holy cow, best one yet !!! You just keep getting these better and better. Thanks for all the hard work you put into these. Anxiously awaiting the next.
Another interesting segment in this series. I may be mistaken, but there is a difference between a "draw bridge" and a "swing bridge." The CN bridge is considered a swing bridge as it simply pivots to clear for boat traffic, while draw bridges actually lift. The pilings where the swing span sits have been hit more than once by barges fighting swifter currents during high water periods on the River. While I never witnessed it, those who had remembered the days when the CGW was running 200-car trains back in the 1960s. With track speed at 10 mph over the bridge and through the tunnel, those train tied up vehicle traffic on both sides of the river for a good long while!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Yes, you are indeed correct. However, we used the terms that they used in their contemporary write-ups. In newspapers articles and contemporary descriptions of the bridge, they always referred to it as a "draw" and a "draw span" - and so we followed suit. But the more correct term would have been swing span. Thanks again!
Thanks for watching and commenting! We appreciate it! BTW, if the photo credit (lower right) is listed as DALL-E, Bing Image Creator, or Midjourney, these are AI generated images. Where we have no images of a specific event, we sometimes use these tools to create images that approximate the event. All others are historical photos. We just want to ensure that people are aware of that, as we do not intend to misrepresent those AI generated images.
Wonderful, wonderful! Thank you for part 15. As always well researched and good production values. I look forward to the Iowa installment along your journey. I realize these must time a lot of time to produce. Much appreciated you are preserving this history for posterity
Thank you for watching and for commenting! Glad that you enjoyed the video! Sorry for the delay in getting this one out. It was longer than we expected and we ran into a few unexpected delays.
Once again an excellent video. There are so many things I could comment on, but will limit myself. I had to laugh at the attempt to keep Dunleith dry by Jesup. When I came to Dubuque in 1973 from Oelwein to go to college, East Dubuque was where everyone went after the bars in Dubuque closed. Sinsinawa was known for its bars & strip joints. & while the strip jopints are long gone, mostly under suspicious fires, as you saw, there are still plenty of bars. The High Bridge was the original route of Highway 20 from Illinois into Iowa. As you saw Gavilon has torn down it's old building by the Shot Tower & is rebuilding. The Shot Tower has been hit by a couple of covered hoppers that have gotten away. Fortunatelythe damage wasn't too bad. Finally, the CGW tracks went by the former Interstate Power electric plant. I don't know for sure which railroad dropped off the coal cars. Or if only the then Milwaukee Road handled all the reefers for Dubuque Pack. As always, looking forward to the next stops on the journey.
Hi, thanks for your continued support, for commenting, and for the kind words! You are at least the second person to comment on East Dubuque's former reputation. It sounds like it yet has some perceptions to overcome. Thanks for the correction regarding Route 20. I can see from our narration that we implied that the Julien Dubuque bridge connected the route - but your comment clarifies that it simply straightened it out. It would be nice if something could be done with the former eastern approach of the High Bridge - something positive for East Dubuque. We weren't sure what was happening in the area that they were clearing to the north of the Shot Tower - so thanks for that information. Hopefully, they will continue to honor the site of the Shot Tower. Where was the site of the former Power Plant along the CGW ROW? Thanks again!
