when you look at that elmhurst station it's just so hard to believe the train traffic that was going through there at one time, now there is nothing but the terminal. kind of sad that the railroads for this area are long gone,! just a memory for some lost in time . we we will experience those times ever again
Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, a place that was once busy with train traffic, transporting people and freight, is now a quiet park area. Glad that they converted the area to a park for general public use, rather than more housing or industry - and glad that they preserved the depot in situ. Thanks again!
Rewatching and going though my data as well. Notes on this Vid -- CGW track started at the Belt line track just east of Cicero Ave there in the south west corner of the tracks stood the CGW Roundhouse they had a giant yard so they could transfer everything to the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago that rain into Grand Central. The roundhouse was built "BY" 1909 it had 15 stalls made of Brick Walls (unknown of Structure - assuming wood beams) it had a ~65 foot turntable that was updated to a 90 foot at some point. The building was razed by 1962 although the foundation is clearly visible with Track lines from the air. Ohh by the 1939 Aerial 3 more larger stalls were added making it 18 stalls... guessing thats why Turntable was updated - I did find 2 BOCT stations CGW used there rails so they MIGHT have stopped at them ... one was at Oak Park Ave the other was ummm between Marble and the alley between Marble and Wisconsin in line with the CA&E station before the expressway. also W Maywood ... on the Chicago 1930 Vol 33 Page 50 it shows a small 1 story Square building that says office about 15 by 20 feet, its on North side of yard between the 17 and 16th street like you said .. i wonder if they used that as a station this small building can be seen in the old 39 aerials pretty much at Maywood Dr and the Alley just to the east on south side of street (looks like black smudge dot)
Thanks very much for rewatching the videos and for providing all of the additional information - very useful to us and hopefully to our viewers that read the comments. There appears to have been a great deal of change over the years in this section, between Grand Central and Forest park.
Like Bellewood, Elmhurst is also my old stomping grounds. We moved from Bellewood to Elmhurst so I was able my bike along the Prairie Path the old CA&E mainline many times. We also took our dog for numerous walks along the Prairie Path then transitioned to that long grassy strip the old CGW /C&NW mainline back to the train station on York Road. There was also an interchange with the Illinois Central Railroad about a half mile away. I can still remember the I.C.R.R freights and the twice a day :Blackhawk" a Chicago to Dubuque Amtrak train pounding the diamond. Boy does that bring back memories. I also remember the CA&E Station in Villa Park being a large stone structure. I think in later years it housed an ice cream parlor. I can remember the old Ovaltine Plant. If the wind was blowing the right way you could smell chocolate as far as Spring Rd in Elmhurst. Then when the Ovaltine Plant closed the C & NW removed the rest of tracks I'm guessing from the plant on to St. Charles and maybe on further from there. I often wondered where the C.G.W. tracks ended up I live in Red Wing Minnesota. As matter of coincidence I live in Red Wing Minn. I found out that those same tracks ended up out here in Red Wing Minn to interchange with the Milwaukee Road. Ironic huh? Have a blessed Christmas everyone.
Wow, thanks for sharing your stories regarding the CA&E and CGW along Elmhurst and Villa Park! That's fascinating! Yes, it's a shame they couldn't do more with the Ovaltine plant building - most of it getting torn down to make way for condos. Having lived in Villa Park for years, we know that it took a long, long time for that development to materialize. It's a very interesting coincidence that you've lived most or all of your life along the CGW route, ending up in Red Wing, Minnesota. Thanks for watching our videos and taking the time to comment and share your stories!
Wow, that's interesting! He created quite a legacy with the Chicago Great Western railroad - and so that is something to be proud of. Thank you for sharing that and for commenting!
You guys are incredible. I keep posting on the videos i watch. Walking my dog throughout my neighborhood for years i often saw these relics. And while i did research a tiny bit. You guys just multiplied what i knew by 100. Thanks yall
Thanks for watching the video and the kind words! It is much appreciated! We've very much enjoyed making this series. We have several stations to go before reaching the hub in Oelwein (although we have actually completed recording the series - there is much research and editing remaining to do). If you haven't already, you might want to check out some of the series heading into central and northwestern Illinois, then into Iowa. Thanks again!
