.) In 1954 the agent’s residence, 24 x 28-feet was retired and sold to Henry Butlett for $715.00. In a source dated in 1954 16 x 70-foot depot was retired and replaced by an 8 x 10-foot Bulter Steel depot. There is an indication that the depot was originally a 16 x 40-foot depot as indicated above. In a source dated in 1955 the frame depot was replaced by an 8 x 10-foot Butler Steel depot. In 1965 the Bulter steel depot 8 x 10-foot was moved to Fairgrounds for a scale house, work completed 8/63. (I have no idea why it says that the work was completed in 8/63 while the AFE is dated in 1965. This could be a typographical error, or it could mean that the scale was originally completed in 8/63 and the original office from that date was replaced with the former Petersburg Butler Steel Depot in 1965.) AFEs for Almoral, Iowa start with a 1947 date. However, there is a notation with an 1894 date that there is a photograph dated May 1, 1894, of a station at Almoral, Iowa that did not have a sign on it as yet. (That photograph is not reproduced in the book. Where either Joe or Jerry found that photograph is unknown.) The 1947 AFE for Almoral, Iowa says Retire depot. 22 x 55-feet. Frame. Agency closed May 1, 1928. Another 1947 AFE reads: Add ½ box car body. The Oneida, Iowa AFEs indicated that in 1904 the depot roof had to be repaired. In 1906 Painted with Casey’s Magnesia Paint. A 1921 AFE says Install electric lights, also platform. Another source indicates that this work could have been done in 1922. A 1950 AFE says Retire depot 22 x 72-feet.
Wow! You are a font of information! That is most useful, both to us as well as to our viewers who read through these comments. Thanks again for watching and the continued support of our channel. We very much appreciate it! One thing that is not mentioned in any of the records that we've uncovered is the fact that the Oneida station was actually a bit atypical in that the station agent lookout bay was not in the middle of the building, but situated on the southwest corner of the building. We didn't mention that in the video - but it is clearly visible in the photographs. We found no evidence of an interlocking tower at Oneida, which is curious, given the number of accidents and near accidents at this crossing. Instead, they appear to have thought it sufficient to have a single story bay in the CGW station play this role. It was very reminiscient of the station building at Holcomb, which had a similar bay on the corner of the building. Thanks always for the interesting information that you provide.!
@@BeHistoric I was also wondering why there were no signals at the crossing in Oneida. You mentioned in the video that a derail prevented at least one accident by derailing a westbound CGW train before it hit a train on the north/south track that blocked the CGW track. The derail would have been controlled by rods from the CGW station. Was there a derail west of the crossing to derail an eastbound train? That derail would also have been controlled by rods from the CGW depot.
@@thomasmackowiak Yes, there is certainly more to learn about this crossing. BTW, the newspaper article didn't indicate whether the derailing was for a eastbound or westbound train. We simply chose westbound as there was visually more to see with the station nearby. As you point out, presumably there would have been controls for both east and westbound traffic.
Great job as always! Being from around Dyersville, I should point out another hard to see possible artifact, if you look to the left at 1:35, along that yellow building there are tracks remaining with an old caboose and passenger car behind that fence. Just thought I’d point it out if you’re ever through town again!
Thanks for watching and for pointing out that additional relic! Indeed, a few others have pointed out that same caboose and car, and we've noted it on a few of our recent visits. At this writing, we don't know their backstory as yet. Hope to learn that at some point in the coming months. Thanks again!
These stories of the beginning of the American white settlement and rise of rural transportation are an interesting study of how technology and some early buisnessmen had the idea of speculating in the rail transportation industry. It appears that presently we have regressed to the time before the rail transportation opened up settlement of the western frontier and now the creation of small rural towns is not now very financially viable, however, that can change again as overcrowding becomes a greater issue in the near future, it may even now be contemplated by the young now as boredom and frustration with the current lifestyle grow.
Indeed, things change over time, in sometimes unpredictable ways. In the early 1900s, few people would have thought that most passenger rail service would disappear in the US within a half century - but yet it did. Thanks for the thoughtful comment and for watching our videos!
Yes, those were excellent pictures, btw. We are indeed fortunate that you documented that structure so well. Unfortunately, by the time of our visit, there was nothing left but a small pile of rubble in the field. The family told us that they had torn it down within the past few years. Thank you again for watching, and the use of your excellent photos!