I'm sure you saw the 2 sets of tracks running off the CN tracks towards 7th St. The one with the cement block was the CGW track. The other track that crosses 7th St immediately went on to the Interstate Power Comapany site to drop off the coal cars. Interstate Power owned its own cars with IPWX reporting mark. The plant was converted to natural gas & was only torn down a few years ago. Highway 20 got its current route after the Julien Dubuque Bridge was open. Before that it ran to 14th St/Loras Blvd & onto University in Dubuque & on Sinsinawa in E. Dubuque. I doubt if anything will be done in E. Dubuque as that entire area, including the road from Sinsinawa to the bridge, including the Eastern approach, is now owned by BNSF & they usually don't let non employees have access. As for the Shot Tower, its continued existance is assured as it a designated landmark by the city & is on the National register of Historic Places. If you have any other questions about the CGW in Dubuque or Oelwein, feel free to contact me & I will do my best to try & help you. @@BeHistoric
@@al007italia Thanks for the additional information. Yes, we did see those tracks and actually recorded and filmed a fair amount of it. We elected not to include in the video, as it was already getting too long. Thanks for the additional info regarding the power company site. We'll need to look at that a bit more closely at that. Understood about BNSF ownership. However, it would be nice if they could work something out to enable access atop the old bridge approach - something of a riverfront for East Dubuque. You have to cross the CN tracks - but it would seem that something could be worked out there. Regarding the Shot Tower, yes - we were aware of its NRHP designation - but we've still seen where new buildings can completely overwhelm a site, where its preserved but effectively buried in the landscape. We hope that it remains a standout feature - and not overwhelmed by surrounding buildings. Thanks very much for the offer regarding the CGW history in Dubuque's environs. We may very well take you up on that!
Thank you for this 15th episode of your series on the Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western Railroad. I enjoyed watching this episode! The historical information that you research and present in your videos is impressive. The building of the tunnel in the bluff on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River and the railroad bridge was fascinating to watch. I liked the way you presented the need for the original vehicular high bridge and the need for its replacement. There is no information in the book: Chicago Great Western Depots along the Corn Belt Route by Joseph Piersen and Jerry Huddleston about any mention of CGW depots in Portage or East Dubuque, Illinois. More than likely there is no mention in this book about these locations because the structures that the CGW may have used were owned by other railroads. The only mention in the above book about the Dubuque, Iowa station in the book, other than information about repairs or the installation of tungsten lighting, is a 1967 listing about the razing of the 24-foot by 80-foot depot. Mention is made of a 12 February 1967 newspaper article about the razing of the depot. No mention is made of the name of the newspaper. Records (presumably CGW Company records) indicate completion by March 1967. As an aside I have been thinking that it was getting to be time for you to drop another episode of The Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western.
Thanks very much for the comments and kind words! Thanks too for the additional information regarding the Dubuque station. The 1967 demolition date coincides with the aerial photos - so it's great to have confirmation of that. Agreed that Portage and East Dubuque were not official stations per se. However, it does appear that they were routinely used by both passengers and freight to interchange with other carriers. Thank you again!
I was born and raised in Dubuque and also still live there. I always thought i knew a lot of it's history but in this video I learned a lot more. Good job!
Very glad that you found the video informative. Yes, its often the little details in the landscape that we overlook year after year. We do the same thing in our neck of the woods. It's not until you stop and take a closer look, or delve into the history that you realize what you've been passing by for so long. Again, thanks for watching, commenting, and supporting our channel!
@@WaltANelsonPHD Fully understand. We take a fair amount of time layering in the music - going through quite a few different pieces until we find a set that suits the different topics and moods in the video. If you change the backing music, you completely change the video. That's why we pay as much attention to the audio as we do the video - with narration, music, and sound effects. We believe that it adds quite a bit, to the positive, for each video.
Today, I saw heavy equipment tearing out the trees that overtook the Dubuque Jct Building shown on the 36th minute of this video. It was kind of interesting in that you could see what looked like that buildings foundation with the trees being gone. They will still working the area when I left, so who knows how far they will excavate this area or what will be going in there in the future. Great video series - Thanks!
I went to school at UW-Platteville in the second half of the 1970's. Downtown East Dubuque was full of businesses, most 'adult girl' dancing 😉😜and beverage places. Iowa was dry on Sundays so this place across the bridge was a big attraction. Few if any empty lots. East Dubuque was said to be the Vegas east of the Mississippi.
I grew up on Dubuque. There were a few - or more than a few - late nights in various bars along Sinsinawa Avenue. There was also a rumor of an operating roulette wheel somewhere in town until the 1980s, possibly later, so the "Vegas" nickname may have been accurate.
