Oelwein was nicknamed Hub City from the Chicago Great Western, which came to town in 1892. Around 1900 the railroad built major car and locomotive shops in Oelwein. Over 1,000 people were employed in its heyday. In 1968 the Chicago Northwestern merged with the CGW, and the shops became in limbo. By 1979 the shops were employee-owned and finally closed in 1994. Till 1994,
Oelwein did the majority of the CNW's repairs and overhauls. One program started in 1971 and went till 1981, rebuilding 74 GP7s and 55 GP9s at Oelwein. Units with 1,500 horsepower and EMD 567BC engines were "GP7Rs," and units with 1,750 horsepower and 567C engines were "GP9Rs." The 74 GP7Rs and 55 GP9Rs that went through came from C&NW's own 125-unit fleet. Some units also received chopped noses.
The CNW kept connected with the shops via the Marshalltown line until the 380 "Avenue of the Saints" project in Waterloo needed downtown land for the highway in 1986. The CNW, the Iowa Northern, and the state of Iowa came up with a deal that traffic would move over the IANR to Manly or Cedar Rapids from Waterloo. The CNW would be landlocked by the Iowa Northern going forward.
The huge yard in Oelwein became a storage yard for the CNW in the late 80s. Tons of retired and wrecked locomotives came there for disposition. Once the units were retired, solid unit trains ran over the Iowa Northern from Waterloo to Cedar Rapids.
14 GP15s are on their way back off lease. Units #4411-4424 were retired on 1-10-92. They were moved from Oelwein to VMV at Paducah, KY, for GMAC Leasing. Behind the 4439 and 7032 for power, the train made a rare daylight trip on the south end of the IANR. The 14 units were stenciled "GMAC." Note the 7032 has new trucks under it, as that was some of the last programs Oelwein did.
Scanned negative from April 1992.