@@BeHistoric Looking at Google Maps, the box car shows up in Street View but the latest aerial was after it was demolished. Much of the right-of-way for the other two railroads has been farmed lately destroying traces of their old tracks
Another excellent video! thoroughly enjoyed it and as always, i learned a great deal! I find myself becoming a bit sad as you approach Oelwein and ending this wonderful series.
Thanks for the kind words and the support! Yes, this has turned into something of an epic journey. When we first started out, we thought it might be perhaps a half dozen videos or so. Were we ever wrong! On the other hand, we have felt a strong responsibility to document as much of the railroad along this route as possible, and the towns through which it passed. It's a cross section of the American Midwest history. Thanks again!
Thanks for the comment! Yes, he seemed to be watching that train passing by just at the time we were driving by. When we spotted the car on the side of the road, we suspected there was a railfan there somewhere - and then we saw him to the left of the road, peering after the train on the former IC track. It was fun to see.
Yes, that appears to be as you describe. Thanks for watching and commenting on this! It was fun seeing a train spotter out there - and seeing a train using the former IC tracks.
Agree with brianberthold. . . just what we need! I too love your videos. . . Great content(one of my favorite railroads), good music, proper English and sentence structure,. . . Fantastic !!!
Regards, EA Wichman
Thanks for the kind words and for watching the video! We very much appreciate it!
very respectable investigation. Thank you for documenting before it becomes lost in the fog of history.
Thanks for watching the video and the support! It is much appreciated!
Top notch information as usual !!!! Cant wait to see the next episode,
Thanks for watching the video and for the words of support!
Great vid! Enjoying the series!
Very glad that you are enjoying the series! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Always looking forward to your new episodes!!
Glad that you enjoy our videos! Thank you for watching and commenting!
ohh ya .. just what i needed today !!!! love your vids as always !
Glad that you found our new video! Thanks very much for your continued support!
Thanks for the video enjoy the rise and fall of the small railroad towns.
Thank you for commenting and for watching the video! We find the stories of these towns fascinating - as it relates to so many cities and towns across the United States. Thanks again!
Once again, a very enjoyable video. I knew about the bridge remains. A bittersweet reminder of what once had been as well as a sad reminder of the failure to extend the bike trail further West from Dyersville.
Once again, I learned some new things throughout the video, including the connection between the CGW & the building of St. Peter & Paul Catholic Church.
The incident at Oneida with the Italian immigrants especially caught my attention. While my Italian great grandfather didn't reach Oelwein until 1911, I couldn't help but wonder how many of those involved in the incident eventually settled in Oelwein to work at the shops, including who they were as I may have known some of them or their families growing up there. May have to get to the DBQ library to check if the stories included any names of those arrested.
Sorry to hear about the problems at Almoral.
As always, looking forward to the next video, especially as you are getting closer to Oelwein.
Thanks for watching the video and for your always welcome and interesting observations! Yes, the Dyersville bridge remains are pretty amazing, tucked away on the edge of town. The story of the Italian immigrant workers is one that was a bit comedic, for its overreach, but also a bit sad. We try to include all aspects of railroad related life in our videos, the good, the bad, and the sometimes surreal. Regarding the newspaper stories, you also might find that information at the manchesteria.advantage-preservation.com website, which provides access to many of the historic Delaware County newspapers. The folks at the Manchester Public Library were very helpful when we visited there. Thanks again for the comments and support!
Beautiful presentation...thank you!
Very glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Another great video. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind words and support!
I've been traveling along, and photographing, the old CGW Railway in northern Illinois for the last 25 years, and have very much enjoyed your CGW series. Sure hope you have similar adventures lined up in the future. Best wishes and happy trails, Joyce and Brian.
Thanks very much for the kind words and wishes - and for supporting our channel!
Great video as always !!
The music in between the stops really adds so much to the quality to the production
Well done 👍
Thank your the support and for commenting! Yes, we try our best to match the music with the story and spend a fair amount of time on that. It can be a challenge matching the chapter intervals to suitable music - but we are usually happy with the result. Thank you for noticing the music and thanks again for taking the time to comment!
Once again excellent video! Looking forward to the next one!
Glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for the support and for commenting!
I found most interesting that most of these rural stations closed at the same time as did the CA&E.
The closures provide an historical landmark in time, where travel and transportation were coming into a new dominance of both American and worldwide industrial and technical revolution.