Thanks for the memories. My father owned A Fox & Sons lumber and millwork on 1st avenue and Wilcox in Maywood. We had a siding from the CGW for unloading Raw lumber from the forests of the Northwest. Today, Dunkin Donuts sits on the area that would have been the showroom and a pallet company on what was the shop and the lumbar yard.
Wow, that's interesting! We did not realize that there was a lumber yard and siding nearby the Maywood siding. So that would be right along 1st Avenue? Thanks for watching and sharing your story!
Thank you very much for your outstanding Videos! As a fan of the old CGW and the CA&E, I really appreciate all the neat photos and the detailed information for each location! I was born in Aurora and have childhood memories of the "Third Rail" in Aurora, and the CGW in the St Charles-Sycamore area. You guys have done a wonderful job, Thanks again! - Verne Brummel, Madison,WI
The prairie just west of St. Stephens Cemetery in Greta is supposedly the largest undisturbed native parcel of land still remaining since the 1830's. Even West Chicago Prairie was farmed at one point. Aerial photos from the 1930's show almost every acre being cultivated except for small Township and County right of ways, which helped preserve ancient effigy mounds.
Thanks for that additional piece of information regarding the prairie to the west of St Stephen's Cemetery at Gretna. Thanks too for the observations regarding the farming of West Chicago lands. As you say, much of the land fell under cultivation. If you are interested in Effigy Mounds and Native American earthworks, you may want to watch our series on the Winfield Mounds and also the St Charles Mounds. Thanks again for commenting!
Really great production along with excellent content. I've watched a few of your CA&E videos and clearly need to catch more. This episode was illustrated and explained very, very well. My compliments.
We have relatives buried in Concordia as well. Hard to believe that people used to take the train out from the city to spend a Sunday afternoon visiting the graves of their loved ones. Their must have been a constant flow of funeral cars to the Forest Park cemeteries in the 1910 timeframe. Thanks again for watching!
Just found your CGW Stations video series. I commend you on your detail of both history and location at each station. Having grown up in Freeport and living in Stockton at the end of the CGW/CNW saga, I have always been interested in this railroad's history. Thank you for the time and effort in producing this!
Thanks for watching and commenting! Very glad that you found our channel and are enjoying some of our videos. The CGW history slices acoss the American landscape and saga, revealing much of how country evolved. Thanks again!
Another good video production. However, my research disputes your location of the Bellwood station. First, the two maintenance sheds on the north side of the tracks just east of the IHB were just that. They were never a passenger station. The Bellwood station was first located at Bellwood Avenue in 1891. In 1897 the station also became the post office for this area. Bellewood was incorporated in 1900. In 1902 the AE&C arrived and built its own station a short distance south. Due to a fiery crash on the CGW in 1910, the station was rebuilt a quarter mile east to Eastern Ave. The IHB is elevated in 1931 causing a reconfiguration of track with a trestle coming down from the mainline to serve freight interchanges with the CA&E and the CGW. This track was higher than the roadbed thus Eastern Ave was no longer a through street. Service to Bellwood ended in 1936 and the station was soon torn down. I can show you maps and photos if you send me your email. Thanks.
Hi Jerry, thanks for watching, the comments, and the ongoing support! Very much appreciated! Would love to see your research on this topic, as you could very well be correct on the Bellwood location. We had not seen any strong evidence (eg clear definitive period photograph) one way or the other as yet on the Bellwood location. We had seen the earlier map (1910?) showing the station further west on Eastern Avenue, but the 1939 aerial photographs gave no hint of a station being there - whereas the aerial photos and topo maps indicated multiple structures nearby the IHB. Route maps and schedules also suggest that the station was in use at least through the 1940s - in the timeframe when these photos and maps were taken, hence the dilemma. There are surprisingly very few photos (that we are aware of) of the Forest Park, Maywood, and Bellwood stations - surprising given their location along the route.
Great video! Looking forward to future installments. I live in st Charles, and I remember when the tracks were used as an industrial spur, until they were sadly removed.
I grew up in Maywood, and as a kid in the 1960s used to sometimes play in the abandoned train station there. Found lots of old paperwork laying around inside - I guess it was old train schedules, tickets, etc. Maybe it's because I was smaller then, but it seemed much bigger than depicted in the video :) I do recall that occasionally freight trains were still using that section of track then. I'd guess the train station was gone by the late '60s or early '70s. There might have been a fire there? Anyway, thanks for the memories!
