Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western – Oelwein #2 – Diesel and Dust – Part 24



In Part 24 of our Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western series, we explore the history of the Oelwein Station and Shops, as well as the city, from their boom period in the early 1900s to the present day. We also provide a tour of the Hub City Railroad Museum, which today occupies the Railyard Building, the Express Freight building, and the tower.

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Brian & Joyce

IMAGE CREDITS
– See the Comments Section (due to YouTube’s 5K character limit on video descriptions)

MUSIC CREDITS (YAL = YouTube Audio Library)
– Opening / Closing
Dark Ages by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
CC3.0
– A New Continent by Tim Kulig
Artist link: https://timkulig.com/
License: CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
– Tupelo Train by Chris Haugen, YAL
– Wistful Harp by Andrew Huang, YA
– Spirit of the Dream by Keys of Moon
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
– Blockbuster Atmosphere 9 Sadness by Sascha Ende
License: https://filmmusic.io/en/standard-license
Source: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/304-blockbuster-atmosphere-9-sadness
– Train station by Michal Mojzykiewicz
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: https://filmmusic.io/song/10058-train-station
– Fractal of Light by Chris Haugen, YAL
– O Magnum Mysterium (William Byrd) by Ensemble Morales
Source: https://musopen.org/music/10537-o-magnum-mysterium/
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
– Pachabelly by Huma Huma, YAL
– Area 18 by Sascha Ende
License: https://filmmusic.io/en/standard-license
Source: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/10436-area-18
– The Sky Fell Down (Se Cayo el Cielo) by Ray Pearl and his Orchestra
Varsity Records
Source: https://archive.org/details/78_the-sky-fell-down-se-cayo-el-cielo_ray-pearl-and-his-orchestra-walter-bloom-heyma_gbia0031331a
– Melodic Interlude by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
License (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: https://creatorchords.com/music/
– Lone Harvest by Kevin MacLeod
License (CC by 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100409
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
– Glimmers of the Past by Sascha Ende
License: https://filmmusic.io/en/standard-license
Source: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/12287-glimmers-of-the-past
– Rising Sun by Sascha Ende
License: https://filmmusic.io/en/standard-license
Source: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/86-rising-sun
– Blue Creek Trail by Dan Lebowitz, YAL
– Chariots of War by Aakash Gandhi, YAL
– The Zone by Sascha Ende
License: https://filmmusic.io/en/standard-license
Source: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/270-the-zone
– Loop Paket 0001 by Sascha Ende
License: https://filmmusic.io/en/standard-license
Source: https://filmmusic.io/en/song/40-loop-paket-0001

SFX CREDITS (FS = www.freesound.org)
– Steam Whistle (71778) by Bidone, CC0, FS
– Explode boom explosion bomb (703485) by FALL-E, CC0, FS
– R18-42-emergency vehicle arrives (479898) by craigsmith, CC0, FS
– r09-70-building-on-fire (483313) by craigsmith, CC0, FS
– Paper crumpling (449588) by I5AAC, CC0, FS
– Traditional Stamp (470710) by I.fekry, CC0, FS
– BaseballHitAndCrowdCheer (214989) by amishrob, FS
License: Attribution 4.0
Source: https://freesound.org/s/214989/
– 37 Street Crowds London Marathon Cheers, by BBC
– 27 Steam Railways by BBC
– air raid siren (619049) by mrrap4food, CC0, FS
– JM_Natural Elements_Wind 01 (557188) by Julien Matthey, CC0, FS
– Wind-Tornado, digital (735349) by Vrymaa, CC0, FS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
– A big shout-out to the Hub City Railroad Museum, especially Ed Raye, and the City of Oelwein!!
– Many thanks to our YouTube Channel Community and our Patreon subscribers!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:00:00 Titles and Opening
00:00:24 Intro and Recap
00:01:34 1910s
00:05:30 Depression & Decrease
00:07:12 WW2
00:10:32 Diesel
00:12:59 Deramus Renaissance
00:20:05 Merge or Die
00:22:29 CNW, Closure, & Demolition
00:29:10 Survivors
00:34:45 Story of Oelwein
00:41:45 Museum
00:55:28 Closing

COPYRIGHT © 2024
EASTMONT MEDIA
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

#history #Iowa #railroad #chicagogreatwestern #cgw #oelwein #fayettecounty #railways #chicagoandnorthwestern #tornado

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25 thoughts on “Disused Stations of the Chicago Great Western – Oelwein #2 – Diesel and Dust – Part 24”

  1. Due to YouTube's 5K character limit on video descriptions, we are once again forced to list the image credits in the Comments Section. The Image Credits for this video are as follows, in order of appearance:
    US Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov

    Hub City Railroad Museum, oelweinrailwaymuseum.org

    Railway master Mechanic, archive.org

    http://www.familysearch.org

    Monte Barker

    Wikimedia Commons

    http://www.newspapers.com (Leavenworth Times, Kingsbury County Independent, Freeport Journal Standard, Quad City Times, The Daily Review, Chicago Tribune, True Republican, The Courier, The Gazette, Des Moines Tribune, Star Tribune, Fort Madison Evening Democrat, Hampton Chronicle, The Pantagraph, Carroll Daily Times Herald, The Daily Nonpareil)

    http://www.ebay.com

    http://www.worthpoint.com

    http://www.trains.com

    http://www.newspaperarchives.com (Oelwein Register, Oelwein Daily Register)

