Bananas to the Indianapolis/ Minnesota
From the Minnesota end, I also found what Howard stated to be true. The line beyond Dubuque that the banana traffic traveled on was the Milwaukee Road. From research years ago, the Northern Pacific tried to see if they could get their hands on some of this traffic north beyond the Twin Cities. To much dismay, they found the Milwaukee pretty much had a lock on this traffic and only gave away what they had to.
And from the paperwork found it appeared the banana reefers moving north to the Twin Cities went via Austin, MN which would have been the reverse route of the meat traffic heading south/east out of Austin destined to the IC.
Keeping all the reefers together be they meat reefers heading one way or produce reefers the others makes much sense. Jim Dick - St Paul, MN
This topic came up previously and I referenced that the CB&Q apparently had enough Banna Traffic in the Twin Cities to warrant building a sizeable distribution warehouse primarily for that traffic.
I have no idea how they got the cars; presumably from the IC (at East Dubuque?). Even though the IC may have preferred to set the routing the Traffic Managers of the Banana Companies likely made the determination.
Charlie Vlk
Hmmm, not sure why the IC would short-haul itself by handing off to MILW at Dubuque. The IC had good service to the Twin Cities by handing off to the M&StL at Albert Lea (also with plenty of SB meat reefers).
Dan Sweeney, Jr.
Alexandria, VA
Very good question.
The M&StL yahoo website references the IC conection in Albert Lea handling IC reefers with bananas into the Twin Cities. Part of the post lists state of MN blocking further IC access into the state beyond Albert Lea as the IC was a rebel road. (Vern Wigfield post on M&StL yahoo list). Not sure if this would affect things.
The M&StL and the NP also had very close relations. (When the NP Pasco, WA yard was rebuilt about 1955, there was one sort track designated for M&StL, and from Pasco, the nearest direct interchange was St. Paul, MN).
Why the NP paperwork lists the Milwaukee as having a lock, is not entirely clear however in absense of other data, as a researcher, I am rather tied into what I find on paper unless a better source is found.
It is really to bad all our first person sources are thinning out. And I am happy that people like Tony T. and other interviewed those that they did find about reefer traffic. Jim Dick - St. Paul
Hmmm, not sure why the IC would short-haul itself by handing off to MILW at Dubuque. The IC had good service to the Twin Cities by handing off to the M&StL at Albert Lea (also with plenty of SB meat reefers).
The IC did interchange bananas, over the years, with the CB&Q at East Dubuque for
the Twin Cities and beyond. A track along side the northbound Q main called the
banana track was used for this move.as it was handy for the IC to set-out on and the
Q to pick up from.
In the early 1960's, I was the head brakeman on train #73 out of Chicago which included
17 cars of bananas right behind the engines for the CBQ at East Dubuque. Our crew got off
at Freeport, and a Waterloo crew took over and delivered the cars on their way home.
Chet French
Dixon, IL
the route (as long as a railroad chose to take part in a tariff) then it may
have been possible for IC to turn bananas over to either the MILW or CGW in
Dubuque for the rest of the trip to the Twin Cities. But the CB&Q probably
had the fastest schedule on their high speed mainline along the Mississippi
from Dubuque northwards.
Tim O'Connor
The IC did interchange bananas, over the years, with the CB&Q at East Dubuque for
the Twin Cities and beyond. A track along side the northbound Q main called the
banana track was used for this move.as it was handy for the IC to set-out on and the
Q to pick up from.
In the early 1960's, I was the head brakeman on train #73 out of Chicago which included
17 cars of bananas right behind the engines for the CBQ at East Dubuque. Our crew got off
at Freeport, and a Waterloo crew took over and delivered the cars on their way home.
Chet French
Dixon, IL