The closed stations also meant the loss of towns of significant commerce were going to rapidly downsize. Like other viewers, that illicits nostalgic feelings for a time past. But, I would like to think that it can represent the betterment for us all.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment and observation. It does seem that many US railroads were abandoned, closed down, or trimmed back in the mid to late 20th century. As a culture, we apparently became enamored with the automobile as a technology, to the exclusion of all other forms of transportation, including one that played a large part in the growth of our country and society. As a result, our transportation choices are today generally limited - drive a car, or possibily drive great distances to airports to fly. Our sense is that there are many positives to passenger rail systems - but the US may be so far behind with this technology that it would take a huge investment to build that infrastructure up again. Thanks again for the comment!
Thank you for another fantastic installment of your Chicago to Oelwein series. I especially liked your puns describing the sentencing of the men convicted of stealing meat from the derailment!
Thanks for the support and kind words! Yes, the nature of some of these stories is somewhat comedic, and they cry out for bad punning. We did the same with the story of the Italian immigrant laborers shooting game birds. It helps to balance some of the tragic stories associated with the railroad, as in the accidents and deaths. Thanks again for watching and the comment!
I love the midwest time to look and think
Indeed - some of these spaces with broad vistas and a thin line where the sky meets the earth - can change your outlook, at least temporarily. Thanks for watching our videos and for taking the time to comment!
Dyersville held significance not only for us rail buffs with an interest in the CGW but for those of us that built model cars,planes and Star Trek and Star Wars kits Dyersville was a name we eere familiar with as it was where we would mail off for replacement parts for a kit as Dyersville was the home of AMT ERTL until it's being acquired by Racing Champions in the 2Ks. A check of Google Maps shows the die cast ERTL portion of the plant still doing die cast but the plastic kit AMT side seems to be a furniture sales company.
(Edit) Apparently the playlist shifted just as I hit send as clearly this was intended for the previous video
Thanks for watching and commenting! That's a facet of Dyersville that we did not discuss - so thanks for pointing that out!
Thank you for another installment of your videos on the Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western Railroad. You brought us more information about the Chicago Great Western Railroad stations in Petersburg, Almoral and Oneida, Iowa. You also showed us the remains of a bridge near Petersburg, Iowa. The information about the two other railroad that passed through Oneida, Iowa was informative. I looked through the book Chicago Great Western; Depots Along the Corn Belt Route by Joe Piersen and Jerry Huddelston to see if they had any information to add. On Page 23 they confirm that Petersburg had a 16 x 40-foot station which was replaced in 1954 by a Butler Steel 8 x 10-foot depot. Almoral had a M&NW standard 22 x 55-foot depot which was replaced in 1947 by half if a boxcar. Oneida had a M&NW standard 22 x 72-foot depot. In AFE (Authorization for Expense) Section of the book, the first notation for Petersburg, Iowa is undated, and it says that a 16 x 40-foot depot was added later; it may have replaced one that had burned down. Same as the one in North Hanover. In 1916 an outhouse was installed. A baggage truck was added on 17 March 1917. In 1927 two toilets were installed. There is a drawing showing where they were installed. (The drawing is not part of the information in the book.) In 1954 the agent’s residence, 24 x 28-feet was retired and sold to Henry Butlett for $715.00. In a source dated in 1954 16 x 70-foot depot was retired and replaced by an 8 x 10-foot Bulter Steel depot. There is an indication that the depot was originally a 16 x 40-foot depot as indicated above. In a source dated in 1955 the frame depot was replaced by an 8 x 10-foot Butler Steel depot. In 1965 the Bulter steel depot 8 x 10-foot was moved to Fairgrounds for a scale house, work completed 8/63. (I have no idea why it says that the work was completed in 8/63 while the AFE is dated in 1965. This could be a typographical error, or it could mean that the scale was originally completed in 8/63 and the original office from that date was replaced with the former Petersburg Butler Steel Depot in 1965.) AFEs for Almoral, Iowa start with a 1947 date. However, there is a notation with an 1894 date that there is a photograph dated May 1, 1894, of a station at Almoral, Iowa that did not have a sign on it as yet. (That photograph is not reproduced in the book. Where either Joe or Jerry found that photograph is unknown.) The 1947 AFE for Almoral, Iowa says Retire depot. 22 x 55-feet. Frame. Agency closed May 1, 1928. Another 1947 AFE reads: Add ½ box car body. The Oneida, Iowa AFEs indicated that in 1904 the depot roof had to be repaired. In 1906 Painted with Casey’s Magnesia Paint. A 1921 AFE says Install electric lights, also platform. Another source indicates that this work could have been done in 1922. A 1950 AFE says Retire depot 22 x 72-feet.
