CCP&S
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 6:59 pm
This is the fictional history of the Chicago Cheyenne Portland & Seattle(CCP&S), a line I created to run thru its namesake cities back when I was in high school in the early 1990's. While it runs a route similar to today's Union Pacific, it is totally fictional and does not use any current or existing railroad, thus avoiding any conflicts with the paper railroad guys.
OFFICIAL COMPANY HISTORY:
In 1835, a group of rural communities wanted a connection to Chicago, so in October of that year they formed the Chicago and Rockford Railway, going from Chicago to Rockford and eventually Clinton, IA. Construction finally got underway in 1839 and the two major terminals were of course Chicago and Rockford. The line reached Rockford in 1842. Passenger service began in 1843, after a passenger station was built in Rockford. The main Chicago terminal was Dearborn. Interchange was made with the Illinois Central and the fledgling Chicago Northwestern. In 1850, sufficient funds were available to begin building the route to Clinton, IA. It was finally finished in 1855. By 1860, the C&R interchanged with all the railroads that had reached Chicago by then. The years 1861-1865 saw heavy use of C&R rails due to the Civil War. The heavy use took a toll on the line and in 1866 the line entered bankruptcy. In 1869 the line went up for sale and in 1870 a group of wealthy businessmen bought the line with the intent of expanding it to the Pacific Ocean. In 1877 the reborn C&R constructed a line to Lincoln, NE that ran thru Cedar Rapids, Des Moines(all IA) and Omaha, NE. 1882 was when the line was renamed the Chicago and Cheyenne Railway, or C&C. In 1886 the line constructed an extension to Cheyenne, WY, running thru the Nebraska cities of Grand Island and North Platte. 1894 was when an extension to Ogden, Utah began, which was finished in 1898. 1902 was when an extension to Twin Falls, ID was started, which was finished in 1910. In 1916, the C&C merged the local shortline Twin Falls & Western(TF&W) into itself and the following year, 1917, was when the Columbia & Eugene was merged into the the C&C. In 1923 the new line was reformed as the Chicago, Cheyenne & Pacific(CC&P). 1923 was also the year that the line began construction of a line to Portland, OR. 1929 was when the CC&P merged the Portland, Olympia & Seattle into itself. By then the line went through Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle. In 1932 the line reorganized as the Chicago Cheyenne Portland & Seattle(CCP&S). In 1937 an extension to Spokane, WA and another to the California Coast were started. The CCP&S also inaugurated a brand new diesel streamliner called "The City of Seattle". In 1939, a new streamlined steam engine was coupled up to the "Northwesterner", a streamlined version of the 1929 train with that name. In 1940 the line to Spokane was finished. With the entrance of the United States into WW II, construction was suspended on the California line, which by then had reached Sacremento, CA, passing through Reno and Carson City, NV. From 1942-1945 the CCP&S rails seen heavy use due to war time traffic. In 1946 construction work was restarted on all lines, built or unbuilt. In 1950 the California line was finished, which passed thru the towns of San Fransico, Oakland, San Jose, Fresno, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and finally San Fransico. That same year the "Northwesterner" streamlined train was dieselized. In 1954 a major branchline project was undertaken in four states. They were: Seattle to Spokane, WA, Twin Falls to Boise, ID, Cheyenne to Casper, WY, and Eugene to Medford, OR. In 1956, the CCP&S began to dieselize all of its mainlines. In 1958 an order for 2,000 units went to EMD, FM, BLH, and Alco was placed to help finish off steam for good. In 1962 the CCP&S was one of two railroads left in the country to still have active steam engines in service but a year later in 1963, the CCP&S was finally and completely dieselized. Also in the 1960's the CCP&S began another round of mergers. In 1961 the line merged the Chicago St. Louis(C&StL), a line running between its namesake cities. In 1964, the line merged the San Diego & Arizona(SD&AE) into itself, a line that would later be sold to new owners in 1981. In 1967 the line tried to merge the well known Chicago Great Western(CGW), but the deal was rejected by the ICC a couple years later in 1969. Rebuffed in that effort, the CCP&S tried to merge with the Milwaukee Road(MILW) in 1969, but the ICC rejected them again in 1970. The line decided to put a lid on merger madness for a few years to see how things played out with the Penn Central bankruptcy and the talks to create Conrail. The line welcomed the rumored talks of deregulation and decided to try another round of mergers again. First they tried to acquire the CNW in 1977, but the ICC denied that deal a year later in 1978. Then in 1979 the line tried to merge with the SOO, ATSF, BN, NW, SOU, and SCL to create