[?]

Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad 8/13/2007

Following a wild night of 65 mile an hour winds and waking up to the sounds of pouring rain and thunder, I knew it was going to be an interesting day. Enterprise Rental Car picked me up at the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Missouri in the pouring rain and we drove to Kirksville to their offices. There I received a Chevy Cobalt LS for my day of driving and proceeded north on US 63 to Ottumwa, Iowa and my first stop. I went inside the Amtrak station and a sign on the window said the train for Chicago would be here at about 2:43 PM {9:39 AM}.

Behind the station was what I stopped, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 4-6-4 3001. It was donated to the City of Ottumwa by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in August 1959 on the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first train into Ottumwa on the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, later part of the CB&Q. It is on display in Ballingall Park next to the Amtrak depot.

I continued north on US 63 until I neared Oskaloosa where I took Iowa Highway 163 west then stopped in Pella at an Arby's and Walmart. Back on 163, I took that west through two major thunderstorms to near Des Moines where I took US 65 north to Interstate 80, west to Interstate 35 north to US 30 West then stopped for petrol at a Kum & Go in Ames before driving the rest of the way to Boone. I followed the signs that took me to my next train ride.

The Boone & Scenic Valley is operated by the Iowa Railroad Historical Society, a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization which is dedicated to the preservation of, and educating the public about, the history of Iowa's railroads. Besides the railroad, the operation includes the new James H. Andrew Railroad Museum and History Center. Today's B&SV got its start in 1893 with the discovery of coal west of Fraser. A railroad was built to haul the coal and extensions were soon made to connect to other area railroads. By 1907, the system had reached the cities of Fort Dodge and Des Moines. Soon a power plant at Fraser was finished and the line was electrified. In 1913, the current steel high bridge over Bass Point Creek opened, replacing the wooden trestle originally spanning the valley. After the power plant closed due to flooding, the last interurban cars operated in September 1955. Diesels soon took over what freight still existed. In 1968 the Chicago & North Western purchased the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad for $50,000. By 1983, the freight business was over and the 11-mile line from Boone westward through Fraser and to near Wolf became the property of the Boone Railroad Historical Society. The first trip handling passengers was made in November 1983. The current depot opened in 1985, built to resemble the Rockwell City, Iowa, station. The electric operations to downtown Boone started back up in 1988.

Boone was established in 1865 as the new railroad town of Boone Station or Montana Station. It was located a mile-and-half east of Boonesboro, the county seat of Boone County. The name Boone came from Nathan Boone of Missouri, the tenth and final child born to Daniel and Rebecca Boone. About a mile east of Fraser, the railroad crosses the Bass Point Creek High Bridge, a series of deck plate girder spans measuring 754 feet long and 156 feet above the stream. Fraser itself was laid out in 1893 by the Fraser Coal Company. The line west of here has been damaged by repeated floods, providing a round trip of approximately fifteen miles.

The train station at Boone is milepost 41.9 while Kale Road at Fraser is milepost 34.6. The electric route heads east from the Boone station for about 0.7 miles. The Iowa Railroad Historical Society has a large collection of equipment. Probably most famous is JS8419, a Chinese 2-8-2, built by Datong Locomotive Works in October 1988 and purchased new by the BSV in 1989. The railroad also features a number of diesel locomotives. Alco RS-1, built in 1951 as Lake Superior & Ishpeming 1002, has been restored as the 244, painted in Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad blue. The F9A 6540, started life being built in General Motors' London plant in 1953 for the Canadian National. After passing through a number of hands, the B&SV acquired it in 2002 and painted it to match the "Overland Route" cars of the Dinner Train. Also here are BSVR NW-2 1003, South Shore Line 106, Fort Dodge & Des Moines 2254, Union Pacific S-4 1098 and the unique snowplow, CNW XSC 28300 MWK. Finally, the most powerful diesel on hand is Union Pacific 2921, former Southern Pacific 8385 SD40T-2 "tunnel motor". The trolley operation features Charles City Western car 50 which is a 38-seat, 48-foot semi-steel combine was built by the McGuire-Cummings Company of Paris, Illinois in 1915.

I parked went inside a very crowded depot to wait my turn to pick up my ticket the 1:30 PM train. With ticket in hand, I went outside to explore.

Our train consisted of NW-2 1003, C&NW caboose 1136, BSVR coaches 3207 and 3218, Rock Island 2584, BSVSR 9101, C&NW transfer caboose 12517 "Valley View"and Rock Island Caboose 17051.

Boone & Scenic Valley NW-2 1003, ex. Chicago and North Western 1003, nee Grand Trunk Western 7914 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1942. It was retired in the early 1970's, sold to Precision National Corporation, rebuilt and sold to the Chicago & North Western in 1973. In March 1986, it was bought by the museum.

Southern Pacific 10-6 sleeper 9044 "City of San Francisco" built by Pullman Standard in 1950 and rebuilt with a large observation platform.

Boone and Scenic Valley dining car 4810 "City of Los Angeles", ex. North Star Rail/Friends of 261 4810 1993, exx. Northern Rail Car Company 1991, exxx. Union Pacific "City of Los Angeles:1" 1988, nee Union Pacific dining car 4810 built by American Car and Foundry in 1949.

Boone and Scenic Valley FP9A 6540, ex. Northeastern Kansas Railroad Museum 6540 2002, exx. VIA Rail 6540, nee Canadian National 6540, built by General Motors Diesel in 1958. It was retired in 1991 and purchased by the railroad in 2002. They painted it in a scheme similar to the Chicago and North Western and use to power the railroad's dinner, dessert and picnic trains.