Wow! You are a font of information! That is most useful, both to us as well as to our viewers who read through these comments. Thanks again for watching and the continued support of our channel. We very much appreciate it! One thing that is not mentioned in any of the records that we've uncovered is the fact that the Oneida station was actually a bit atypical in that the station agent lookout bay was not in the middle of the building, but situated on the southwest corner of the building. We didn't mention that in the video - but it is clearly visible in the photographs. We found no evidence of an interlocking tower at Oneida, which is curious, given the number of accidents and near accidents at this crossing. Instead, they appear to have thought it sufficient to have a single story bay in the CGW station play this role. It was very reminiscient of the station building at Holcomb, which had a similar bay on the corner of the building. Thanks always for the interesting information that you provide.!
@@BeHistoric I was also wondering why there were no signals at the crossing in Oneida. You mentioned in the video that a derail prevented at least one accident by derailing a westbound CGW train before it hit a train on the north/south track that blocked the CGW track. The derail would have been controlled by rods from the CGW station. Was there a derail west of the crossing to derail an eastbound train? That derail would also have been controlled by rods from the CGW depot.
@@thomasmackowiak Yes, there is certainly more to learn about this crossing. BTW, the newspaper article didn't indicate whether the derailing was for a eastbound or westbound train. We simply chose westbound as there was visually more to see with the station nearby. As you point out, presumably there would have been controls for both east and westbound traffic.
Great video as always! Google inserted w ads near the start.
Many thanks for watching the video and for commenting! And thanks too for the continued support!
Great job as always! Being from around Dyersville, I should point out another hard to see possible artifact, if you look to the left at 1:35, along that yellow building there are tracks remaining with an old caboose and passenger car behind that fence.
Just thought I’d point it out if you’re ever through town again!
Thanks for watching and for pointing out that additional relic! Indeed, a few others have pointed out that same caboose and car, and we've noted it on a few of our recent visits. At this writing, we don't know their backstory as yet. Hope to learn that at some point in the coming months. Thanks again!
These stories of the beginning of the American white settlement and rise of rural transportation are an interesting study of how technology and some early buisnessmen had the idea of speculating in the rail transportation industry. It appears that presently we have regressed to the time before the rail transportation opened up settlement of the western frontier and now the creation of small rural towns is not now very financially viable, however, that can change again as overcrowding becomes a greater issue in the near future, it may even now be contemplated by the young now as boredom and frustration with the current lifestyle grow.
Indeed, things change over time, in sometimes unpredictable ways. In the early 1900s, few people would have thought that most passenger rail service would disappear in the US within a half century - but yet it did. Thanks for the thoughtful comment and for watching our videos!
Pleased that you used my pictures of the Oneida, IA boxcar/depot. Thank you for the credit.
Yes, those were excellent pictures, btw. We are indeed fortunate that you documented that structure so well. Unfortunately, by the time of our visit, there was nothing left but a small pile of rubble in the field. The family told us that they had torn it down within the past few years. Thank you again for watching, and the use of your excellent photos!
@@BeHistoric Looking at Google Maps, the box car shows up in Street View but the latest aerial was after it was demolished. Much of the right-of-way for the other two railroads has been farmed lately destroying traces of their old tracks
Another excellent video! thoroughly enjoyed it and as always, i learned a great deal! I find myself becoming a bit sad as you approach Oelwein and ending this wonderful series.
Thanks for the kind words and the support! Yes, this has turned into something of an epic journey. When we first started out, we thought it might be perhaps a half dozen videos or so. Were we ever wrong! On the other hand, we have felt a strong responsibility to document as much of the railroad along this route as possible, and the towns through which it passed. It's a cross section of the American Midwest history. Thanks again!
The railfan was waiting for the business car train! With a low dome! On CN former IC
Thanks for the comment! Yes, he seemed to be watching that train passing by just at the time we were driving by. When we spotted the car on the side of the road, we suspected there was a railfan there somewhere - and then we saw him to the left of the road, peering after the train on the former IC track. It was fun to see.
@ 4:12 you appear to drive by a special Canadian national passenger train on some sort of special excursion I assume.
Yes, that appears to be as you describe. Thanks for watching and commenting on this! It was fun seeing a train spotter out there - and seeing a train using the former IC tracks.
CN business train on the former IC Iowa Division?
Yes, apparently. According to recent railroad maps, that trackage is owned by CN today. Thanks for watching the video and commenting!