The Saturday Morning Post - The Nelsons, Part 5

Mark and Mike Nelson are identical twins, and were born in tiny Cuba City, Wisconsin, where their father Clarence was the agent/operator at the Chicago & North Western Railroad depot. Later they moved to Janesville, where their father worked as the operator at the CNW South Janesville yards. It is there where the seeds of Mark and Mike's love of trains were sown.

We now present The Final Part of the extraordinary and historic railroad photography of Mark and Mike. Links for all previous Nelson posts are at the bottom of this post. ENJOY !!!

Chicago & North Western Railroad EMD E8(A) - Grand Avenue Tower, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 27, 1967 - The Penninsula 400 passes Grand Avenue tower.

Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad EMD SD9 - CNW Oxford depot, Oxford, Wisconsin, March 11, 1978 - B&LE power could be found on ore trains over the CNW Wisconsin Division in the 1970s. #839 and #823 assist the #836 with 144 cars, 92 are ore empties on this westbound move.

Chicago & North Western Railroad EMD GP18 - CNW Dodgeville branch, Town of Verona, Wisconsin, September 22, 1975 - The "ridge runner" has 1 load and 18 empties, lead by a bicentennial CNW geep, and seen crossing a wooden bridge headed west near Verona, Wisconsin. The ridge runner is a bike path today.

Chicago Great Western EMD F3-A - Portage Junction, Portage , Illinois, December 04, 1965 - At the suggestion of 1st trick Operator Sam Armstrong, Mike Nelson climbed the signal bridge and got this view of a westbound. "It'll make a better picture!", Sam surmised.

Chicago & North Western Railroad Steam 4-6-0 - CNW Merrimac bridge, Merrimac, Wisconsin, May 25, 1982 - Mike Nelson snapped this shot of the R1 1385 on CNW rails, crossing Lake Wisconsin westbound with a company train as part of a hugely successful statewide tour.

Because this is the final part of The Nelson posts, here are a few additional pictures they took, all related to Wisconsin area railroading.

Southwestern Wisconsin where at one time the CNW RR network included a branchline that ran from Dodgeville, Cuba City, Benton, and eventually across the state line into Illinois and Galena, the birthplace of US Grant. Some of this trackage was actually narrow guage, serving the once thriving lead mining area. That industry died years ago. Most of the trackage was gone by the 1980s. (Photo taken in 1965)

At New Diggins, Wisconsin, the line ran and went through a tunnel in its route south to Galena. The tunnel, one of the only signs of the old RR grade still left, is accessed on private property. (Photo taken in 1986)

This photo shows the Nelson's Chevy (complete with a Chicago Great Western RR vanity plate) parked at the entrance to the farm, seeking permission to get the photo they took of the old tunnel. (Photo taken in 1986)

After getting the tunnel shot, they went to the old New Diggins General Store, which Mark and Mike report burned down a short time after this photo was taken. Fortunately, New Diggins has retained its charm as a "destination" and today there is what appears to be a thriving General Store. (Photo taken in 1986) LINK: Get your motor running -- we'll see you at New Diggins!

I would like to thank Mark and Mike Nelson for allowing their pictures to be posted on the Viewliner Ltd. and wish them all the best. And a special thanks goes out to Ray Peacock at HeartlandRails.com for doing all the leg work, putting this information together for the Viewliner Ltd. Thus, allowing us to see another great story of railroading in America, as it was.

-- Link to Part 1 of The Nelsons --
-- Link to Part 2 of The Nelsons --
-- Link to Part 3 of The Nelsons --
-- Link to Part 4 of The Nelsons --

Mark and Mike Nelson will soon have a website http://www.forever400s.com

Stars and Cars

Dean Martin with a 1961 Facel Vega.

Rita Hayworth with a 1941 Lincoln Continental.

Jayne Mansfield with a 1956 Lincoln Premiere.

1964 GM Futurama

Let's go to the Fair and Futurama 1964-65 New York World's Fair Brochure.

1964-65 New York World's Fair - Your Highway Guide - General Motors Futurama.

California Places

Alioto's Seafood Grill, San Francisco circa 1945.

Santa Catalina Harbor circa 1949.

Sea Wonders Alive in Crescent City circa 1958.

Hollywood Boulevard in December 1946.

Olvera Street Los Angeles circa 1945.

For more great pics visit 20th Century Nostalgia from vieilles_annonces on Flickr.

