Train to Storm Lake, IA

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heavesrock

Train Attendant
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My dad has talked about trips he took by train from Washington DC to visit relatives in Storm Lake, Iowa in the late 1950s. He does not remember what train he took, as he was in elementary school at the time. Does anyone know what train might have run from Chicago to Storm Lake?
 
My dad has talked about trips he took by train from Washington DC to visit relatives in Storm Lake, Iowa in the late 1950s. He does not remember what train he took, as he was in elementary school at the time. Does anyone know what train might have run from Chicago to Storm Lake?
I remember staying at my grandparents house in NW Iowa in the late 50's, early 60's. Illinois Central had a passenger train go through that town in the early evening. I believe it went to Chicago.I don't know what time is went through west bound, I must have been sleeping. I think the WB went to Sioux City. I hope this helps a little.

GregL
 
My dad has talked about trips he took by train from Washington DC to visit relatives in Storm Lake, Iowa in the late 1950s. He does not remember what train he took, as he was in elementary school at the time. Does anyone know what train might have run from Chicago to Storm Lake?
The last train to serve Storm Lake, IA was the Hawkeye, an Illinois Central train that ran from Chicago to Sioux City on an overnight trip that stopped at Storm Lake westbound at around 10:40AM and eastbound at 7:25PMin 1950s. It carried Pullman cars from Chicago to Waterloo and Chicago to Sioux City as well as coaches. It actually ran until April 30,1971 the last day of most private railroad service before Amtrak took over on May 1, 1971. It was down to a coach only operation by that time. At one time, the Hawkeye was known as Hawkeye Limited and had through cars from Chicago to Omaha and Sioux Falls, SD as well as Sioux City. It was a posh operation back in the 1920s and before.

Back in the 1950s you could travel to almost any town of any size in Iowa by train. I lived in Peoria, IL until I was in 6th grade. We used to travel from Peoria to Council Bluffs, Iowa to visit my Grandmother in the 1950s. Our main choices of railroads were the Rock Island via Bureau Jct, Il or the Burlington via Galesburg, Il and both railroads had several trains to choose from. For something different, we also went via Chicago and took the Northwestern once and the Milwaukee Road another time. My mother grew up in the small town of Neola, Iowa, 26 miles east of Council Bluffs. In the 1950s, both the Rock Island and Milwaukee had trains stopping there.
 
My dad has talked about trips he took by train from Washington DC to visit relatives in Storm Lake, Iowa in the late 1950s. He does not remember what train he took, as he was in elementary school at the time. Does anyone know what train might have run from Chicago to Storm Lake?
The last train to serve Storm Lake, IA was the Hawkeye, an Illinois Central train that ran from Chicago to Sioux City on an overnight trip that stopped at Storm Lake westbound at around 10:40AM and eastbound at 7:25PMin 1950s. It carried Pullman cars from Chicago to Waterloo and Chicago to Sioux City as well as coaches. It actually ran until April 30,1971 the last day of most private railroad service before Amtrak took over on May 1, 1971. It was down to a coach only operation by that time. At one time, the Hawkeye was known as Hawkeye Limited and had through cars from Chicago to Omaha and Sioux Falls, SD as well as Sioux City. It was a posh operation back in the 1920s and before.

Back in the 1950s you could travel to almost any town of any size in Iowa by train. I lived in Peoria, IL until I was in 6th grade. We used to travel from Peoria to Council Bluffs, Iowa to visit my Grandmother in the 1950s. Our main choices of railroads were the Rock Island via Bureau Jct, Il or the Burlington via Galesburg, Il and both railroads had several trains to choose from. For something different, we also went via Chicago and took the Northwestern once and the Milwaukee Road another time. My mother grew up in the small town of Neola, Iowa, 26 miles east of Council Bluffs. In the 1950s, both the Rock Island and Milwaukee had trains stopping there.
Wow! That is fascinating information, especially to me since I live in Storm Lake! However, I didn't move here until well after 1971, so I never saw the passenger service here, just the remaining stations, now used for storage by CN.

I know it is a long-shot (long-shot may be way too optimistic even), but if the midwest regional trains get running to Dubuque from Chicago, there is a chance that a state-run system could extend that service to Sioux City, hopefully with a stop in Storm Lake again. I'm certainly not holding my breath, but it is fun to dream.
 