Thank you for watching! That's very interesting regarding your childhood memories playing in the abandoned station. The simulated station in the video was roughly right - that was a fairly standard CGW station design that we used - but it's very possible that different stations were scaled a bit bigger or smaller. As we lacked any good pictures of the station, we could only guesstimate the size when we put it into the current landscape. Our intention was to give people an idea of the location and what it may have looked like, back in the day. Thanks for commenting and sharing your memories!
Early in my career as a locomotive engineer for the CNW, we used to go out to the Ovaltine plant in Villa Park over the old CGW trackage that still existed at that time to spot freight cars at the factory. The Ovaltine plant (since converted to condos) and the tracks are long gone but I used to ride the Prairie Path bicycle trail frequently and pass by it. I cannot recall how we connected from the CNW to the old CGW trackage. But we did. There was also a short bit of old CGW trackage that we would access off the IHB at or near Madison St. in order to service the Dart warehouse. That was the very last customer on the old CGW that I am aware of, at least in the near west Chicago suburban area.
Thanks for commenting and apologies for not responding much sooner. Sometimes the video comments fall into the cracks and then we don't see them. That's a very interesting comment regarding your experience with both the CGW line and the early IPP. Also very interesting regarding the CGW trackage near the IHB. That area needs more exploration.
I really like this so far! However, one thing to look for is on the south side of the CGW tracks, Is telephone poles. Along most of the CGW, you can find telephone poles on the south side of the track. Also, I have some photos of the CGW Glen Ellyn station, and more remnants of the line I want to share. I could email this information to you if you like.
Thank you for watching and glad that you are enjoying it so far! That's an excellent tip regarding the utility poles. We hadn't noticed that as yet - but we'll be looking out for it. Yes, we'd love to potentially see and share what you've collected on the line. We know that there are very few photos of the Glen Ellyn station - so that would be most welcome. We've spotted few artifacts along the CGW line so far - until you get to West Chicago, as they seemed to do a fairly good job of removing most of the infrastructure when they decommissioned the trackage in the 1960s and 1970s. So again, any information that you have and can share would be most appreciated and welcome. You can contact us directly at brian@behistoric.org or joyce@behistoric.org. Thanks again!
Another question or two, if you don't mind. The refurbished, preserved Elmhurst station, I presume that is in the exact same spot it was in when the line was in operation, not moved/relocated at all after for any reason? And the apparent tall signal light with the blocky base right near it, was that there also back in that day? Because I notice from the other station scenes there was some sort of different signal, evidently, right up against the station. Also, the old active line scenes give the impression of a two-track operation in the area (plus siding), I note.
Thanks for the additional questions. Yes, the Elmhurst (or South Elmhurst Station) is in situ - has not been moved from its original location. We know that from aerial photographs from the 1930s through the 1950s. Nor were there any reports or newspaper accounts of the depot being moved. Regarding the dual trackage. You are correct that the CGW appears to be double tracked somewhere from the east up til the Elmhurst station. After that it is single tracked westward (except for sidings and passing tracks) to Stockton. This dual tracking from Elmhurst goes at least through Bellwood - and likely into Chicago. This is based upon aerial photographs. No doubt the Chicago area had sufficient freight and passenger traffic to justify the additional trackage.
@@BeHistoric Thanks for that reply. I hope to venture out there this spring and do a good walk-around at the scene. I'll have prints of some relevant screenshots from the video for my own visual comparison, and will attempt to observe from their same 'standpoints' as best as I can estimate. Is the station building open to any sort of visitation?
So, to recap, what year did the CGW finally call it quits, so to speak? It was absorbed by another railroad, which eventually found no further practical use for it? What year were the tracks then finally removed?
The CGW merged with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway in 1968. The CNW already had many of the same routes as the CGW and was primarily merging/acquiring for market share of the freight business. And so within a few years of this merger, by the early to mid 1970s, much of the CGW trackage was retired and removed. There remained fragments and patches of the trackage at various places for some time thereafter, serving various purposes - and there are still some remaining. For example, the tracks coming into Byron from the east. (Many of your questions are answered within our ongoing CGW video series.)
