In the earlier days of the internet, much like turn of the previous century railroading, there were lots of “connections” between all the various railroads, or shall we call them links as seen below. In 2020 websites like ours play a lesser role in sharing links thanks to other tools out there. However as a group that maintains an archives, it seems prudent to keep the old page of links.
These links are checked every-so-often to see that they still are valid go to external websites.
New Links
- 1962 CNW Timetable – Many other timetables available on this site.
Special
- Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society – Mid-Continent Railway Museum–is an outdoor, living museum and operating railroad. The museum has preserved many C&NW items.
- Veterans Association of the Chicago & North Western Railway – Web Site of the Veterans Association of the Chicago & North Western Railway
- IRM web site – News and happenings at Union IL
- South Dakota State Railroad Museum – The South Dakota State Railroad Museum at Hill City, SD
CGW links
- The Unofficial Chicago Great Western web site – Tom Tolstead’s Unofficial Chicago Great Western web site.
- Fallen Flags, Chicago Great Western – George Elwood, page of CGW photos
- Former Chicago Great Western Yard, Oelwein, IA – The old Great Western yard in 2004.
- CGW Slides – CGW Slides from the Jim Sands Collection
- Chicago Great Western Caboose Paint Schemes – Chicago Great Western Caboose Paint Schemes By Donald E. Vaughn
- Railroad Picture Archives web site – Chicago Great Western Rolling Stock Photographic Roster
- American-rails web site – The Chicago Great Western Railway, “The Corn Belt Route
- CGW web site – Chicago Great Western website with a link to E-bay CGW sales
- John Weeks web site – Building the CGW St Paul Mississippi River Bridge
- Hub City Heritage Corporation Railway Museum – Oelwein’s CGW railroad heritage
- Chicago Great Western Pathways – Chicago Great Western Trails By Jerry Huddleston
- Winston Tunnel – Several photos and a map of Winston Tunnel on the old CGW
- CGW Train Orders – CGW Train Orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
- CStP&KC – Chicago St.Paul and Kansas City (CGW predecessor) train orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
Depot Restoration
- Miranda (South Dakota) CNW Depot – Miranda (South Dakota) CNW Depot restoration and preservation
- Wakefield Nebraska C&NW depot – The City of Wakefield has made the Train Deport a museum.
- Lake Forest, IL Depot – Support the effort to preserve the Lake Forest Train Station!
- Palatine, IL Depot – Photo of the Palatine, IL depot.
C&NW links
- Fallen Flags, Chicago & North Western – George Elwood, page of CNW photos
- Wayne Kahila C&NW Train Page – Photo’s of the Chicago & North Western Railway taken by Wayne Kahila.
- Trainsnet – Pictures of the C&NW in Chicago
- Around Marshalltown on the C&NW – Around Marshalltown-The Shops- Rare Motive Power-Other Locations, All photos by Jim Sands
- Chicago & North Western #1000 – Chicago & North Western #1000 was the first 300 horsepower Diesel-electric built by ALCO, A developmental history of all AGEIR boxcabs is included on this link.”
- Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Ry. – Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Ry. Locomotives as of the early 1950’s, All Photos (but one) by Larry Bohn
- The Railroad Crossing – Pictures of the C&NW
- C&NW Milk Cars – C&NW Milk Cars being rebuilt.
- C&NW Railway Photos by Ted Ellis – The Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the mid ’60’s
- C&NW photos – Larry Mack’s photos taken in the Chicago area
- Chicago and North Western Railway Company Photos – Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Color Photographs
110 Records of the Chicago and North Western Railway Company . - Chicago and North Western Railway – A brief history of the Chicago and North Western Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Chicago & North Western Timetables Through the Years – presented by the Nat’l Assn. of Timetable Collectors (Search for Chicago and North Western)
- The Railroad Network – Railroad Net has a C&NW forum, covers news, and other related subjects
- Utah Rail C&NW Diesels – “Diesels of the Chicago & North Western” by Paul K. Withers, Roster by Don Strack.
- Time magazine story – Time magazine story of the 400
- CNW diesel photo – A CNW Gallery of photos and a all time roster
- Dan’s Wigwag Site – Wig Wag signals including the C&NW
- J. B. Calvert signal information – The Chicago & North Western Distant Signal Lamp
- Freight Customers Along the C&NW Northwest Line in Illinois – All-time listing of C&NW/UP freight customers on the Northwest Line from Chicago to Harvard, IL
- A CNW history – A Brief History of the Chicago and North Western Line published in 1942.
- American-Rails.com – The Chicago and North Western Railway, Route of the “400”
- C&NW Depot, Gilman Park, Pierce, Nebraska – Wikipedia,
- Heritage Historical Village New London, WI – The Train Depot that’s located in the village is the former passenger train depot for the C&NW railroad
- Remnants of the Chicago & North Western – William J. Manon Jr. Remnants of the Chicago & North Western
- CNW Train Orders – Chicago NorthWestern Train Orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
- C&NW Track Charts – C&NW track charts.