LIFE Magazine Photos

LIFE Magazine has made millions of images available on Google. Most were never published. Here are some examples and a link to the database.

President John F. Kennedy, French President Charles De Gaulle, Mrs. John F. (Jacqueline) Kennedy and others posing for media during Kennedy visit to Paris, France in June 1961. (Photographer: Paul Schutzer)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. giving his "I Have a Dream" speech to huge crowd gathered at the Mall in Washington D.C. during the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom on August 28th, 1963. (Photographer: Francis Miller)

Wounded Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeremiah Purdie (C) being led past stricken comrades after fierce firefight for control of Hill 484 south of the DMZ during the Vietnam War in 1966. (Photographer: Larry Burrows)

Tent-dwelling hippie Family of the Mystic Arts commune Bray family reading bedtime stories, with father Ron (former bank computer programmer) mother Nancy (Radcliffe grad) and 4 kids. Sunny Valley, Oregon 1969. (Photographer: John Olson)

Former professional football player O. J. Simpson with children Justin and Sydney at Disneyland in 1992. (Photographer: Dave Allocca)

Pacific Electric Line

Text by RV Bob: "This is a photograph of a car of the Pacific Electric line (Red Car) from Los Angeles, taken in 1909. The car is standing at what appears to be the end of the rail line near the foothills. The caption indicates that it is the North Brand station. Note, however, that the sign in the photo says: "Bliss". I have a map of the Red Car lines from that era, and there is no "Bliss" station."

LINK: For more great images visit RV Bob's photostream on Flickr

The Saturday Morning Post - The Nelsons, Part 4

Mark and Mike Nelson are identical twins, and were born in tiny Cuba City, Wisconsin, where their father Clarence was the agent/operator at the Chicago & North Western Railroad depot. Later they moved to Janesville, where their father worked as the operator at the CNW South Janesville yards. It is there where the seeds of Mark and Mike's love of trains were sown.

They attended Marquette University Dental school and became dentists in the US Army, serving in Korea and Vietnam. Taking advantage of the ability to procure good 35mm cameras, they were on their way to capturing classic rail action once stateside.

Though they have photographed many of the fallen flag RRs, it was the CNW that was their first love. To this day their license plates read "CNW 400" after the famous 400 fleet. They live today in Oregon, Wisconsin and are still active photographing and presenting shows. They are also active in Wisconsin Society Sons of the American Revolution.

We now present Part 4 of the extraordinary and historic railroad photography of Mark and Mike. ENJOY !!!

Milwaukee Road EMD FP7(A) - Today's CP Tomah sub MP 244, Tunnel City, Wisconsin, May 03, 1967 - Milwaukee Road's Afternoon Hiawatha exits the tunnel westbound. Engine 100C went into service 11/51 and was retired 5/80.

Chicago & North Western Railroad EMD GP35 - Milwaukee Road C&M sub MP 62, Sturtevant, Wisconsin, May 04, 1976 - CNW and MILW could get cooperate when necessary. A combined MILW-CNW taconite operation on the route of the Hiawathas occurred, the empties return to the iron range on this May day, the operator gives a rollby. GP35 864 has the class lights on.

Chicago & North Western Railroad EMD F7(A) - CNW Adams cutoff , Shennington, Wisconsin, June 24, 1989 - Eastbound about 3 miles out of Wyeville, an Officer's Special breaks the quiet of a Saturday morning on Highway 21, reliving the glory days of the 400 fleet if only for a few seconds.

Nickel Plate Road Steam 2-8-4 - CNW Tiffany bridge, Tiffany, Wisconsin, September 16, 1984 - The Nelsons, taking a cue from a couple other railfans, pulled up their pant cuffs and waded out into Turtle Creek to capture this Nickel Plate special, eastbound on the CNW. Behind the engine are 17 cars.

Chicago & North Western Railroad EMD SD40-2 - CNW Madison sub, Oregon, Wisconsin, November 25, 1975 - CNW action on a Thanksgiving weekend includes a meet as #483's cabin greets #576's head-end, waiting in the hole. The conditions appear better suited for deer hunting than railroading.

A special thanks goes out to Ray Peacock at HeartlandRails.com for doing all the leg work, putting this information together for the Viewliner Ltd. Thus, allowing us to see another great story of railroading in America, as it was.

The Saturday Morning Post will feature Mark & Mike's photography every Saturday for the weeks to come. So don't forget to stop by and see more historic railroad pictures. Thank You!