Excellent video! By far the best of the series so far. My wife and I always enjoy spending time in the Dubuque area. I even learned something new about the end of Sinsinawa st being the approach to the old wagon bridge and the ramp still being there!
Thanks for commenting! Very glad that you found it interesting. There is a surprising amount to see in Dubuque, on both sides of the river, related to historic railroads, as well as history in general. It's a very interesting area. Thanks for watching!
You guys do a great job with these videos. I love learning about this railroad. I grew up after CGW had merged with Chicago Northwestern, but lived by a portion that was still in use by CNW, and the topic has always been of interest to me.
You guys are great , the production is awesome, I mentioned in a previous post “ on one of your earlier videos “ how I never new the CGW in its hey day as is probably true for both of you , living in Villa Park in the late 60’s as a child I vaguely remember a CNW local doing some switching at Ovaltine , how I wished I could have seen this line in use , your videos have brought to life something I’ve wanted to see , The CGW in action You both play off each other so we’ll Well done !
Thanks for the very kind words and the support! It would indeed be something to go back in time at some of these locations. In our own small way, we try to breathe some life back into these locations, as they were once place of incredible energy. Thanks again!
You should make an extra video in this series following as best as possible the alternate route from Elizabeth to Galena that the CGW had been considering instead of the route with the Winston Tunnel. I’m very curious how closely that route would’ve followed what eventually became U.S. 20 like it did between Stockton and Elizabeth. Also, what tunnels or obstacles that route wouldn’t entailed.
Thanks for the comment! That's a very interesting suggestion. Perhaps it would help to illuminate why they chose the path that they did, understanding the pros and cons of the alternatives. The later alternative of going south across the Mississippi near Aiken is also intriguing - but by then they likely lacked the capital to build another expensive bridge across the Mississippi. We will definitely consider it! Thanks again!
Yes, we fully intend to complete our journey to Oelwein in the coming weeks/months. But we also like to do videos on other topics - not to get stuck on one track, so to speak. As we've explained at a few of our talks - when you are doing the same topic video after video, it is easy to get burned out - and your enthusiasm wanes. Also, we do not want to publish a video unless we've completed all of the research or obtained all of the video/images that we need for the video. Sometimes, we will have a video 90% done - but will hold out until we've done the last bit of research, or obtained a few images, or done some additional recordings, before we publish. In fact, we've already recorded most of the video that we'll use out to Dyersville already. There are a few things that we are waiting on, however. But rest assured, the CGW journey is continuing, and we are looking forward to publishing those in the coming weeks/months.
Thanks for commenting - that's interesting to know. We knew that the bridge was still used, as we saw the swing bridge closed a few times on our visits - but we never witnessed a train passing over. Perhaps sometime we will. Thanks again!
holy cow, best one yet !!! You just keep getting these better and better. Thanks for all the hard work you put into these. Anxiously awaiting the next.
Thanks for watching our videos and supporting our channel! And thanks for the kind words. Very glad that you are enjoying the series!
Fascinating indepth history
Very glad that you found the video interesting and informative! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Another interesting segment in this series. I may be mistaken, but there is a difference between a "draw bridge" and a "swing bridge." The CN bridge is considered a swing bridge as it simply pivots to clear for boat traffic, while draw bridges actually lift. The pilings where the swing span sits have been hit more than once by barges fighting swifter currents during high water periods on the River. While I never witnessed it, those who had remembered the days when the CGW was running 200-car trains back in the 1960s. With track speed at 10 mph over the bridge and through the tunnel, those train tied up vehicle traffic on both sides of the river for a good long while!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Yes, you are indeed correct. However, we used the terms that they used in their contemporary write-ups. In newspapers articles and contemporary descriptions of the bridge, they always referred to it as a "draw" and a "draw span" - and so we followed suit. But the more correct term would have been swing span. Thanks again!
