Nostalgia & History > Charles City Western RR - Marble Rock, IA 1986

Okay, boys, have at it. Where are we and what railroad?

Lee Hower - Sacramento.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/10 16:34 by mcfflyer.

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OK, Lee. I haven't done one of these before, but the flora looks alot like the area north of Marysville/ Yuba city on the way toward Oroville, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess an abandoned ex-SN branch in the Sacto valley.

Doesn't look like, Orygun, Lee!

Looks like the unused end of the Boone and Scenic Valley.

Midwest flora --are we in Iowa?

Fred Harrison
Central Point, OR
CORPpower/JSS/EORS

The "underground railroad"? <G>

Yes, Fred. We are in Iowa. And under this jungle are the rails of a main line.

Lee



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/10 22:24 by mcfflyer.

Are they still there in the picture, or long gone?

rehunn Wrote:
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> Looks like the unused end of the Boone and Scenic
> Valley.


Those do look like old trolley poles. So I'll second Rich and guess this is the old FDDM&S main line.

Best regards,

Rob L.

Yes on the trolley poles. No on the railroad.

Possibly the former WCF&N before the nature trail was
built, somewhere between Evansdale and Cedar Rapids?
Just a WAG.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

mcfflyer Wrote:
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> Yes on the trolley poles. No on the railroad.

OK, how about the Iowa Terminal RR in Clear Lake, beyond the tank-farm current end of operations.

Best regards,

Rob L.

Rob and Nick: no and no. BTW, the photo was taken in June 1986 (as was the other series on the Rock Island branch in Albert Lea.)

Lee

mcfflyer Wrote:
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> Rob and Nick: no and no. BTW, the photo was taken
> in June 1986.

Hmmm. OK, how about the other division of the Iowa Terminal, the former CCW?

I've never seen the former trolley lines down around Centerville, IA, but I doubt Lee has been there either, so I'll stick with a guess that the shot was taken on the trolley line that was based in Charles City, IA.

Best regards,

Rob L.

rob_l Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mcfflyer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Rob and Nick: no and no. BTW, the photo was
> taken
> > in June 1986.
>
> Hmmm. OK, how about the other division of the Iowa
> Terminal, the former CCW?
>
> I've never seen the former trolley lines down
> around Centerville, IA, but I doubt Lee has been
> there either, so I'll stick with a guess that the
> shot was taken on the trolley line that was based
> in Charles City, IA.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Rob L.


Next time, I'm going to put a statement in my photos to say that Rob can't come out and play. (Just kidding, Rob!)

Yes, this is the main line of the Charles City Western (later merged together with the Mason City and Clear Lake to form the Iowa Terminal) at the western end of the line at Marble Rock, Iowa. Although the line was still active around Charles City (a town that was devastated by a tornado in 1968), where it could interchange with both the MILW and IC/Cedar Valley, it also had a line to the southwest to Marble Rock where it interchanged with the Rock Island (now the Iowa Northern). I know there was an issue of Trains about 20 years ago that had the story of the Iowa Terminal, but I think this line line to Marble Rock was abandoned about the time of the tornado - which also marked the end of electric operation on the CCW.

Once again, good job, Professor Leachman.

Lee

PS: I just looked on the google satellite view of Marble Rock, and you can easily see where the line cut out of town to the northeast, although at the old interchange point there appears to be some huge facility, probably for handling grain. The photos I used were at the first grade crossing to the northeast, North Street (or 265th Street). My first photo is looking towards Charles City, and from the satellite view, that whole area has been cleared out for farming. Wonder when the rails came up?

Is there anything left of the CCW/IT trackage in Charles City? And wasn't this line where the old Tidewater Southern GE 70-Tonners went to?



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/10 10:12 by mcfflyer.