Menu Close

CNWHS News

Company Store News

Thank you for your support of the Company Store the past twelve months.

During the past few months, you might of notice that “new” products are being listed in the Company Store. These products were actually sitting on the Company Store shelves for over a year or more and for unknown reasons were never listed for sale. We have begun to list these products for sale in the Company Store. We are going thru one category at a time. We started with the DVD’s and added nine DVD’s for sale. Two of these additional DVD’s have already sold out and others are in short supply. We have started listing commerical models for sale. We do not wish to sell these models at Train Shows and compete against dealers. Nor do we want to sell them at our Retail Store in Union and compete agaainst the hobby shop at IRM. We have no plans to reorder DVD’s or commercial models when they sell out.

We have also put books on sale that we have a surplus of. So, please check out the Company Store regularly to see what new items have been listed for sale.

Company Store – Help needed

With the recent passing of long time Company Store volunteer Wally Perlick, the Company Store needs some additional help. The Company Store is located at Union, IL on the Illinois Railroad Museum grounds. We are housed in the same building as the CNWHS Archives. We nornally meet at Union on Tuesdays around 9 am and work fulfilling and mailing online orders. You don’t have to commit to volunteering every Tuesday. If you can only volunteer once or twice a month, that would be fine. I myself, as Chariperson the Company Store, never volunteer on the first Tuesday of the month due to a prior commitment. The work is not difficult and we will train you on the Company Store duties and operation. We always have lunch with the other volunteers at the Archives and I will gaurantee you, you will have fun and learn something. Usually the Company Store orders are completed by noon, and many of us stay until 3 pm doing other things. You can volunteer as long as you want.

So, come check us. Questions, please email me at cgwfan22@earthlink.net

Bill Drzal

The Archives and Company Store at Union, IL will be closed on Tuesday, November 19th in memory of long time volunteer Walter Hermann Perlick.

The closure will allow fellow volunteers to attend the visitation and services for Walter Hermann Perlick. Therefore, Company Store orders placed between November 14th thru November 25th will not be processed and shipped from the Company Store until Tuesday, Novemeber 26th. We apologize for any hardships this may cause and thank our customers for their support and understanding.

We are sad to announce that long time CNWHS Archive and Company Store volunteer Walter Hermann Perlick has passed away. Walter played a major part of setting up the new Company Store in Union.

Walter was born April 23, 1942, passed away November, 10, 2024. He is survived by his wife Mary, sister Marlene Rockel, nephews Carl (Laura) Rockel and Jeffrey (Vickie), and niece Laura (Kurt) Lichtenvoort and their children. He was much beloved by Mary’s siblings, Virginia (dec’d), Pauline, Anne and Paul (dec’d), and nieces and nephews.

A proud graduate of St. Luke School and Luther North High School, he cherished the life-long friends he made there. He spent his forty-one year career at Bankers Life and Casualty – the real Bankers Life. He maintained friendships with Friends at Bankers, whom we consider part of our family.

He enjoyed numerous rail trips along with volunteering and spending time with his fellow train buffs at the Chicago and Northwestern Historical Society Archives. He took thousands of magnificent railroad photos. Whenever any of us saw a train, we always thought of Wally. A lover of classical music, he also studied history and relished traveling in Europe and the United States. He could go anywhere in the country, find his way and give directions to the locals. According to his sister, he was the best brother ever!

A visitation for Walter will be held on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 from 9:00am until 12:00pm at Oehler Funeral Home (2099 Miner Street, Des Plaines, IL). Funeral services will follow the visitation at 12:00pm on Tuesday at the funeral home.

Company Store update

Normally the Company Store Volunteers ship most orders out in seven days or less. Due to the Volunteer Staffing commitments, orders submitted on October 29th forward may not ship until Tuesday, November 12th, at the earliest or Tuesday, November 19th at the latest. We apologize in advance to our customers for any inconvenience this causes. Thank you for support of CNWHS Company Store.

We now have James E. Lewnard’s new book in stock! Exploring the Chicago & North Western in Iowa & ILL with Randy J. Williams Vol. 1

Softcover, 86 pages, 8.5 x 11 in., color photos.

Growing up Lisbon, Iowa, Randy Williams was fascinated with trains. After watching and photographing the Chicago & North Western in his hometown, Randy secured a job with the railroad. Working as an engineer, Randy ran trains on the Iowa Division and the coal lines in Wyoming. Randy never lost his love for railroads. He diligently traveled around the country photographing railroad operations. Though the generous cooperation of his family, we can explore with Randy C&NW’s train operations in Iowa and Illinois during the 1970s and 1980s.

The book includes many photographs of mainline train operations between Cedar Rapids and Clinton, as well as trains running on the West Chicago to Chicago mainline. Included are Falcon TOFC trains, coal trains, long manifests, and a special section covering commuter trains with E units and F units. There is even a visit to the Oelwein Diesel Shops.

$47 plus shipping

Company Store Book and Model Sale

Based upon a recent inventory of products in the Company Store, we have elected to reduce the price of several CNWHS books and models. The following CNWHS books have been reduced in cost: CNW Final Freight Car Roster, CNW Air Line Sub Division, and Life on a Locomotive. The following CNWHS models are on sale: Kadee HO CNW PS-1 50 feet boxcar and the Accurail CNW 40 feet double door boxcars. The Accurail boxcars are available in 3 numbers signally or in a 3 pack. The Kadee CNW 50 feet car is available only in one number, but can easily be renumbered by patching out the existing number. See the Company Store for details.