Hi, thanks for commenting! No, the CGW was both freight and passenger from early days, but shifted heavily to freight in its latter years (1950s to 1970s). This shift really started to occur in the 1930s and 1940s, when it went to longer trains - which was efficient for freight but offered less choice for passenger service. However, passenger service continued into the 1950s for most stops along the Chicago to Oelwein route, for example. From the late 1880s through the 1920s, the CGW operated heavily in both freight and passenger service.
@@BeHistoric So, then the line actually would have competed with the CA&E for passenger traffic/revenue, with all those stations? Did it? Also, I get mixed readings from the photos in the video. Was the line primarily a one- or two-track operation thru the suburbs?
@@HRHolm-bi6zu It was primarily a single trackway through Chicago and the western suburbs - and extending out across most of Illinois, until it got to Stockton. They double tracked it from Dubuque to Stockton, as that area tended to be a bottleneck for train traffic, as the trains ran more slowly through the hilly terrain. Yes, the CGW competed with the CA&E (AE&C) early on for passenger traffic - but soon lost the race. The AE&C had more frequent trains, was double-tracked, and many more stations by 1910. The CGW was used mainly for passenger traffic heading further west in Illinois (eg Sycamore or DeKalb), or interstate traffic. The CGW had competing stations placed close by the AE&C through Villa Park - although Villa Park was never heavily used as a passenger stop. One wonders whether the big new station at Villa Avenue, replacing a perfectly decent train station akin to the station at York Avenue, wasn't built partly in response to the CGW station built in Villa Park in 1926. Later, once the CGW lost the passenger traffic race to the CA&E, the York station in particular became something of an interchange for CGW passengers coming into the Chicago area - getting off at York and taking the CA&E into Chicago - and then vice versa.
@@BeHistoric Then the passenger/commuter(?) trains were primarily eastbound to Chicago in the mornings, and westbound to the suburban stations in the afternoons/evenings, switching directions sometime around mid-day?
Looking at a 1908 timetable, for example, between Sycamore and Chicago, there were six trains departing Chicago and six trains arriving at Chicago every day. Two of the inbound trains were local (stopping at every station), arriving in Chicago at 10:40 AM and 7:10 PM. Two of the outbound trains were local, departing at 7:05 AM and 3 PM. And then there were four other arrivals and departures at varioius points throughout the day, which had limited stops. And so by this time, the CGW was not really competing with the commuter traffic that the AE&C had siezed upon, which had many more station stops and more frequent trains. The incoming and outgoing on a single trackway was managed via the sidings located at various points along the right of way, including those at the station stops.
You need to correct the spelling of Oelwein. Also it is pronounced ol wine. Sadly the Dubuque station doesn't exist any more. Looking forward to the rest of the videos.
Thanks for commenting and catching that typo! And also for noting the pronunciation mistake. We'll fix the description and make sure that we pronounce Oelwein correctly in future videos. The pronunciation makes perfect sense, now that you bring it to our attention. And thank you for watching!
@@al007italia We are looking forward to our time in Oelwein, as well as Dubuque and the cities and towns along the way. We have extended family in Dubuque. Now there's a city name which has had a pronunciation stray far from its origins (French). In France, they would say Doo-boo-key. :-)
Love this❤
Very glad that you enjoyed this video! Thank you for watching and for commenting!
I love this series. Being a train buff and living in the Midwest I find this series very interesting.
Very glad that you are enjoying this series and these videos! Thank you for the kind words and the support! We appreciate it!
when you look at that elmhurst station it's just so hard to believe the train traffic that was going through there at one time, now there is nothing but the terminal. kind of sad that the railroads for this area are long gone,! just a memory for some lost in time . we we will experience those times ever again
Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, a place that was once busy with train traffic, transporting people and freight, is now a quiet park area. Glad that they converted the area to a park for general public use, rather than more housing or industry - and glad that they preserved the depot in situ. Thanks again!