- State Historical Society of Missouri – C&NW photos
- CStPM&O Train Orders – Omaha Road train orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
- Litchfield and Madison – Litchfield and Madison train orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
- Sioux City and Pacific Train Orders – Sioux City and Pacific (part of CNW) train orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
- Passenger Car Photos – Photos of passenger cars from several railroads, including CNW/CMO.
- Alton and Southern – Brief history of the Alton and Southern Railroad
- Litchfield and Madison – A brief history of a predecessor road of the Litchfield and Madison
FDDM&S links
- Fort Dodge Des Moines & Southern – Don’s Rail Photos
- Fort Dodge Des Monies & Southern all time rooster – THE DIESEL SHOP
- Fort Dodge Des Moines & Southern Railway – FDDM&S history a Private Collection of Richard R. Parks
- Des Moines and Central Iowa Train Order – DM&CI train orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
M&StL links
- Sam Cook’s website with Pictures – Pictures of the M&StL and more
- Friends of 457 – The M&StL steam locomotive in Mason City Iowa
- MSTL Depot, Albion, IA – Familyoldphotos.com
- M&StL Railroad locomotive roster – Compiled from many sources by Sam Cook
- M&StL photographic roster – RR Picture Archives net
- Snow on the M&StL – Hap’s Snowplowing Page
- Waseca, MN depot project (PDF) – Restoration of the M&StL depot in Waseca, MN
- M&StL pages – Sam J Cook M&StL pages
- Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway – A history of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway
- Minnesota Historical Society collection – M&StL photos
- Iowa Central Train Orders – Iowa Central (part of M&StL) train orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
- M&StL Train Orders – M&StL train orders from the Ken Secrest collection.
Historical Societies
- Milwaukee Road Historical Association – The offical site for the Milwaukee Road Historical Association
- Burlington Route Historical Society – Official home for the Burlington Route Historical Society
- Rock Island Technical Society – The Official site of the Rock Island Technical Society
- Soo Line Historical and Technical Society. – The Offical Soo Line Historical and Technical Society.
- Great Northern Railway Historical Society – The official Great Northern Railway Historical Society web site
- Union Pacific Historical Society – the Union Pacific Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Union Pacific Railroad
- Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society – The Official web site of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society
- Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. – Official web site of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co.
- NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION – NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION web site
- Wisconsin Central Railway and Soo Line – Wisconsin Central Railway and Soo Line maintained by Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society, Inc.
- Wabash Railroad Historical Society – Official home for the Wabash Railroad Historical Society
- Lake States Railway Historical Association – Lake States Railway Historical Association located in Baraboo WI
- Illinois Central Historical Society – Illinois Central Historical Society
- Green Bay & Western Historical Society – OFFICIAL Web Site for the Green Bay & Western Historical Society
- Missabe Railroad Historical Society – Missabe Railroad Historical Society Web Site
- Fennimore Railroad Historical Society Museum – Home of Dinky the narrow gauge locomotive.
- Elizabeth Historical Society – The web site of the old CGW depot by Elizabeth Historical Society
General
- Railroad Data.com – A Railroad Data base has over 5000 railroad data base links
- Steam Locomotive dot Com – This site contains information on many steam engines. It has a search engine so you can look for your favorite railroad and engine.
- Surviving Steam Locomotives – A data base of steam locomotives
- The American Railroads – A Long and Storied History
- Iowa railroad ties – News letter put out by the Iowa Department of Transportation
- Operation Lifesaver – Operation Lifesaver web site
- Michigan Railroads. Com, Web page for Michigan – Covering all railroads in the state.
- Genealogy Today – A web site for railroad genealogy search.
- Railserve.com directory – A directory of rail links
- Historic Bridges of the United States – Interesting site of many bridges including CNW bridges in Wisconsin
- RR Picture Archives – Pictures of railroads, locations, locomotives, rolling stock, depots and more. Organized by country, railroad, location, date and subject.
- Train Horns web site – Train Travel: The First Transcontinental Railroad
- John Marvig Bridge photography – Bridges in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota
- James E. Lancaster web site of CHATEAU MARTIN Wine Cars – CHATEAU MARTIN Wine Cars from 1940 to 1975 roster and pictures
- The Pullman State Historic Site – The Pullman State Historic Site
- Wisconsin State Historical Society Photograph Collections – A searchable collection of photos at the Wisconsin State Historical Society. The collections can be searched by keyword or category.
- Steam Era Freight Cars – Information on various freight cars.
- Moving West: The History of the Transcontinental Railroad – Brief article with several clickable links to additional general rail history articles.
- Freight Car Gallery – Photographs of Canadian and American freight cars.