Great series, can't wait for the next one. Thank you for all your time and great historical photos.
Thanks for watching and commenting! We appreciate it! BTW, if the photo credit (lower right) is listed as DALL-E, Bing Image Creator, or Midjourney, these are AI generated images. Where we have no images of a specific event, we sometimes use these tools to create images that approximate the event. All others are historical photos. We just want to ensure that people are aware of that, as we do not intend to misrepresent those AI generated images.
I love this series! I grew up in Woodbine so I have a special interest in the history and places along the old CGW.
Very glad that you are enjoying this series! Thanks very much for watching the series and for taking the time to comment!
Wonderful, wonderful! Thank you for part 15. As always well researched and good production values. I look forward to the Iowa installment along your journey. I realize these must time a lot of time to produce. Much appreciated you are preserving this history for posterity
Thanks for watching and commenting! We very much appreciate the support! We too are looking forward to the Iowa set of videos in the series.
Once again worth the wait! Another great video.
Thank you for watching and for commenting! Glad that you enjoyed the video! Sorry for the delay in getting this one out. It was longer than we expected and we ran into a few unexpected delays.
Once again an excellent video. There are so many things I could comment on, but will limit myself.
I had to laugh at the attempt to keep Dunleith dry by Jesup. When I came to Dubuque in 1973 from Oelwein to go to college, East Dubuque was where everyone went after the bars in Dubuque closed. Sinsinawa was known for its bars & strip joints. & while the strip jopints are long gone, mostly under suspicious fires, as you saw, there are still plenty of bars.
The High Bridge was the original route of Highway 20 from Illinois into Iowa.
As you saw Gavilon has torn down it's old building by the Shot Tower & is rebuilding. The Shot Tower has been hit by a couple of covered hoppers that have gotten away. Fortunatelythe damage wasn't too bad.
Finally, the CGW tracks went by the former Interstate Power electric plant. I don't know for sure which railroad dropped off the coal cars. Or if only the then Milwaukee Road handled all the reefers for Dubuque Pack.
As always, looking forward to the next stops on the journey.
Hi, thanks for your continued support, for commenting, and for the kind words! You are at least the second person to comment on East Dubuque's former reputation. It sounds like it yet has some perceptions to overcome. Thanks for the correction regarding Route 20. I can see from our narration that we implied that the Julien Dubuque bridge connected the route - but your comment clarifies that it simply straightened it out. It would be nice if something could be done with the former eastern approach of the High Bridge - something positive for East Dubuque. We weren't sure what was happening in the area that they were clearing to the north of the Shot Tower - so thanks for that information. Hopefully, they will continue to honor the site of the Shot Tower. Where was the site of the former Power Plant along the CGW ROW? Thanks again!
I'm sure you saw the 2 sets of tracks running off the CN tracks towards 7th St. The one with the cement block was the CGW track. The other track that crosses 7th St immediately went on to the Interstate Power Comapany site to drop off the coal cars. Interstate Power owned its own cars with IPWX reporting mark. The plant was converted to natural gas & was only torn down a few years ago.
Highway 20 got its current route after the Julien Dubuque Bridge was open. Before that it ran to 14th St/Loras Blvd & onto University in Dubuque & on Sinsinawa in E. Dubuque. I doubt if anything will be done in E. Dubuque as that entire area, including the road from Sinsinawa to the bridge, including the Eastern approach, is now owned by BNSF & they usually don't let non employees have access.
As for the Shot Tower, its continued existance is assured as it a designated landmark by the city & is on the National register of Historic Places.
