![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEX0EUwRu6zc-Dx81vX0M0w2gjR7cP-7_qQ1yPbnKE_eU8id3m9gXZb9Ohyphenhyphen79OxnlhW3tTZlep37djpUKHKC-OLe6WTumJBorF8P0MFVOX8qsMTLBUzxPOHKSPX-D6qV-US46f566DD5w/s400/C&NW+Logo.jpg)
Growing up in Chadron, Nebraska, in the 1940s and '50s, I was intrigued by the fact that so many homes had green trim -- very much like the green paint used on locomotives that were parked in the roundhouse for repairs and servicing! It seemed that half the town worked for C&NW, which probably wasn't far from the mark. Of course, that was before the railroad company removed itself from the community. Were it not for Chadron's four-year college, the loss of the railroad likely would have been the death knell for Chadron. ![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBVIVKXgqumYtDoTqhD125q9U0xpTFDWoePuKa1XPtGDw4b-oynQxbEXikauHN1yadWSCMIhw1e4_qfUnxypLB7Kkwtq5Ebs3OmxDcQQD_OA7TKBGjE4MTpjdMpFqQb9z6P3X_HFjVeg/s200/Depot-Chadron-7-26-80.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBVIVKXgqumYtDoTqhD125q9U0xpTFDWoePuKa1XPtGDw4b-oynQxbEXikauHN1yadWSCMIhw1e4_qfUnxypLB7Kkwtq5Ebs3OmxDcQQD_OA7TKBGjE4MTpjdMpFqQb9z6P3X_HFjVeg/s200/Depot-Chadron-7-26-80.jpg)
-
Quite by accident, I recently came across a WEB SITE dedicated to the history of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway System. It's a neat site, full of photographs and history of the mightly line before it merged away its identity. I suspect many Chadron residents, along with citizens from hundreds of other communities across the midwest and plains states, have already discovered the site.
-
The Dawes County Museum just south of Chadron has many artifacts from the rail era. But if you've not seen the C&NW Historical Society web site, it's worth a CLICK. Lots of information. Lots of photos, and lots of fun!