#dunlapia

[railwayhistorical]

We Can Handle It

To follow up on yesterday’s post with the Rock Island train, I have one today that was definitely taken on the Chicago & North Western main line in Iowa. These shots were taken between Woodbine and Dunlap in the western part of the state.

It’s interesting to note that the C&NW had pulled one of the two tracks in this section, between Denison and Missouri Valley, only to have it put back in later (by the Union Pacific, I believe, after they absorbed the line). Too bad it's not double track here so we can witness the distinctive "wrong-way" running this railroad was known for—but this helped pin down the locale.

These are some of my earliest rail images. We were visiting the grandparents in Storm Lake, Iowa, to the north. I would bug my brother to drive me around a bit (as I was only fifteen at the time) so I could shoot trains with an old camera of my dad's. I saw several trains like this: Union Pacific power with C&NW on the point (for cab signals, I reckon)..

Two images by Richard Koenig; taken December 22nd 1975.