Rewatching and going though my data as well. Notes on this Vid -- CGW track started at the Belt line track just east of Cicero Ave there in the south west corner of the tracks stood the CGW Roundhouse they had a giant yard so they could transfer everything to the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago that rain into Grand Central. The roundhouse was built "BY" 1909 it had 15 stalls made of Brick Walls (unknown of Structure - assuming wood beams) it had a ~65 foot turntable that was updated to a 90 foot at some point. The building was razed by 1962 although the foundation is clearly visible with Track lines from the air. Ohh by the 1939 Aerial 3 more larger stalls were added making it 18 stalls... guessing thats why Turntable was updated - I did find 2 BOCT stations CGW used there rails so they MIGHT have stopped at them ... one was at Oak Park Ave the other was ummm between Marble and the alley between Marble and Wisconsin in line with the CA&E station before the expressway. also W Maywood ... on the Chicago 1930 Vol 33 Page 50 it shows a small 1 story Square building that says office about 15 by 20 feet, its on North side of yard between the 17 and 16th street like you said .. i wonder if they used that as a station this small building can be seen in the old 39 aerials pretty much at Maywood Dr and the Alley just to the east on south side of street (looks like black smudge dot)
Thanks very much for rewatching the videos and for providing all of the additional information - very useful to us and hopefully to our viewers that read the comments. There appears to have been a great deal of change over the years in this section, between Grand Central and Forest park.
Like Bellewood, Elmhurst is also my old stomping grounds. We moved from Bellewood to Elmhurst so I was able my bike along the Prairie Path the old CA&E mainline many times. We also took our dog for numerous walks along the Prairie Path then transitioned to that long grassy strip the old CGW /C&NW mainline back to the train station on York Road. There was also an interchange with the Illinois Central Railroad about a half mile away. I can still remember the I.C.R.R freights and the twice a day :Blackhawk" a Chicago to Dubuque Amtrak train pounding the diamond. Boy does that bring back memories. I also remember the CA&E Station in Villa Park being a large stone structure. I think in later years it housed an ice cream parlor. I can remember the old Ovaltine Plant. If the wind was blowing the right way you could smell chocolate as far as Spring Rd in Elmhurst. Then when the Ovaltine Plant closed the C & NW removed the rest of tracks I'm guessing from the plant on to St. Charles and maybe on further from there. I often wondered where the C.G.W. tracks ended up I live in Red Wing Minnesota. As matter of coincidence I live in Red Wing Minn. I found out that those same tracks ended up out here in Red Wing Minn to interchange with the Milwaukee Road. Ironic huh? Have a blessed Christmas everyone.
Wow, thanks for sharing your stories regarding the CA&E and CGW along Elmhurst and Villa Park! That's fascinating! Yes, it's a shame they couldn't do more with the Ovaltine plant building - most of it getting torn down to make way for condos. Having lived in Villa Park for years, we know that it took a long, long time for that development to materialize. It's a very interesting coincidence that you've lived most or all of your life along the CGW route, ending up in Red Wing, Minnesota. Thanks for watching our videos and taking the time to comment and share your stories!
This is fantastic, thanks!!! You're doing what so many rail fans have wanted to do!
Thank you for watching! Yes, we've been meaning to do this for awhile and started working on it this past autumn. Thanks for the support!
Alpheus Beede Stickney was my great great great grandfather.
Wow, that's interesting! He created quite a legacy with the Chicago Great Western railroad - and so that is something to be proud of. Thank you for sharing that and for commenting!
You guys are incredible.
I keep posting on the videos i watch.
Walking my dog throughout my neighborhood for years i often saw these relics. And while i did research a tiny bit. You guys just multiplied what i knew by 100.
Thanks yall
Thanks for watching the video and the kind words! It is much appreciated! We've very much enjoyed making this series. We have several stations to go before reaching the hub in Oelwein (although we have actually completed recording the series - there is much research and editing remaining to do). If you haven't already, you might want to check out some of the series heading into central and northwestern Illinois, then into Iowa. Thanks again!
Thanks for the memories. My father owned A Fox & Sons lumber and millwork on 1st avenue and Wilcox in Maywood. We had a siding from the CGW for unloading Raw lumber from the forests of the Northwest. Today, Dunkin Donuts sits on the area that would have been the showroom and a pallet company on what was the shop and the lumbar yard.
Wow, that's interesting! We did not realize that there was a lumber yard and siding nearby the Maywood siding. So that would be right along 1st Avenue? Thanks for watching and sharing your story!
Lovely. Thanks for the history lesson. So interesting. Yes, I am interested in part II.
Thank you for watching and commenting! Part II will be coming out within a week. Then it's on to Sycamore from St Charles.
