Somebody besides me must like CGW. Who couldn’t like a road that ran 6-12 F units arranged ABB…BBA? CGW was the first midwestern RR ro run trains in excess of 100 cars.
Does anybody model the Great Weedy besides me?
BTW, if there is anything you want to know about CGW, I pry know the answer.
They ran so many units in a train because they did not have the money for preventative maintence, and so many would regularily breakdown on the road, thus to keep a train moving, they had to use a dozen units.
The Rock Island was in the same shape.
Yes I model CGW along with CNW, & M. St. L.
My roster for CGW is
2 Stewart DS 4-4-1000
2 Kato RS 2
1 Proto GP 30 ( so far)
0 F units ( so far)
Ceiling Fans or pedestal fans?
rtpoteet
??? No they weren’t. Drag freight philosophy is OLD, and it predates the “superpower steam” revolution of the late 1920s. The CB&Q regularly ran trains of 100+ cars pulled by 2-10-2s in the 1920s. The Alton had a few 2-6-6-2s just to lug 100+ car interchange drags. When the Q tested F-3s in 1939, the report indicates that the longest train the diesel set hauled was 119 cars.
The CGW was known for dragging as many cars as they could behind lots of F units, but that’s because they were cheap, and didn’t want to pay for extra crews for extra trains, which would have made better speed.
I’ve never heard of a unit breaking down on the road. CGW took excellent care of it’s motive power. partly because of it’s huge shops in Oelwein, Ia. CGW may have been cheap, but it took very good care of it’s motive power.
CGWs long trains started around 1910, when CGW fabricated (bought?) 2-6-6-2s. They were first used over much of the system but they were used as helpers to get trains out the Mississippi river valley near the end of their lives and were scrapped shortly before the purchase of 35 2-10-4s, in 1930.
Dingoix,
I have a great deal appreciation for the CGW for one reason: F units!
In the 1970s and 80s when EMD’s famous “Fs” were gone from most rosters, CGW continued running them. A very colorful collection to boot. I think it was last year, but either MRR or TRAINS had an article covering CGW’s Fs with some nice color photos in the article.
Perhaps someone here remembers which issue. I saw it at my LHS and now think that I should have bought it. Hindsight’s always 20/20!
Peace.