Wow! That is fascinating information, especially to me since I live in Storm Lake! However, I didn't move here until well after 1971, so I never saw the passenger service here, just the remaining stations, now used for storage by CN.
I know it is a long-shot (long-shot may be way too optimistic even), but if the midwest regional trains get running to Dubuque from Chicago, there is a chance that a state-run system could extend that service to Sioux City, hopefully with a stop in Storm Lake again. I'm certainly not holding my breath, but it is fun to dream.
Here is a 1968 schedule. It had coaches and one Pullman car on #11 and 12, The Hawkeye.

Hawkeye.jpg
 
I have a time table from 1948. I was raised in an Iowa town of 60 people. We were on a spur of the Chicago and Northwestern. We had a water tank for the steam engines. This is how the term "tank town" came about. My dad told of riding to high school 5 miles up the line every Sunday night for 17 cents one way. We had passenger and mail service as well. I remember going up to the depot and the friendly depot agent let us listen to the Morris code transmissions, he had learned Morris code in the Navy. The train orders were put on a Y shaped pole for the engineer to grab if the train was not scheduled to stop. We had a conductor we called "Bugs" who would throw candy and gum to us from the caboose of the moving freight. That wouldn't go over well today. I could go on and on but then I would be giving away my age....
 
Wow! That is fascinating information, especially to me since I live in Storm Lake! However, I didn't move here until well after 1971, so I never saw the passenger service here, just the remaining stations, now used for storage by CN.
I know it is a long-shot (long-shot may be way too optimistic even), but if the midwest regional trains get running to Dubuque from Chicago, there is a chance that a state-run system could extend that service to Sioux City, hopefully with a stop in Storm Lake again. I'm certainly not holding my breath, but it is fun to dream.
Here is a 1968 schedule. It had coaches and one Pullman car on #11 and 12, The Hawkeye.

Hawkeye.jpg
Thanks Tom! That's the train my mom used to take us on to go from Ann Arbor, MI (change in Chicago obviously) to Fort Dodge, IA. But I thought it ended before "Amtrak Day"? Maybe it was just scheduling, but I do remember that later on as we got older, (maybe the mid-to-late 60's?) my grandfather had to drive about an hour from Ft. Dodge to pick us up off the train.

I did quite a lot research when I was in HS in A2, MI proving the argument for re-routing the CZ thru Iowa City and Des Moines. But don't get me started on THAT again..............
 
dah di dah dit, dah dah di dah... dit dit dit dit, dit dit..... I am guessing the code was in fact morse. Not much in use today today, although the 3 beeps, 2 longer beeps, and 3 beeps emitted by some mobile phones on recipt of text messages reads in morse as SMS code for "short message service"

Ed :cool:

(AKA radio ham: George Zero Oscar Alpha India)
 
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dah di dah dit, dah dah di dah... dit dit dit dit, dit dit..... I am guessing the code was in fact morse. Not much in use today today, although the 3 beeps, 2 beeps, and 3 beeps emitted by some mobile phones on recipt of text messages reads in morse as SMS code for "short message service"
Ed :cool:

(AKA radio ham: George Zero Oscar Alpha India)
I thought it was Golf, not George.

I remember the early days of SMS. "It'll never take off" they said; too fiddly to enter a message and of no real use...
 
I have a time table from 1948. I was raised in an Iowa town of 60 people. We were on a spur of the Chicago and Northwestern. We had a water tank for the steam engines. This is how the term "tank town" came about.
At least refilling the engines wasn't a tankless job. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I have a time table from 1948. I was raised in an Iowa town of 60 people. We were on a spur of the Chicago and Northwestern. We had a water tank for the steam engines. This is how the term "tank town" came about.
At least refilling the engines wasn't a tankless job. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Did one need to wear a tank top to do that job? :lol:
 
I have a time table from 1948. I was raised in an Iowa town of 60 people. We were on a spur of the Chicago and Northwestern. We had a water tank for the steam engines. This is how the term "tank town" came about.
At least refilling the engines wasn't a tankless job. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Did one need to wear a tank top to do that job? :lol:
Tanks for the laughs :lol: :rolleyes:

Aloha
 
Morse code, named after Samuel Morse.

"George" was the G word for the pre-1956 "Able Baker" phonetic code. The current code "Alfa Bravo" uses "Golf".
 
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