Hi All:
Am interested in modeling interchange(s) between ATSF and the Q … I’ve been told Peoria, IL is one area where the two met …
I also am toying with the idea of using UP, Espee and/or WP as part of the scheme …
If I omit the Q, any suggestions on where the ATSF, UP, Espee and WP might have interchanged or passed within spittin’ distance of each other ?? …
[:)] Thanks … [:)]
Pepper Kay
Garland, TX
The old Santa Fe and the old CB&Q had an interchange in Galesburg Illinois, but it was a rather rickety piece of track, with tight curves, that wove its way through an industrial area of town. It left the Santa Fe in the vicinity of their very small yard in Galesburg, now mostly torn up except for MOW tracks. But the interchange itself remains in place. I can well imagine it was suited to the 800+ cars a year that Mark H. cites.
Now that the railroads are merged (Santa Fe and BN that is) there is a very nice new interchange at Cameron, just went of Galesburg. Amtrak uses it., and trains from both lines can leave or enter the huge Galesburg yard using it. But it really isn’t “interchange” in the normal sense of the word – since the same railroad owns both lines and the trains run through; they do not drop off cars for the other to pick up. Chicago is, relatively, close and there would be no need or purpose for that.
By the way, a couple of years ago a slight derailment between Galesburg and Cameron forced the BNSF to run some really huge trains over that pathetic old interchange. How they did it without buring the track in the mud I do not know; it was something to see! They probably moved as many cars that day – and almost certainly more tonnage – as in the entire year 1965! And I suspect they rarely used six axle power over that line in the 60s as they did that day.
Dave Nelson
Hey Mark, ever hear of a little Peoria suburb called Pekin? The Santa Fe’s ORIGINAL mainline ran there! It was never much more than a busy branchline, but it did boast real Santa Fe passenger service (a doodlebug into the 1960s), Santa Fe steam, and plenty of diesel action. Check about three issues back in Classic Trains and you’ll even see ATSF snowplows and Chief sets running on the line!
Pepper: the Peoria/Pekin area is a great place to model, especially in the pre-1960 era. You’ve got your choice of 15 different roads, from the M&StL to the Pennsy and NKP, to local favorites like the C&IM. Peoria was the second largest city in Illinois at the time, and was an industrial and agricultural powerhouse (Caterpillar and Hiriam-Walker were two BIG local shippers). Interchange traffic was huge, and passenger service, while never very common on anything but the Rock, was colorful (how about a NYC pacific, a C&IM 4-4-0, a CB&Q 4-4-2, and a M&StL doodlebug all parked next to each other, all being passed by a Rock Island Rocket pulled by a TA?)
If you ever think about wanting to model the Peoria, give me an email, and I;ll do what I can to help ya. I’ve been researching the NKP’s line into Peoria for over four years, and have a pretty large database at home, including track charts for the NKP, P&E (NYC), IC, GM&O, ATSF, P&PU, TP&W, C&IM and M&StL.
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QUOTE:
CB&Q and Santa Fe never were major interchange partners, in part because they paralleled each other throughout the midwest, and because the traffic patterns didn’t set up very many Santa Fe-CB&Q in
Hi Pep, Mark, Ray.
Speaking of the Peoria area, don’t forget the TP&W (Toledo, Peoria & Western aka the “Tip-Up”).
In my copy of Kalmbach’s “Historical Guide To North American Railroads”, 4th edition (1992), it says, “In 1960 the Santa Fe purchased the railroad and sold half to the Pennsylvania – TP&W formed a Chicago bypass for traffic moving between the two railroads.”
This scenario lasted, according to the book, until the Conrail era in 1976. Interesting . . .
Another interchange between AT&SF and CB&Q was at Superior, Nebraska at the end of Santa Fe’s Superior Branch
Of course, Santa Fe, Union Pacific and Southern Pacific in Los Angeles area—but not Western Pacific.
Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and Western Pacific in San Francisco area.
Burlington-Rock Island trackage rights over Santa Fe from Houston to Galveston.
Houston: Santa Fe, Burlington-Rock Island, and Southern Pacific. I believe all 3 were in Dallas also.
From the 1965 ORER CB&Q had direct connections or junctions with the ATSF at:
Atchison Kan, Bucklin Co, Clearing Illinois, Concoridia Kan, Denver Co, Fort Madison Ia, Kansas City Mo, Levenworth Kan, Medill Mo, St Joseph Mo, Streator, Illinois, Superior Neb. I did not list several places where they interchanged through connecting local railroads.
WP-UP direct connections listed:
Garfield Utah, Salt Lake City Utah, Wells Nev.
In Stockton Cal the WP yard was located next to and along the east side of the SP yard, the ATSF yard is just east of and at a right angle to them. The ATSF main line crossed the WP and SP main lines at the north ends of their yards. WP-ATSF, WP-SP and SP-ATSF interchanges were at this point. Sorry no UP within hundreds of miles until about 20 years later.
At Colton Ca: ATSF-SP, ATSF-UP, UP-SP
Wells Nev is listed for WP-UP and SP-UP but not SP-WP
I guess I’m a bit of a prototype freelancer more than a strict prototype modeler. When we lived in St. Joseph, MO in the 1970s the Rock Island, ATSF, UP, BN(former Q)CNW(former CGW),&
MoPac all frequented town. I remember a BN yard and, I believe, a MoPac yard. It seems like St. Joseph Terminal did much of the switching for the others. Of course, in a protoype freelance world, with a little modelers’ license…welllllllllllll the possiblities are endless. And there are not NEARLY so many St. Joseph experts like there are Kansas City Experts, so the nit pickers are held at bay!