Hi everyone. On June 22nd, I was heading out to Train Watch in Channahon, Illinois, and when we were pulling up to the tracks, we noticed someone in a car was sitting by the tracks also. We chatted for a while. I aksed him if he loved trains, and he said “Young man, I own one.” We found out that he was the owner of the DAIR Dakota and Iowa Railroad. That train is in South Carolina where he lives. They own 128 miles of track. Dakota and Iowa Railroad is a short line. He was working in a company right next to the tracks to help put Grain into train cars. He stayed and Train Watched for a while with us. We saw a lot of trains. I never heard of the DAIR Dakota and Iowa Railroad until today. It was a very fun day. Take care everyone. HAPPY RAILROADING! [:)] Nick
Better make that South Dakota-not South Carolina. The DAIR,known locally as the rock train, runs mile long trains full of rocks from a quarry in Dell Rapids, S.D. through my town every day. Until a mile of state owned, former Milwaukee track was removed, and the train re-routed over BNSF lines, the rock train used to go along side where I work. L.G. Everest owns the railroad and quarry. Today is “Quarry Days” in Dell Rapids, and includes train rides around the quarry.
Hey Murphy-there is a 6 page article on the DAIR in the current CTC Board magazine-June 2005 issue.
Very interesting!!
Sorry I accidentaly put South Carolina instead of South Dakota. Nick
nanaimo73 What’s the CTC Board Magazine? Thanks.
CTC Board is a monthly 64 page magazine published by Hundman in Seattle. They also do Mainline Modeler. Until recently they had 3 times as much news in their magazine as Trains, but the news has been dropped because of internet forums like this one are so much faster.DAIR is on the cover.
www.ctcboard.com
Mark Hemphill spent several years there as Associate Editor.
I looked at 7 maps and finally found Murphy SD.
DAIR runs on former CMSP&P track from Dell Rapids to Sioux City Iowa, and has a former C&NW line to Beresford.
nanaimo 73 Thanks for the link. You must have had look really to find Murphy (siding) . It’s more of a place that isn’t there any more. One hundred years ago, it was a siding on the Milwaukee Road between Rapid City and Caputa S.D… Thirty years ago they used to truck haul bentonite from Colony Wy. to the siding to load on MWK trains.(CNW had the tracks to Colony.) Now it’s nothing. The tracks are gone, the siding is gone, and the Milwaukee is gone.