If you have any other questions about the CGW in Dubuque or Oelwein, feel free to contact me & I will do my best to try & help you. @@BeHistoric
@@al007italia Thanks for the additional information. Yes, we did see those tracks and actually recorded and filmed a fair amount of it. We elected not to include in the video, as it was already getting too long. Thanks for the additional info regarding the power company site. We'll need to look at that a bit more closely at that. Understood about BNSF ownership. However, it would be nice if they could work something out to enable access atop the old bridge approach - something of a riverfront for East Dubuque. You have to cross the CN tracks - but it would seem that something could be worked out there. Regarding the Shot Tower, yes - we were aware of its NRHP designation - but we've still seen where new buildings can completely overwhelm a site, where its preserved but effectively buried in the landscape. We hope that it remains a standout feature - and not overwhelmed by surrounding buildings. Thanks very much for the offer regarding the CGW history in Dubuque's environs. We may very well take you up on that!
Thank you for this 15th episode of your series on the Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western Railroad. I enjoyed watching this episode! The historical information that you research and present in your videos is impressive. The building of the tunnel in the bluff on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River and the railroad bridge was fascinating to watch. I liked the way you presented the need for the original vehicular high bridge and the need for its replacement. There is no information in the book: Chicago Great Western Depots along the Corn Belt Route by Joseph Piersen and Jerry Huddleston about any mention of CGW depots in Portage or East Dubuque, Illinois. More than likely there is no mention in this book about these locations because the structures that the CGW may have used were owned by other railroads. The only mention in the above book about the Dubuque, Iowa station in the book, other than information about repairs or the installation of tungsten lighting, is a 1967 listing about the razing of the 24-foot by 80-foot depot. Mention is made of a 12 February 1967 newspaper article about the razing of the depot. No mention is made of the name of the newspaper. Records (presumably CGW Company records) indicate completion by March 1967. As an aside I have been thinking that it was getting to be time for you to drop another episode of The Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western.
Thanks very much for the comments and kind words! Thanks too for the additional information regarding the Dubuque station. The 1967 demolition date coincides with the aerial photos - so it's great to have confirmation of that. Agreed that Portage and East Dubuque were not official stations per se. However, it does appear that they were routinely used by both passengers and freight to interchange with other carriers. Thank you again!
Unbelievable! Fantastic! This the first one I have seen. Will have to watch all the others!
Thanks for the kind words and for watching! Glad that you enjoyed it!
I was born and raised in Dubuque and also still live there. I always thought i knew a lot of it's history but in this video I learned a lot more. Good job!
Very glad that you found the video informative. Yes, its often the little details in the landscape that we overlook year after year. We do the same thing in our neck of the woods. It's not until you stop and take a closer look, or delve into the history that you realize what you've been passing by for so long. Again, thanks for watching, commenting, and supporting our channel!
Yes, another great video.
Most of the music tracks cast the series in a somber tone. As though to mourn the passing of a once-thriving nation.
Thanks for the commenting and watching the video! There is indeed a sentimentality about much of the music in these videos.
@@BeHistoric I dare you to use a 3-minute cut of John Phillip Souza and test your own reaction.
@@WaltANelsonPHD Fully understand. We take a fair amount of time layering in the music - going through quite a few different pieces until we find a set that suits the different topics and moods in the video. If you change the backing music, you completely change the video. That's why we pay as much attention to the audio as we do the video - with narration, music, and sound effects. We believe that it adds quite a bit, to the positive, for each video.
@@BeHistoric Well you two are the "Atlas Obscura" of Midwest rail and interirban. Best wishes. Do you guys have merchandise yet?
Today, I saw heavy equipment tearing out the trees that overtook the Dubuque Jct Building shown on the 36th minute of this video. It was kind of interesting in that you could see what looked like that buildings foundation with the trees being gone. They will still working the area when I left, so who knows how far they will excavate this area or what will be going in there in the future. Great video series - Thanks!
Thanks for sharing that information! That is interesting! So this would be the patch of trees where the lines diverged heading north and south?
I went to school at UW-Platteville in the second half of the 1970's. Downtown East Dubuque was full of businesses, most 'adult girl' dancing 😉😜and beverage places. Iowa was dry on Sundays so this place across the bridge was a big attraction. Few if any empty lots. East Dubuque was said to be the Vegas east of the Mississippi.