Thank you very much for your outstanding Videos! As a fan of the old CGW and the CA&E, I really appreciate all the neat photos and the detailed information for each location! I was born in Aurora and have childhood memories of the "Third Rail" in Aurora, and the CGW in the St Charles-Sycamore area. You guys have done a wonderful job, Thanks again! - Verne Brummel, Madison,WI
Very glad that you are enjoying our videos! They are a lot of fun to make as well. Thanks for watching and commenting! Very much appreciated.
Thanks so much, another wonderful series.
Thank you for the continuing support and the kind words!
Well done!
Thank you! And thanks for watching!
The prairie just west of St. Stephens Cemetery in Greta is supposedly the largest undisturbed native parcel of land still remaining since the 1830's. Even West Chicago Prairie was farmed at one point. Aerial photos from the 1930's show almost every acre being cultivated except for small Township and County right of ways, which helped preserve ancient effigy mounds.
Thanks for that additional piece of information regarding the prairie to the west of St Stephen's Cemetery at Gretna. Thanks too for the observations regarding the farming of West Chicago lands. As you say, much of the land fell under cultivation. If you are interested in Effigy Mounds and Native American earthworks, you may want to watch our series on the Winfield Mounds and also the St Charles Mounds. Thanks again for commenting!
Really great production along with excellent content. I've watched a few of your CA&E videos and clearly need to catch more. This episode was illustrated and explained very, very well. My compliments.
Thank you for watching and the kind words. That means a lot. Makes it worth doing!
My grandfather and other relatives are buried in Concordia Cemetery a short distance from where the CGW traversed Concordia.
We have relatives buried in Concordia as well. Hard to believe that people used to take the train out from the city to spend a Sunday afternoon visiting the graves of their loved ones. Their must have been a constant flow of funeral cars to the Forest Park cemeteries in the 1910 timeframe. Thanks again for watching!
Just found your CGW Stations video series. I commend you on your detail of both history and location at each station. Having grown up in Freeport and living in Stockton at the end of the CGW/CNW saga, I have always been interested in this railroad's history. Thank you for the time and effort in producing this!
Thanks for watching and commenting! Very glad that you found our channel and are enjoying some of our videos. The CGW history slices acoss the American landscape and saga, revealing much of how country evolved. Thanks again!
Great video! I enjoyed the historical information. I am looking forward to see more of this series of videos on Chicago Great Western stations.
Thank you for watching - and very glad that you enjoyed the video! We hope to make the rest of the series as engaging.
Very informative with excellent narration. Thanks for pleasant trip to yesteryear.
Thanks very much for watching and the support! Very much appreciated!
Absolutely love it !!!!. Can't wait for part 2
Glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Looks to be another great piece
Thanks for the kind words and thanks too for watching!
Great video and attention to details.
Thanks for watching and for the support!
Another good video production. However, my research disputes your location of the Bellwood station. First, the two maintenance sheds on the north side of the tracks just east of the IHB were just that. They were never a passenger station. The Bellwood station was first located at Bellwood Avenue in 1891. In 1897 the station also became the post office for this area. Bellewood was incorporated in 1900. In 1902 the AE&C arrived and built its own station a short distance south. Due to a fiery crash on the CGW in 1910, the station was rebuilt a quarter mile east to Eastern Ave. The IHB is elevated in 1931 causing a reconfiguration of track with a trestle coming down from the mainline to serve freight interchanges with the CA&E and the CGW. This track was higher than the roadbed thus Eastern Ave was no longer a through street. Service to Bellwood ended in 1936 and the station was soon torn down. I can show you maps and photos if you send me your email. Thanks.
Hi Jerry, thanks for watching, the comments, and the ongoing support! Very much appreciated! Would love to see your research on this topic, as you could very well be correct on the Bellwood location. We had not seen any strong evidence (eg clear definitive period photograph) one way or the other as yet on the Bellwood location. We had seen the earlier map (1910?) showing the station further west on Eastern Avenue, but the 1939 aerial photographs gave no hint of a station being there - whereas the aerial photos and topo maps indicated multiple structures nearby the IHB. Route maps and schedules also suggest that the station was in use at least through the 1940s - in the timeframe when these photos and maps were taken, hence the dilemma. There are surprisingly very few photos (that we are aware of) of the Forest Park, Maywood, and Bellwood stations - surprising given their location along the route.
