So it’s getting to be the time of year when I hit the road and head for Chicagoland. I’ve wanted to shoot the Iowa Traction for several years now and really feel the need to since they were acquired this year. One just never knows how long this delightfully anachronistic operation will keep on as they are, so I think it’s high time that I took a little side trip on my way home and took some photos of them.
Can anyone give me any details of their operation? Is there any good time that I could likely catch some action there?
When I visited IT in late September they commenced work around 8am usually at AGP then up to the UP and CP interchanges. They kept working through the day finishing around mid afternoon. If you drive the main highway between their shops at Emery and the interchanges at Clear Lake Junction you should pick up a train unless they are moving stored cars west of Emery. Not too sure if operations have changed now that winter has arrived.
As part of the purchase, Progresive Rail had to agree to keep the electrified operation. It is not going anywhere anytime soon. They are rebuilding the crossings and sinking $$$ into the line right now, so the locomotives are being kept out along the line as opposed to the shops when the work is done. When I was there two weeks ago, #60 was parked on the main across from AGP with #51 (IIRC) parked on the line into AGP. They wrapped up around 2-3PM, so definitely get there early to shoot.
A friend and I made a trip out to the Iowa Traction back in August - a delightful little railroad that I found fantasticly interesting - enough that we spent the whole day just shooting the IATR. We were only there on one day (Monday) but I can give you the details we learned. I’m not sure if anything has changed with the PGR purchase, but I don’t believe things have changed drastically.
The crew leaves motors all around the railroad and drives in a truck from place to place. The shops are in Emery, and the crew shows up between 7:00 and 8:00am. They usually head out to work by 8:00 or 8:30 at the latest. The bread and butter customer is the AGP plan in Mason City near the diamond with the UP, and this is where the spend much of their time. One of the crew members said Monday is usually their busiest day, as they don’t work weekends and there are usually a backlog of cars to be moved around at the AGP plant. Other days of the week may be slightly different, but chances are good they will work AGP at some point. They also often do some work at the Behr scrap yard that is right next to the shop in Emery, and there was a soy biofuel plant just east of Emory that had rail access, though I don’t know if it was actively used.
They day we followed them they started with the 51 that was parked on the track that runs between the IATR “main” and the CP interchange, where the picked up a bunch of inbound empty AGP hoppers. They shoved those on the siding, and then went began pulling loads from the AGP plant. They can only pull 4 loads up the hill at a time, so they make several trips between the plant and a siding behind the national guard building. When we were there the siding was only one ended with the switch on the south end so they would pull the loads up and the perform a drop to get the cars past the motor. Once that was completed the process was repeated until they got enough loads to shove up to the CP interchange.
Sweet! Thanks for the tips, everyone! My travel plans have been adjusted a bit due to the storm, so I will probably try to get them on the way back to CO now. Will post pics if I make it there!
Skip the phony baloney chain restaurants and go to the Suzi-Q Cafe, downtown Mason City. From the Trolley, go north on US 65 to Second Street NW. Turn left, in the middle of the block, on the right.
It is a vintage Valentine 10 seat diner. The Spic N’ Span Tenderloin is the best in the state, made right in front of you while you wait.