    Sites.google.com

    Phil Green

    Leroy James

    US National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/research

    Trains Magazine, archive.org

    Iowa Department of Natural Resources, http://www.iowadnr.gov/

    CGW Railroad Diagrams, circa 1940

    David P Morgan

    Great Trains of the Great Western, archive.org

    Gary Everhart, rrpictures.net

    Bob Vaughn

    H Roger Grant

    W H Applegate

    IRM Strahorn Library, http://www.facebook.com/IRMStrahornLibrary/

    Roger Puta

    Tim Starr

    James L Rueber

    Chuck Zeiler

    Railway Age Magazine, archive.org

    Business Week Magazine, archive.org

    Newsweek Magazine, archive.org

    Depots of Northeast Iowa – Craig Starr and Robert Ungs

    Roger Bee

    John P Vander Maas

    RFcafe.com

    Dustin Smith

    Adam Rudolphy

    Phil Hastings

    Walter Dunlap

    John Laschinski

    Alan E MacMillan

    H Svendson

    Don L Hofsommer

    Matt Covarrubias

    Berne Ketchum

    US Geological Survey, http://www.usgs.gov

    Kevin Cavanaugh

    Dennis Eggert

    Davis Shroomberg

    Mark Llanuza

    CGWNUT, flickr.com

    Richard Bruehahn

    Bob Williams

    George Whalen

    Tammie Williams

    Ed Raye

    Oelwein Chamber of Commerce, http://www.oelwein.com

    Iowa Digital Archives, digital.lib.uiowa.edu

    http://www.buttefrontstreetstation.com

    GPA Photo Archive, flickr.com

    Telegraph Herald newspaper

    Illinois Digital Archives, http://www.idaillinois.org

    LIFE Magazine, archive.org

    Deb Larsen Taylor

    Sher Gosse

    Chris Frank

    Georgia Hutchinson

    Oelwein Historical Society Museum

    Reply
  2. Looking forward to the Dekalb spur! There's some tracks still in the ground near the edge of Dekalb deep in the woods, no idea if they were CGW or CNW or even Gary Line though but I look forward to finding out

    Reply
  3. I am almost at a loss for words after seeing this video. It has been a while since I have been able to get home to Oelwein, but after seeing this, I felt like I have been back. You did an excellent job of covering the Oelwein yards & facilities. I realize that limitations kept you from going into greater depths. Hopefully, this video will make people want to visit Oelwein & get the full experience of the museum, etc.
    There is so much I could say, but it would make this into a book, so I will do my best to keep it short.
    The CGW is what made Oelwein into Oelwein. & what brought both sides of my family there as I have said before. The fact that they opted for Oelwein rather than Waterloo as a meeting point of the branches is due in part for what land they could acquire. Something I am grateful turned out the way it did.
    I remember those tanks as traveling towards downtown from home they were a landmark. I also remember that the little creek that runs on the West side of the yards always had some diesel fuel leaking into it giving it a rainbow shimmer. Growing up the side of the viaduct on the NW side was a bit steep but climbable. I spent a lot of time climbing up it to view the yard from that side.
    Before the CNW/UP merger, the yards by the roundhouse were filled with dozens of yellow & green GNW locomotives.
    Thankfully, after the UP pulled out Iowa Northern was willing to operate into Oelwein. But it is sure a far cry from the heyday of passenger & freight trains that used to pass through.
    As an aside, the Rock Island tracks ran to the West of the new library. The CGW tracks that crossed S Frederick is where the 2 railroads exchanged cars.
    & finally, the CGW is responsible for 1 of the most famous people to live in Oelwein, Walter Chrysler. He worked for a while in the shops & of course Oelwein has a park dedicated to him. According to some stories, unfortunately not documented, he built his 1st car while in Oelwein.
    Like I said, I could go on & on, but I think here is a good place to stop. Glad to hear there will be more videos. Looking forward to them.

    Reply
  4. Thank you for this second video on the history of the Chicago Great Western Railroad in Oelwein, Iowa from the early 1900s to the present. You did a lot of research to tell us what changes the Chicago Great Western Railroad made to their shops and buildings at Oelwein through to the merger with the Chicago & North Western Railroad. The diesel shops at Oelwein did a lot of work rebuilding first generation Electro-Motive Division (EMD) GP and SD locomotives which as you said was cheaper to do than purchasing brand new locomotives from EMD. I remember going on a tour of the diesel shops at Oelwein sometime during the rebuild era that was part of an Annual Meeting of the Chicago & North Western Historical Society. This was a bus tour from the city where the Annual Meeting weekend took place to Oelwein. I do not remember which city in Iowa that Annual Meeting was in or the year of that Annual Meeting. WE were able to see the locomotives in various stages of the rebuilding process. Currently the Iowa Northern Railroad services the Transco rail car repair facility from the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area remaining on one of the few segments of the Chicago Great Western Railroad that has not been abandoned. In the not-too-distant future the Iowa Northern Railroad will become part of the Canadian National Railroad. I enjoyed the tour of the Hub City Railroad Museum that you gave us. I am glad to hear that you are going to have another video on the CGW branch line from Sycamore, Illinois to DeKalb, Illinois and you will also be giving us information about CGW artifacts and locations that you were made aware of by viewers of this series. (Posted on 18 December 2024 at 2334 CST.)

    Reply
  5. Thank you for the hard work on this excellent series. Too bad it came too late to save the CGW. The series has also shown the level of socio-economic damage that gets done when a major industry or major right of way conveyance disappears from commuities that built it up.

    Reply
  6. We've reached the end of the line, so to speak, and this is once again an excellent and well researched video. Looking forward to seeing the additional chapters with new artifacts. Well done, Brian and Joyce.

    Reply
  7. This is an awesome story. I’m excited to see the DeKalb line story. I hope you consider other lines like the Rockford Route to Gary or some of the Burlington branch lines or maybe the railroads around Ladd, Illinois. Thanks again.

    Reply

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