a super railroad called CCP&ST(or Chicago Cheyenne Portland & Seattle Transportation Company). In didn't pass the ICC office either due to the fact that it would have created super monopoly. Then in 1980 the line bought its final new power before the recession and suddenly decided to become anti-merger for the next 6 years. They opposed the NS merger in 1982, the SPSF merger in 1984, and the CSX merger in 1986. In 1987 the line began buying new locomotives again, and in 1988-89 the line began to lease motive power again to cope with additional traffic. In October of 1989 the line ordered its first GE locomotives in over a decade. They were delivered in December 1989-90. In 1991 the line has went back to leasing power and buying new freight cars and locomotives. Then when traffic took a nose dive in 1992, the line stopped buying new power and simply continued to lease locomotives to cover for shortages where necessary. In 1997 when CSX and NS began a bidding war over Conrail, the line went on record opposing the deal and were hoping to gain some trackage rights out of it, but none materialized. After the Conrail split in 1999, the CCP&S signed a deal with the Penn Central to better interchange traffic at St. Louis and give the CCP&S the option for trackage rights to Indianapolis, which they ended up using for a few years in the early 2000's, before they decided to renegotiate a simple haulage rights deal with PC to allow their traffic to reach Indianapolis and points east while avoiding the cost of qualifying crews and paying unnecessary HPH. Today the CCP&S is a strong western US Class One whose headquarters are located in Seattle, WA and continues to give its western competitors UP and BNSF a run for their money as they continue to build on a history that began way back in 1835.
A few tidbits that I included in my initial history(written in 1991) that didn't make sense in my chronological history write up:
Passenger cars haven't been bought since 1966 as all service went to Amtrak in 1971. One additional locomotive note for 1991. The line has said it will rebuild most of its existing pre 1972 era equipment to 1991 standards. More on mergers, in 1970 the line adopted an anti-BN and anti-UP stance. The BN stance lasted until 1979, the UP stance lasted til 1981. In 1980 the line went ahead with plans to merge the Rock Island, but in 1981 the plan failed due to unionized labor wanting full crews. Also the line is historic for continuing to use cabooses and up to six steamers for excursion work. The CCP&S is a historic, classic line where railfans are welcomed as long as a CCP&S employee knows about it. You'll have to come visit the line sometime, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
OFFICIAL COMPANY HISTORY:
In 1835, a group of rural communities wanted a connection to Chicago, so in October of that year they formed the Chicago and Rockford Railway, going from Chicago to Rockford and eventually Clinton, IA. Construction finally got underway in 1839 and the two major terminals were of course Chicago and Rockford. The line reached Rockford in 1842. Passenger service began in 1843, after a passenger station was built in Rockford. The main Chicago terminal was Dearborn. Interchange was made with the Illinois Central and the fledgling Chicago Northwestern. In 1850, sufficient funds were available to begin building the route to Clinton, IA. It was finally finished in 1855. By 1860, the C&R interchanged with all the railroads that had reached Chicago by then. The years 1861-1865 saw heavy use of C&R rails due to the Civil War. The heavy use took a toll on the line and in 1866 the line entered bankruptcy. In 1869 the line went up for sale and in 1870 a group of wealthy businessmen bought the line with the intent of expanding it to the Pacific Ocean. In 1877 the reborn C&R constructed a line to Lincoln, NE that ran thru Cedar Rapids, Des Moines(all IA) and Omaha, NE. 1882 was when the line was renamed the Chicago and Cheyenne Railway, or C&C. In 1886 the line constructed an extension to Cheyenne, WY, running thru the Nebraska cities of Grand Island and North Platte. 1894 was when an extension to Ogden, Utah began, which was finished in 1898. 1902 was when an extension to Twin Falls, ID was started, which was finished in 1910. In 1916, the C&C merged the local shortline Twin Falls & Western(TF&W) into itself and the following year, 1917, was when the Columbia & Eugene was merged into the the C&C. In 1923 the new line was reformed as the Chicago, Cheyenne & Pacific(CC&P). 