Thanks for commenting! Yes, we heard rumors of that as well. Thanks for sharing that!
I grew up on Dubuque. There were a few - or more than a few - late nights in various bars along Sinsinawa Avenue. There was also a rumor of an operating roulette wheel somewhere in town until the 1980s, possibly later, so the "Vegas" nickname may have been accurate.
Excellent video! By far the best of the series so far. My wife and I always enjoy spending time in the Dubuque area. I even learned something new about the end of Sinsinawa st being the approach to the old wagon bridge and the ramp still being there!
Thanks for commenting! Very glad that you found it interesting. There is a surprising amount to see in Dubuque, on both sides of the river, related to historic railroads, as well as history in general. It's a very interesting area. Thanks for watching!
You guys do a great job with these videos. I love learning about this railroad. I grew up after CGW had merged with Chicago Northwestern, but lived by a portion that was still in use by CNW, and the topic has always been of interest to me.
Glad that you enjoy these videos and that you find them informative! Thanks for the kind words of support, and thanks too for commenting!
You guys are great , the production is awesome, I mentioned in a previous post “ on one of your earlier videos “ how I never new the CGW in its hey day as is probably true for both of you , living in Villa Park in the late 60’s as a child I vaguely remember a CNW local doing some switching at Ovaltine , how I wished I could have seen this line in use , your videos have brought to life something I’ve wanted to see , The CGW in action
You both play off each other so we’ll
Well done !
Thanks for the very kind words and the support! It would indeed be something to go back in time at some of these locations. In our own small way, we try to breathe some life back into these locations, as they were once place of incredible energy. Thanks again!
You should make an extra video in this series following as best as possible the alternate route from Elizabeth to Galena that the CGW had been considering instead of the route with the Winston Tunnel. I’m very curious how closely that route would’ve followed what eventually became U.S. 20 like it did between Stockton and Elizabeth. Also, what tunnels or obstacles that route wouldn’t entailed.
Would’ve, not wouldn’t.
Thanks for the comment! That's a very interesting suggestion. Perhaps it would help to illuminate why they chose the path that they did, understanding the pros and cons of the alternatives. The later alternative of going south across the Mississippi near Aiken is also intriguing - but by then they likely lacked the capital to build another expensive bridge across the Mississippi. We will definitely consider it! Thanks again!
Do you guys plan on more CGW shows further into IA
Yes, we fully intend to complete our journey to Oelwein in the coming weeks/months. But we also like to do videos on other topics - not to get stuck on one track, so to speak. As we've explained at a few of our talks - when you are doing the same topic video after video, it is easy to get burned out - and your enthusiasm wanes. Also, we do not want to publish a video unless we've completed all of the research or obtained all of the video/images that we need for the video. Sometimes, we will have a video 90% done - but will hold out until we've done the last bit of research, or obtained a few images, or done some additional recordings, before we publish. In fact, we've already recorded most of the video that we'll use out to Dyersville already. There are a few things that we are waiting on, however. But rest assured, the CGW journey is continuing, and we are looking forward to publishing those in the coming weeks/months.
I am having trouble tracking down the first 14 episodes. Does anyone have a link that could help me? Thanks!
Hi, thx for watching and commenting! Here is a link to a playlist ... Chicago Great Western: ua-cam.com/play/PLpUpNZ9Cqn055ZpWhP-7uzOpnVCbBx8kp.html
CN stills runs trains over the bridge every day usually 4 run between Omaha and Chicago on that route every day
Thanks for commenting - that's interesting to know. We knew that the bridge was still used, as we saw the swing bridge closed a few times on our visits - but we never witnessed a train passing over. Perhaps sometime we will. Thanks again!
👍
Thanks for watching and the support!
I love this series! I grew up in Woodbine so I have a special interest in the history and places along the old CGW.
Thank you for watching and commenting! Thanks for the support! We appreciate it!