- Iowa Rail History – Iowa Department of Transportation page
- Barriger Library Photos – The John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library contains period photos of many US Railroads. This link goes directly to the CNW
- Multimodalways – Multiple railroad and other transportation links, including a 1985 CNW system map and 1957 M&StL Timetable.
- Abandoned Rails – Numerous abandoned railroad lines by state with pictures and brief descriptions.
Preservation
- Black Hills Central Tourist Railroad – Home of a C&NW Drovers Caboose and Two Tourist Cars
- Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad – The musem has several pieces of CGW and CNW rolling stock
- Railway Preservation News – An online magazine of preservation
- Rappahannock Railroad Museum – The Rappahannock Railroad Museum provides education to the public in regard to Railroads, railroad lines and related events.
- Pierce Historical Society of Pierce Nebraska – The old depot of the Chicago & North Western Railway Company. Built in 1880.
Part of the Pierce museum complex, - Time Line of Events of the Iowa Central – Compiled by Rev. Phil Borleske, Olds, Iowa
- HISTORY OF GILLETT 1856 – 1976 – A breif histroy of Gillett Wisconsin
- National Railroad Museum – National Railroad Museum in Green Bay Wisc
- Redfield’s Historic Chicago & Northwestern Depot – Redfield’s South Dakota’s Historic Chicago & Northwestern Depot
- End-O-Line Park at Currie, MN – A Chicago and Northwestern Depot, section house, turntable, and more
- Museum at New London WI. – New London has a well preserved C&NW depot, and a steel bay window caboose.
- Lake Superior Railroad Museum – Lake Superior Museum of Transportation, located in Duluth, MN. is one of the largest and most respected railroad museums in the country
- Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum – The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum possesses the oldest, most historic and most comprehensive American railroad collections in the world.
- Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society – C. & N. W. Sussex Depot & Railway History
- Wheels Across the Prairie Museum – Railroad museum in Tracy, MN
- Minnesota Transportation Museum – Minnesota Transportation Museum web site
- The Fennimore Railroad Historical Society Museum – The Fennimore Railroad Historical Society Museum, home of the “Dinky”. A CNW narrow gauge.
- Wisconsin History – Photos of the railroads of Wisconsin
- South Dakota History – Building the CNW Missouri River Bridge
- ILLINOIS RAILWAY MUSEUM – The home page of ILLINOIS RAILWAY MUSEUM at Union, IL
- Museum of Transportation in St. Louis Web site – Listing of all equipment
- Evanston, IL history – History of the Evanston, IL area
- Rails Around Michigan – A book about Michigan railroads. Chapter on Upper Peninsula includes photos of CNW and Alcos.
- South Dakota State Railroad Museum – This museum supports the preservation, education, promotion, and interactive interpretation of railroad equipment, memorabilia, and material specific to South Dakota.
- Minnesota Railroad Stations Past & Present – Minnesota Railroad Stations Past & Present
- Iowa Railroad Historical Society – James H. Andrew Railroad Museum and History Center
- Spooner Railroad Museum – The Spooner Railroad Museum is a former Omaha Road depot built in 1902.
Railroad photos
- Don’s Rail Photos – Photos of C&NW, CGW, M&StL and many more. steam and diesel, by Don Ross
- Escanaba, Michigan – Escanaba, Michigan web site with some C&NW photos
- PBase Photo Database for Photos – PBase web site with over 100 C&NW photos
- Baldwin Diesel Zone – Everthing about Baldwin diesels
- The Passenger Car Photo Index – The Passenger Car Photo Index, the best resource for finding passenger car photos for North American railroads on the web!!!
- Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum – History and pictures of the CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD
- Canadian Freight Railcar Gallery – Chicago Northwestern Railroad photos
- Railfan net – Railfan net Over One Million Rail Images – By Railfans
Modeling
- Kelley Duford’s – This site is a little project of mine to showcase some of the H.O. scale model railroad locomotives I have built for myself and others.
- C&NW N gauge railroad – Modeling the Tap Creek Branch by Lennart Svedberg,
- Zachow, Wisconsin Historic Project – The Zachow Project will build an exact replica of the C&NW Standard #3 depot from the town and display a miniature diorama of the town inside the depot as it existed in the mid to late 1940s
- Union Station Products – LIGHTWEIGHT PASSENGER CAR SIDES AND RELATED PARTS
Maps
- Maps showing depots – Over 8,700 surviving depots are plotted on dynamic Google maps.
- 1862 Galena and Chicago Union Railroad Map – From Library of Congress website
- 1869 Chicago and North Western Map – From Library of Congress website
- Map of Dakota compiled from United States and Territorial surveys Nov. 1, 1882 – Includes CNW lines
- Chicago Great Western Railway “Maple Leaf Route” – From Library of Congress website