Hi Jerry, btw, you can reach us by email at brian@behistoric.org or joyce@behistoric.org
Great video! Looking forward to future installments. I live in st Charles, and I remember when the tracks were used as an industrial spur, until they were sadly removed.
Thank you for watching and sharing your remembrance!
I grew up in Maywood, and as a kid in the 1960s used to sometimes play in the abandoned train station there. Found lots of old paperwork laying around inside - I guess it was old train schedules, tickets, etc. Maybe it's because I was smaller then, but it seemed much bigger than depicted in the video :) I do recall that occasionally freight trains were still using that section of track then. I'd guess the train station was gone by the late '60s or early '70s. There might have been a fire there? Anyway, thanks for the memories!
Thank you for watching! That's very interesting regarding your childhood memories playing in the abandoned station. The simulated station in the video was roughly right - that was a fairly standard CGW station design that we used - but it's very possible that different stations were scaled a bit bigger or smaller. As we lacked any good pictures of the station, we could only guesstimate the size when we put it into the current landscape. Our intention was to give people an idea of the location and what it may have looked like, back in the day. Thanks for commenting and sharing your memories!
Loved the show
Thank you for watching and glad that you enjoyed it!
Early in my career as a locomotive engineer for the CNW, we used to go out to the Ovaltine plant in Villa Park over the old CGW trackage that still existed at that time to spot freight cars at the factory. The Ovaltine plant (since converted to condos) and the tracks are long gone but I used to ride the Prairie Path bicycle trail frequently and pass by it. I cannot recall how we connected from the CNW to the old CGW trackage. But we did. There was also a short bit of old CGW trackage that we would access off the IHB at or near Madison St. in order to service the Dart warehouse. That was the very last customer on the old CGW that I am aware of, at least in the near west Chicago suburban area.
Thanks for commenting and apologies for not responding much sooner. Sometimes the video comments fall into the cracks and then we don't see them. That's a very interesting comment regarding your experience with both the CGW line and the early IPP. Also very interesting regarding the CGW trackage near the IHB. That area needs more exploration.
Outstanding ... a lot of time and effort went into this ...
Thank you! And thank you for watching and commenting!
I really like this so far! However, one thing to look for is on the south side of the CGW tracks, Is telephone poles. Along most of the CGW, you can find telephone poles on the south side of the track.
Also, I have some photos of the CGW Glen Ellyn station, and more remnants of the line I want to share.
I could email this information to you if you like.
Thank you for watching and glad that you are enjoying it so far! That's an excellent tip regarding the utility poles. We hadn't noticed that as yet - but we'll be looking out for it. Yes, we'd love to potentially see and share what you've collected on the line. We know that there are very few photos of the Glen Ellyn station - so that would be most welcome. We've spotted few artifacts along the CGW line so far - until you get to West Chicago, as they seemed to do a fairly good job of removing most of the infrastructure when they decommissioned the trackage in the 1960s and 1970s. So again, any information that you have and can share would be most appreciated and welcome. You can contact us directly at brian@behistoric.org or joyce@behistoric.org. Thanks again!
Another question or two, if you don't mind. The refurbished, preserved Elmhurst station, I presume that is in the exact same spot it was in when the line was in operation, not moved/relocated at all after for any reason? And the apparent tall signal light with the blocky base right near it, was that there also back in that day? Because I notice from the other station scenes there was some sort of different signal, evidently, right up against the station. Also, the old active line scenes give the impression of a two-track operation in the area (plus siding), I note.
Thanks for the additional questions. Yes, the Elmhurst (or South Elmhurst Station) is in situ - has not been moved from its original location. We know that from aerial photographs from the 1930s through the 1950s. Nor were there any reports or newspaper accounts of the depot being moved. Regarding the dual trackage. You are correct that the CGW appears to be double tracked somewhere from the east up til the Elmhurst station. After that it is single tracked westward (except for sidings and passing tracks) to Stockton. This dual tracking from Elmhurst goes at least through Bellwood - and likely into Chicago. This is based upon aerial photographs. No doubt the Chicago area had sufficient freight and passenger traffic to justify the additional trackage.
@@BeHistoric Thanks for that reply. I hope to venture out there this spring and do a good walk-around at the scene. I'll have prints of some relevant screenshots from the video for my own visual comparison, and will attempt to observe from their same 'standpoints' as best as I can estimate. Is the station building open to any sort of visitation?
