Here is an interesting subject. CB&Q branch lines and where they are today. This is Oregon IL in front of the old Q station. That over pass in the distance is IL route 2. Just beyond the overpass is the Morrison Branch. The Morison branch went as far north as Forreston IL. In 1938 they tracks were taken up and terminated in Morrison IL. The Branch survived through the BN era and even the BNSF era. Just recently the BNSF sold the line to IL Rail Link. Here is the other side of the overpass. We are looking directly at the Morrison Branch, just off the Chicago to Iowa main. As you can see the Branch is still jointed rail and is rated for a top speed of 45. I'll be railfaning this line more in depth in the next coming months, stay tuned. So, all you fans of the Q, here is your chance to post Q branch's. Tell us what the branch was like, post pictures of what it is today, is it still active, who runs it? Branches are a great planning tool for a small to medium model Railroad.
What about the Crawford Hill area? It used to be single-track, and had the only RR tunnel in the entire state of Nebraska. Now look at its importance of funneling coal from the PRB to midwestern power plants! There was an article in a Trains Mag last year, IIRC, about this, and showed a Q local behind Blackbird SD9's in Alliance(?), and then a BN shot of the massive engine facilities there now. Wow, how things have changed!
One that's had me curious for years, was in Kansas. Republican Junction to Oberlin. I've seen maps that show it as a seperate line. Somehow, it interacted with the Rock Island main line to Colorado Springs. Anyone know something about this track? BoxcabE50
There was a presentation on Oregon at Summerail this year. It's definately something I'd want to check out next time I'm in the area and may even be a worthwhile candidate for a small model railroad. Hmm...
Throughout its history, the Q was noted as a granger road--did the Q ever get into any large-scale coal hauling?
Q coal The Q hauled a lot of coal out of southern Illinois on the Beardstown line. In 1969 they even had an aluminum set of hoppers for a unit train. By the time I hired out in Alliance, NE in 1978 there were only 90 cars left in this set. There were more but the set was in a derailment. AL cars don't do so good in derailments. The cars had a small Scotchlite Burlington Route hearald on the right from the car numbers. They were a good looking car. They were always fixing something with these cars. Thay had weld patches all around them for access to the center sill. I have always suspected that these cars had AL center sills unlike modern AL cars that have cast steel sills. There were/are a few mines on this line. One of the mine names is "Old Ben". I don't know the others.
Thanks! I didn't know anything about Q's coal operations, if any. Any pics on the net of these aluminum cars?
