Re: [CBQ] 1948-50's Mendota Sub ROW question

["Zinger_77@hotmail.com [CBQ]" <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>]

Leo,

Thanks for the great information!  I'll be sure to check out the BRHS site some more to find more information on that time period.

Regards,
Drew

---In CBQ@yahoogroups.com, <qutlx1@...> wrote :

Drew,

Using the Qs 1959 Chgo and Aurora Div track diagrams.

1)slag ballast was installed just east of Princeton on trk 2 in 1945. On trk 1 in 1952-56. Steel mill slag  used by the Q varied in shades from white to beige  to sometimes a bit of pastel. The current ballast is nothing like slag.

2) rail on both mains was 129 and 131lb. Welded rail didn't really appear until the mid 1970s with a few Earlier trials.

3)based on photos, poles were on the south side of trk 2 and had 3-5 cross arms. I count 9 or more wires.

4) steam was still plentiful on the mainline in this time period. O1s and O5s. Diesels would have been FTs. There were probably some Praries on locals as well as early end Cab diesels.

I would advise you that "Mendota sub" is a BNSF term. The Q referred to this stretch of track as the Aurora-Galesburg or Galesburg-Aurora subdivision. Unofficially it was known as the "mainline".

You may want to go to the BRHS web site at Burlingtonroute.com and look at the archives listings for dispatchers train sheets which would provide exact engine numbers on trains.

Leo Phillipp

On Nov 3, 2016, at 8:06 PM, Zinger_77@... [CBQ] <CBQ@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Greetings all,

I’m in the process of making an HO scale diorama of my dad's boyhood farm that straddled the CB&Q’s Mendota Sub, just east of Princeton, IL (Map Link). The scene will be set somewhere between 1948-1950, during the summer.

I’ve tapped my dad for as much information as he can remember, however, his memories are focused on the farm house and yard. Since I didn't come around for another 30 years or so, I don’t know much about the Q’s setup from 1948-1950, and I would like to be as accurate as possible. That leads me to my questions...

1. What color was the ballast? Is what is currently there accurate?

2. What size/weight was the rail? When did the Q implement Welded rail?

3. Were there telephone/telegraph poles along the right-of-way? How many cross-arms did they have? How many wires? How tall were the poles? Which side of the ROW would they have been on?

4. What motors would have been seen on a typical train in the late 40’s? How quickly would the diesels have taken over for steam on the Mendota Sub? Would it be unusual to see a steam engine on this line in the late 1940's?

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

Drew

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Posted by: Zinger_77@hotmail.com

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