-- Link to Part One of The Nelsons --
-- Link to Part Two of The Nelsons --
-- Link to Part Three of The Nelsons --

Virginia, Minnesota

Real Photo Postcard dated October 24th, 1910 depicting Chestnut Street. You can see a water wagon, a young fellow in knee pants, transportation of the day and lots of new fangled street lights.

LINK: For more great images visit RV Bob's photostream on Flickr

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Real Photo Postcard circa 1909 picturing First Avenue from Fourth Street with advertising on the Delevan Hotel for Robert Burns cigars and Coca-Cola. The foreground has the main line railroad tracks with railroad employees. The building on the right is the freight office for the Chicago and North Western Railroad.

LINK: For more great images visit RV Bob's photostream on Flickr

Wrigley's Gum

From the Great Lakes Recruit magazine, the official magazine of the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in 1918. Advertisement showing sailors and Wrigley's Gum. Wrigley was a major presence in the Chicago area, which included the Training Center.

LINK: For more great images visit RV Bob's photostream on Flickr

American Indians

Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial - Spectacularly colorful dress of the Aztec Indians from Mexico as seen during annual parade in Gallup, New Mexico - Postcard published by Petley Studios, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Color photo courtesy Santa Fe Railway - 1950's.

War Dance at Indian City, U.S.A. in the heart of Oklahoma, Home of the Red Man - Postcard published by Baxter Lane, Amarillo, Texas - 1950's.

Henry Ray Lambert - Cherokee Indian - Cherokee Indian Reservation, North Carolina. On the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park lives the Eastern Band of the Cherokees. Numbering more than 3000 today they are descendants of those Cherokees, who fled to the vastness of the Great Smokies when the Cherokee Nation was re-moved to Oklahoma in 1838. (Postcard Copyright 1963 W.M. Cline Co.)

Greetings from San Jon, New Mexico - Back of postcard is handstamped "Circle M Motel" and Restaurant, Interstate 40 - Published by Dexter Press - 1950's.

Ramsey Walkingstick, Cherokee Indian. Cherokee Reservation, Cherokee, N.C. - The Cherokee Reservation is located on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is the home of over 3000 members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. - Postcard is dated 1969 Buckhorn Press.

Death Valley

Death Valley, California - It is little wonder that the 20 mule team borax outfits of the late 1800's became world famous. They hauled 46,000 pounds of borax and their own water and hay over the arduous 165 mile, ten day trip to Mojave via Wingate Pass.

The unbelievably long string of mules were controlled by a 125 foot check line that was connected with the lead animals. (Postcard copyright Ferris H. Scott, Santa Ana, CA 1960's)

Twenty Mule Team - The first mules used on the wagons built by J.S.W. Perry were owned by Charless Bennett. Ash and Hickory used was aged in the desert or the wagons would soon have fallen apart.

Rear wheels were seven feet high, front wheels five feet, with steel tires eight inches wide and one inch thick. The complete wagon weighed three tons and carried ten tons. They cost around $900 each to build. (Postcard copyright by Merle Porter and published by Royal Pictures, Colton CA 1950's)

The Alamo

Under Six Flags, The Alamo built in 1718, San Antonio Texas - The Alamo has been ruled under six different flags, namely, French, Spanish, Mexican, Texas, Confederate and the United States.

California Fruit

Southern California Citrus Growers 1930's Fruit Crate Labels.

Sunkist Californian Oranges - California Fruit Growers Exchange - Los Angeles.

Cock of the Walk Sunkist Valencias - Santiago Orange Growers Association - Orange County.

Mohawk Valencias - Santiago Orange Growers Association - Orange County.

Pala Brave Sunkist Valencias - Bradford Brothers, Inc. - Placentia.

Caledonia Brand Marsh Seedless Grapefruit - Placentia Mutual Orange Association - Placentia.

LINK: More at the Orange County Public Library Historic Image Center.

American Cowgirls

One of the Western Beauties postcards, from a series by Colourpicture Publishers, Inc. circa 1960's.

The East has landscape beautiful to see - But this "wild, wild" West is the place for me. circa 1960's.

Have staked out a claim in the WEST - Postcard Copyright E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee. circa 1940's.

"DEAR" Hunting in the WEST - Postcard Copyright E.C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee. circa 1940's.

And here is a great early photograph of my all time favorite Cowgirl, Dale Evans.