Nostalgia & History > A Semophore Along the C&NW in Cedar Rapids

It doesn't look like this now guys, but it did back on July 13th of 1985. Eastbound train DMPRA is done working the yard at Beverly, Iowa (Cedar Rapids) and is continuing on eastward. Today's power is a pair of ex Chicago Great Western SD40's now C&NW #923 and #924. The semophore is there to provide protection for the Milwaukee Road diamond that crosses the C&NW at grade just to the left of the photo. My, how times have changed! The engines are now gone. The railroad is gone. The semophore is long gone and so is the diamond it once governed. And, you could'nt shoot from here now if you wanted to because the vegetation has grown so high you can hardly see the tracks from this location anyway. Bob Dylan was right, the times are a changin', or they already have in this case.

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Note that the C&NW is left hand running therefore the reason for the semaphore pointing in that direction.

Sure looks different now, that's for sure. Highway 30's bridge piers cut a huge swath right through this area now.

The same photo appeared in a 1994 PACIFIC RAIL NEWS article about the CNW East Iowa Sub. If you still have the issue...check it out.

MILW86A