1923 was also the year that the line began construction of a line to Portland, OR. 1929 was when the CC&P merged the Portland, Olympia & Seattle into itself. By then the line went through Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle. In 1932 the line reorganized as the Chicago Cheyenne Portland & Seattle(CCP&S). In 1937 an extension to Spokane, WA and another to the California Coast were started. The CCP&S also inaugurated a brand new diesel streamliner called "The City of Seattle". In 1939, a new streamlined steam engine was coupled up to the "Northwesterner", a streamlined version of the 1929 train with that name. In 1940 the line to Spokane was finished. With the entrance of the United States into WW II, construction was suspended on the California line, which by then had reached Sacremento, CA, passing through Reno and Carson City, NV. From 1942-1945 the CCP&S rails seen heavy use due to war time traffic. In 1946 construction work was restarted on all lines, built or unbuilt. In 1950 the California line was finished, which passed thru the towns of San Fransico, Oakland, San Jose, Fresno, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and finally San Fransico. That same year the "Northwesterner" streamlined train was dieselized. In 1954 a major branchline project was undertaken in four states. They were: Seattle to Spokane, WA, Twin Falls to Boise, ID, Cheyenne to Casper, WY, and Eugene to Medford, OR. In 1956, the CCP&S began to dieselize all of its mainlines. In 1958 an order for 2,000 units went to EMD, FM, BLH, and Alco was placed to help finish off steam for good. In 1962 the CCP&S was one of two railroads left in the country to still have active steam engines in service but a year later in 1963, the CCP&S was finally and completely dieselized. Also in the 1960's the CCP&S began another round of mergers. In 1961 the line merged the Chicago St. Louis(C&StL), a line running between its namesake cities. In 1964, the line merged the San Diego & Arizona(SD&AE) into itself, a line that would later be sold to new owners in 1981. In 1967 the line tried to merge the well known Chicago Great Western(CGW), but the deal was rejected by the ICC a couple years later in 1969. Rebuffed in that effort, the CCP&S tried to merge with the Milwaukee Road(MILW) in 1969, but the ICC rejected them again in 1970. The line decided to put a lid on merger madness for a few years to see how things played out with the Penn Central bankruptcy and the talks to create Conrail. The line welcomed the rumored talks of deregulation and decided to try another round of mergers again. First they tried to acquire the CNW in 1977, but the ICC denied that deal a year later in 1978. Then in 1979 the line tried to merge with the SOO, ATSF, BN, NW, SOU, and SCL to create a super railroad called CCP&ST(or Chicago Cheyenne Portland & Seattle Transportation Company). In didn't pass the ICC office either due to the fact that it would have created super monopoly. Then in 1980 the line bought its final new power before the recession and suddenly decided to become anti-merger for the next 6 years. They opposed the NS merger in 1982, the SPSF merger in 1984, and the CSX merger in 1986. In 1987 the line began buying new locomotives again, and in 1988-89 the line began to lease motive power again to cope with additional traffic. In October of 1989 the line ordered its first GE locomotives in over a decade. They were delivered in December 1989-90. In 1991 the line has went back to leasing power and buying new freight cars and locomotives. Then when traffic took a nose dive in 1992, the line stopped buying new power and simply continued to lease locomotives to cover for shortages where necessary. In 1997 when CSX and NS began a bidding war over Conrail, the line went on record opposing the deal and were hoping to gain some trackage rights out of it, but none materialized. After the Conrail split in 1999, the CCP&S signed a deal with the Penn Central to better interchange traffic at St. Louis and give the CCP&S the option for trackage rights to Indianapolis, which they ended up using for a few years in the early 2000's, before they decided to renegotiate a simple haulage rights deal with PC to allow their traffic to reach Indianapolis and points east while avoiding the cost of qualifying crews and paying unnecessary HPH. Today the CCP&S is a strong western US Class One whose headquarters are located in Seattle, WA and continues to give its western competitors UP and BNSF a run for their money as they continue to build on a history that began way back in 1835.
A few tidbits that I included in my initial history(written in 1991) that didn't make sense in my chronological history write up:
Passenger cars haven't been bought since 1966 as all service went to Amtrak in 1971. One additional locomotive note for 1991. The line has said it will rebuild most of its existing pre 1972 era equipment to 1991 standards. More on mergers, in 1970 the line adopted an anti-BN and anti-UP stance. The BN stance lasted until 1979, the UP stance lasted til 1981. In 1980 the line went ahead with plans to merge the Rock Island, but in 1981 the plan failed due to unionized labor wanting full crews. Also the line is historic for continuing to use cabooses and up to six steamers for excursion work. The CCP&S is a historic, classic line where railfans are welcomed as long as a CCP&S employee knows about it. You'll have to come visit the line sometime, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.