While in Racine, WI, a couple of weeks ago, I stopped to take some pics of the old C & NW depot. To my amazement and glee, they are in the process of restoring it. Hooray!! It sits immediately next to the Transportaion Center. I also went to the Illinois Railway Museum & saw some active rolling stock.
By any chance, did you catch a few pictures? What type of construction? Wood? Brick/stone? Boxcab E50
I did get some pictures. They actually turned out pretty well. I have to remember to bring them in to work and scan them. My digital camera broke the day I was leaving,so had to resort to my old standby. Will post them, probably on railimages, in a coup;e of days. The main building is of red brick. The platforms are wooden.
Here are the pictures of the old depot. Left; From the North: Center; Plaque Close-up: Right; From the South There used to be 2 sets of rails. They are in the process of restoration, but not too much progress noticeable yet. [ September 07, 2005, 09:50 AM: Message edited by: DLK ]
Who-o-o-ops! I did something wrong. clicking on the thumbnail doesn't display the full size image. I will try to figure out what to do.
It's a bit complicated to get it to work but here it is in working format. If you click on the "Quote" button to "Quote" me you will see the steps require.
David- Thanks for the heads up! I doubt that many similar C&NW stations still stand. So saving this one is a must! It's classic! Do you get back there often? I'm curious to also see what they'll do inside. Maybe this group will set up a web site? Do you know of a map on the web, showing how this line is still being operated? Boxcab E50
I did a quick search & found this ...When the C&NW was merged into the Union Pacific in 1995, it exited from the scene a winner, unlike some of its competitors, which were broken up in the bankruptcy courts. The Union Pacific had acquired a good deal of C&NW stock over the years and decided to protect its main Chicago route with outright ownership. Also, the Union Pacific had just suffered the humiliation of being outbid by the Burlington Northern in the contest to take over the Santa Fe, so the take-over of the C&NW helped to restore its image (temporarily) ... on the http://www.cnwhs.org David
Yes, it is. The cnwhs web site has a pretty extensive history of the road. The most interesting thing (and I always wondered about it when I was a kid) was the left hand running. I don't think that, to date, there are any other lines that run on the left side.
The explanation I've always heard, is that left hand had something to do with their passenger trains. And the way they stopped at stations. Which has never made a lot of sense. As passenger cars had doors on both sides since time began.... I suppose it's one of those things where we'll never have an answer. Am thinking that after C&NW was taken over, the crews had some troubles adjusting to a new way. Boxcab E50
well, here's another bit from the history page at http://www.cnwhs.org. ...when a second track was laid into Chicago, left-handed running allowed inbound passengers to wait in the warm depot. Otherwise, the depots would have had to be rebuilt or moved. ... The web site has pretty good content, including modeling. You might want to check it out. just click on the link.
It's been a while since my last exploration of their web site. My interests in the C&NW are fairly narrow. Depots, train orders, plus the M&ST.L. Boxcab E50
I've been in contact, throught the CNWHS, with the guy in Racine, who is in charge of the restoration. They are planning on setting up a web page on the CNWHS site for the restoration. It will be used as an inside waiting area for the transportation transfer station next door. When they expand the Metra Link from Kenosha to Milwaukee, it will stop in Racine and the depot will become a depot again.
So the group restoring this depot, will then be leasing out space to Metra Link? Sounds like a good way to pay for work, and upkeep. They may even be able to get grants, etc., because of the occupancy. Boxcab E50
