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C&NW in Ames, Iowa
by Chih-wen Hung¡@
East-west
mainline in Ames
Ames (in Iowa, USA) is a very good train-watching place for the
C&NW trains. The C&NW mainline going through the town is part of the famous Overland
Route (UP/CNW/SP) during the golden era of American railroads.
This mainline is C&NW's most important route. The Union Pacific
always wants to have it, because the line is the best way going west from Chicago
and linked with UP's tracks to the Pacific coast. In 1995, the C&NW was finally
merged into the Union Pacific. The yellow and green C&NW gradually fades out
from the American railroad world. However, I was lucky enough to have spent one
year in Ames during my study in Iowa state university in 1996-97 to see the very
last C&NW trains in action. At that time, many trains wearing C&NW color
are still running through Ames, and I spent most weekends on the track side to
watch them.
The following are some photos taken on the C&NW mainline in Ames during
1996-97:
Jewell
branch in Ames
Beside the C&NW east-west mainline, there is another branch
line named "Jewell branch" going through Ames. This branch line used
to connect Des Moines, Ames to the Jewell Jct. It was a narrow gauge railway in
the 19th century. The Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad Company was formed by
Jame Callanan at that time and planned to build a line from Des Moines to northern
towns in the Midwest.
The history of this line can be summarized as following:
1874.7.29
Des Moines - Ames (37 miles) has completed. Further extension to McGregor (a town
near Mississippi River) and Twin Cities was planned.
1877.7.5
This company reorganized to Des Moines & Minneapolis Railroad.
1878.4.1.
The Des Moines & Minneapolis Railroad reached about 20 miles north of Ames
and 17.5 miles south of Jewell.
1879.10.1
This line is leased to C&NW.
1880.7.10
C&NW converted this line to a standard gauge (1435mm) railroad.
Reference:
"American Narrow Gauge Railroads" by George W. Hilton (1990)
In 1996-97, the branch line from Ames to Jewell Jct is in use, while
10-mile track from Ames southward to Slater was abandoned. The location where
the Jewell branch connected to the mainline is a great spot for train-watching.
I always wait for trains there, although not too many actions on this branch line.
My most unforgetable memory on the Jewell branch is an unexpected
encounter at a sunny weekend noon. Five C&NW SD40-2 arrived Ames from the
west, and changed directions to enter Jewell branch. These SD40-2 are all in C&NW
yellow and green painting. Such beautiful scenery will not be seen again in the
real world.
The following are the photos about this unexpected encounter in Jewell branch:
About this branch line, my friend Dan Kelly added a few notes in
1997: "The tracks are still in use for much of the route from Des Moines
to Jewell, except for a 10-mile stretch from Ames southward to Slater. The line
northward from Ames carries 1 to 2 daily trains and the UP plans to upgrade the
tracks to allow trains to go 40 mph instead of 10mph. The UP also plans to run
their new 6 axle, 6000 hp engines on the Jewell branch. The line from Des Moines
to Slater is, to my knowlege, still used, but right now UP will not upgrade the
line."
Ex-NWL editor Paul Swanson remembers: "I have seen a work train
near the Ames depot which was over by Highway 69 (northeast of the Target store),
and a line-car working near the power plant (at least that's all I can tell).
I have one photo of a C&NW GP7 sitting on the line running south out of town.
I took it from the Target parking lot. The line was being abandoned. I have video
of 1385 when it came into town from the south."
More
photos in Ames
The following are some photos I posted on my UCLA website previously. The
quality of photos is not very good, but you can check the map and locations to
have some idea about the train-watching spots in Ames.
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