Hello to All, I am disabled and I love to draw passenger trains. I have been able to find roster and color scheme information for all of the larger railroads. However, I have been unable to find any photos or equipment information for the Chicago Great Western. I have a list of "name trains" showing the following 4 CGW passenger trains: "Mill Cities Ltd.", "Minnesotan", "Nebraska Ltd." and "Omaha Express". I would love to know what kinds of engines and cars were used on these trains and the color scheme(s). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much, Tom of Havasu
Hi, Tom, You will be hearing from others with answers to your question. In the meanwhile, I want to welcome you to TrainBoard. Feel free to browse the many very informative fora here. And, check into the Cattle Car. That is where we go off-topic and talk about non-railroad stuff.
The Great Western was no great passenger hauler. Generally, because it had less direct routes between places served , than competitors. In the cases where the places were large enough to produce trainloads of people with regularity, someone else had a shorter or higher capacity line.. Their most renowned trains, I would think , would be the Red Bird and Blue Birds. They served Rochester, Minnesota primarily from Twin Cities. The Mayo Clinic was principal source of business.They were short trains having parlor cars and club/lounge in venetien red pulled by a Pacific on one hand. The steam version of the Bluebird was known as "Rochester Limited", and in 1929 was replaced by the "BlueBird" which was billed as a 'deluxe motor train'. IT was made out of modified McKeen motor cars and trailers, that included a sleeper. It probably can lay claim to being the first such , first class train in North America .It antedates the EMD depression born lightweight diesel -electric trains. There was service from Chicago-KC, KC-Twin Cities, and from other terminal nodes. RPOS and Pullmans were operated. There is an excellent look at the problems of their service in an article in RAILROAD magazine published 1950-56 (look it up in Stephan's Index for RAILIROAD, or at library that carries archived RAILIROAD magazine. There is no GGW historical society, as such. The CNW Historical Society does cover it, and there are articles in their quarterly journal on the Birds and other CGW passenger trains. The late , pioneering ,scale model railroader and kit manufacturer, Bill Lenoir was a CGW railfan. He produced commercial 'O' scale models of several CGW prototypes ante World War 2. Some of his handcrafted locos were stolen from his workshop in Florida, but many scale models of CGW prototypes were purchased from his estate at the same time the Cedar Falls , Iowa , rail historians bought his layout. They and the layout are there in Cedar Falls, and the passenger trains are colored accurately based upon his photographs and paint chips. The "CGW" group on YAHOO , has the people who can deal with the particulars of what you seek. There is also a CNW group, that may have members with information as well. Oelwein, Iowa- is involved in greating a CGW Museum and those people will also have information. Good-Luck, Peter
