On July 17/18/19, 2003, I made arrangements to ride a couple of freight trains over the Iowa Interstate Railroad. This is the former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific mainline across Iowa and Illinois, and it appealed to me because I had never ridden it before and the prospects of regularly-scheduled passenger service operating over the line are slim. In setting something like this up, it helps to have friends in high places, and I'm good friends with a person in a very high place that's involved with this railroad. He and I have been good friends since our high school days.

The photo you see here was taken somewhere between Des Moines and Newton, IA after the crew had reached their hours-of-service limit and we were waiting near a rural grade crossing for a relief crew to show up. I didn't record the names of these guys and, for completeness, I'd like to know who they are. If there are any Iowa Interstate employees reading this and have been employed there long enough to remember who these guys are, please leave a response. I rode almost all of the trip in a trailing unit so I'd have some room to stretch out and not bother the crews while they were working.

I ran across an entry describing this trip when I used to keep a blog, so I'll just re-produce it here. In the blog entry I mentioned that IAIS trains were restricted to 25 MPH due to poor quality track. In the twenty years since I wrote that, IAIS and its parent company Rail Development Corporation have since spruced this railroad up into a nice, respectable Class II railroad with 40 MPH track. There are negotiations taking place to use some IAIS track so a state-sponsored passenger train can begin Chicago-Quad Cities service.

2003-07-19 22:38:00

An E Postcard From Merrillville, IN

I'm typing this at the Kinkos in Merrillville, IN on Saturday night, July 19th. David Busk and I just got back from a comedy show at Wisecrackers at the Raddison Hotel. The comedians were so-so. Maybe they'll be playing New York or L.A. sometime down the road.

My trip across Iowa and Illinois on the Iowa Interstate freight train was pretty cool. It was a little bit humid when we passed through Des Moines as the sun was coming up. So far on this trip, I've seen the state capitol buildings in WY, CO, NE and IA.

The weather cooperated and it was actually quite pleasant in Newton, IA. Due to a late arrival, I was only there for about six hours, about four of which were spent showering and grabbing some rest at the Super 8. We left town with a freight train that weighed in at about 10,000 tons. The freight business on the IAIS seems to be doing quite well.

It was actually cold later that evening and in the early morning hours in eastern Iowa and Illinois. It was cool observing the lightning bugs (a.k.a. "fireflies") while we were getting ready to depart from Iowa City. We don't have lightning bugs in California.

It was kinda sad seeing the once-mighty Rock Island mainline reduced to what it is today. The trains are restricted to 25 MPH due to rough track and one could see where the second track had been removed between Iowa City and Chicago. It used to be double-track all the way between those two points. This was also the first time I had ever been to the Quad Cities, and it was cool crossing the "Mighty Mo" there on a combination highway-rail bridge.

Here's today's trivia quiz: Name the cities that make up the "Quad Cities."

I bailed off the train at the Union Station in Joliet, IL and walked over to the Harrah's Casino. I spent some time there until David swung by and picked me up. Thank God for cell phone co-ordination. Then we headed over to Merrillville, where I'm at now.