So, to recap, what year did the CGW finally call it quits, so to speak? It was absorbed by another railroad, which eventually found no further practical use for it? What year were the tracks then finally removed?
The CGW merged with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway in 1968. The CNW already had many of the same routes as the CGW and was primarily merging/acquiring for market share of the freight business. And so within a few years of this merger, by the early to mid 1970s, much of the CGW trackage was retired and removed. There remained fragments and patches of the trackage at various places for some time thereafter, serving various purposes - and there are still some remaining. For example, the tracks coming into Byron from the east. (Many of your questions are answered within our ongoing CGW video series.)
My BLE Div. 93 used to hold union meetings in the Elmhurst CGW station many years ago. BLE stands for Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
Sorry we hadn't seen this comment earlier. That's an interesting note - that the depot was used for the BLE meetings.
CGW was strictly a freight line, correct? These were therefore freight stations, with no passenger hosting, then?
Hi, thanks for commenting! No, the CGW was both freight and passenger from early days, but shifted heavily to freight in its latter years (1950s to 1970s). This shift really started to occur in the 1930s and 1940s, when it went to longer trains - which was efficient for freight but offered less choice for passenger service. However, passenger service continued into the 1950s for most stops along the Chicago to Oelwein route, for example. From the late 1880s through the 1920s, the CGW operated heavily in both freight and passenger service.
@@BeHistoric So, then the line actually would have competed with the CA&E for passenger traffic/revenue, with all those stations? Did it? Also, I get mixed readings from the photos in the video. Was the line primarily a one- or two-track operation thru the suburbs?
@@HRHolm-bi6zu It was primarily a single trackway through Chicago and the western suburbs - and extending out across most of Illinois, until it got to Stockton. They double tracked it from Dubuque to Stockton, as that area tended to be a bottleneck for train traffic, as the trains ran more slowly through the hilly terrain. Yes, the CGW competed with the CA&E (AE&C) early on for passenger traffic - but soon lost the race. The AE&C had more frequent trains, was double-tracked, and many more stations by 1910. The CGW was used mainly for passenger traffic heading further west in Illinois (eg Sycamore or DeKalb), or interstate traffic. The CGW had competing stations placed close by the AE&C through Villa Park - although Villa Park was never heavily used as a passenger stop. One wonders whether the big new station at Villa Avenue, replacing a perfectly decent train station akin to the station at York Avenue, wasn't built partly in response to the CGW station built in Villa Park in 1926. Later, once the CGW lost the passenger traffic race to the CA&E, the York station in particular became something of an interchange for CGW passengers coming into the Chicago area - getting off at York and taking the CA&E into Chicago - and then vice versa.
@@BeHistoric Then the passenger/commuter(?) trains were primarily eastbound to Chicago in the mornings, and westbound to the suburban stations in the afternoons/evenings, switching directions sometime around mid-day?
Looking at a 1908 timetable, for example, between Sycamore and Chicago, there were six trains departing Chicago and six trains arriving at Chicago every day. Two of the inbound trains were local (stopping at every station), arriving in Chicago at 10:40 AM and 7:10 PM. Two of the outbound trains were local, departing at 7:05 AM and 3 PM. And then there were four other arrivals and departures at varioius points throughout the day, which had limited stops. And so by this time, the CGW was not really competing with the commuter traffic that the AE&C had siezed upon, which had many more station stops and more frequent trains. The incoming and outgoing on a single trackway was managed via the sidings located at various points along the right of way, including those at the station stops.
You need to correct the spelling of Oelwein. Also it is pronounced ol wine. Sadly the Dubuque station doesn't exist any more. Looking forward to the rest of the videos.
Thanks for commenting and catching that typo! And also for noting the pronunciation mistake. We'll fix the description and make sure that we pronounce Oelwein correctly in future videos. The pronunciation makes perfect sense, now that you bring it to our attention. And thank you for watching!
@@BeHistoric You welcome. Thankfully my hometown of Oelwein has done more than a lot of towns to preserve the CGW heritage.
@@al007italia We are looking forward to our time in Oelwein, as well as Dubuque and the cities and towns along the way. We have extended family in Dubuque. Now there's a city name which has had a pronunciation stray far from its origins (French). In France, they would say Doo-boo-key. :-)