Blogging?

This is my first experience with "building" a blog page. I have viewed and enjoyed reading many other railroad related blog pages, so I figured it is time to jump into the world of blogging.


I am building a model railroad (HO scale) representing the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad from Mendota, Illinois to Prophetstown, Illinois. This is listed in the timetables as the Tenth Subdivision, but I have given it the nickname of "The Dragonfly Subdivision". More about that later.


The Tenth Subdivision of the CB&Q RR actually existed and ran from Mendota, Illinois to Denrock, Illinois, via Wendel, Van Orin, Ohio, Walnut, Tampico, Prophetstown, and then ending at Denrock. At Denrock it connected with the mainline from the Quad Cities. My revisionist history says that in the flood of 1965, the bridge west of Prophetstown over the Rock River was taken out. The line was essentially now a branchline, with out and back movements to/from Mendota. The railroad in an effort to maintain service to on-line customers, staffed a local that worked out of Prophetstown, where a modest yard was already established. The Mendota local would run out once a day from Mendota with a cut of cars for the industries along the line. They would return to Mendota then with the cut of cars the P-Town local had gathered from working the on-line industries. The P-Town local basically had the run of the line, except when the Mendota local was around, but this was usually early or late in the day. The Q also interchanged with the C&NW at Walunut, Illinois, so this generated outbound traffic from the branch to Mendota. Yet another reason to keep the branch operable.

By the way, why The Route of the Dragonfly? Well it comes from the stories of the crew working the line along the river bottoms and seeing so many dragonflies. So, it became the route of the dragonfly. Course, the street we live on is also "Dragonfly Circle"... that's how it actually came about!

I will begin by posting more items... a track plan, line diagram, and photos of the construction progress.

Thanks for visiting!
Scott Stephenson