Chicago and North Western aboose 11136 built by International Car in 1936.

Chicago, South Shore and South Bend coach 106 built by Standard Steel in 1926.

Chicago and North Western transfer caboose 12517 "Valley View" built by the railroad in 1964.

Rock Island caboose 17051 built by International Car Company in 1964.

Rear of the excursion train.

The water tower.

The busy Union Pacific mainline two blocks south of the station.

Boone and Scenic Valley 2-8-0 17, ex. Crab Orchard and Egyptian 17 1975, nee Roberval and Saguenay 17 built by Canadian Locomotive Company in 1940. This was one of the last steam engines built in North America other than for military use and one of the last used in revenue service in the Unied States.

The Roberval and Saguenay had its beginnings with the incorporation in 1908 of the Ha! Ha! Bay Railway to build from Jonquieres to Bagotville on Ha! Ha! Bay, Quebec, with branches to Chicoutimi Pulp Company mills, to Lake Kenogami and St. Alexis. The Roberval & Saquenay itself was incorporated in Quebec in 1911 to build from Roberval on the Quebec & Lake St. John Railway around Lake St. John to rejoin the Q&LSJ at Chicoutimi and also at St. Bruno via a branch. It bought the Ha! Ha! Bay in June 1914.

Apparently, before the CO&E's shop crew had a chance to prepare the locomotive for passenger service, a depot fire in 1977 led to a decision to operate as a freight-only line. Seeing an opportunity offered by the newly arrived 2-8-0 in the yard, the CO&E restored it to service without its superheater or feedwater heater. It was originally equipped with a winterised cab and stoker, which were also removed by the CO&E. Its headlight was from an former Illinois Central electric trailer car. 17 was the last steam locomotive used for common carrier freight service in the US, making its last scheduled trip on 8th September 1986. In 1987, it was sold to the B&SV and has since had its jacket, insulation, grates, turbo generator, bell, piping and cab appliances removed and placed in storage.

Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern 80 ton switcher 2254, nee United States Air Force 7858 built by General Electric in 1942. In 1983, the Air Force deemed the locomotive as surplus, and it was purchased by the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad. The unit was a "good fit" for our railroad as the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad, one of our predecessors, owned and operated very similar locomotives in the 1950's and 1960's.

Boone and Scenic Valley RS-1 244, ex. Continental Grain in Pickering, Iowa, exx. Calumet and Hecla Railroad 205 1967, nee Lake Superior & Ishpeming 1002, built by American Locomotive Company in 1951. In 1996, it was donated to the Iowa Railroad Historical Society and is currently painted in Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad blue.

Boone and Scenic Valley rapid transit car 1523, ex. Metra Electric 1523 1987-2007, exx. Illinois Central Gulf 1523 1972-1987, nee Illinois Central 1523 1971-1972 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1971.

Boone and Scenic Valley JS 2-8-2 8419 built by Datong Company in 1988, specifically built for the railway at a $350,000. The JS was a product of co-operation between China and the USSR in the 1950's. The rolling chassis of the successful JF class Mikado was improved and paired with a new boiler based on a Soviet design to produce a mixed traffic locomotive. It went into production at Dalian in 1957 and at Qishuyan, Datong and Beijing in later years. The new engines were intended for mainline service and were equipped with mechanical stokers and feedwater heaters, resulting in a considerable increase in power over their predecessors.

The JS worked all over the China Rail network until the end of steam. Many of the 1980's engines then went into industrial service, and a considerable number were still operating at the turn of the century.

Passengers boarding the train; I boarded "Valley View".

Boone station board.

Boone station sign.

Passengers in my car and we departed on time.

More former South Shore Line cars.

Passing Division siding.

Curving out of town.

Union Pacific S-2 1098, exx. Archer Daniels Midland, ex. RELCO 1031, nee Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis 575, built by American Locomotive Company in 1942. In 1997, 1031 was donated to the Iowa Railroad Historical Society by ADM. The Union Pacific Railroad was instrumental in moving the locomotive to Boone. Therefore, when the time came to repaint the locomotive, it was painted into Union Pacific's well-known colors. In October 1998, the locomotive emerged from the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad's shops as Union Pacific 1098. That number is significant in that it signifies the date the locomotive was returned to service. Even though the locomotive never belonged to the Union Pacific, the number 1098 also fits into the series of numbers the Union Pacific did use for that particular model.

More stored equipment.

Passing Kreiger siding.

The most unique snowplough I had ever seen, Chicago and North Western X262707, builder and year unknown.

Going by Kreiger Greenhouses.

Our route paralleled some of the Iowa cornfields.

Starting down the grade.

Looking back at a cornfield.

The view through the Rock Island caboose.

The High Bridge sign over Bass Point Creek.

The High Bridge is a series of deck plate girder spans measuring 754 feet long and 156 feet above the stream.

A most impressive bridge.

We now started down the grade to our crossing of the Des Moines River.

The Oak Park sign.

Crossing the Des Moines River.

This siding leads to the pumpkin patch.

Our route is now on the west side of the river.

The Des Moines River through the trees. We passed some trees with carvings on them before crossing a road to reach Fraser siding, our turnback point.

We came to the Fraser Siding Sign. Here the engine will run around our train.

The NW-2 running around our train and once he coupled up, we started the journey back to Boone.

Crossing the Des Moines River again.

Me and my shadow were riding the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad.

Ccrossing the Des Moines River.

Passing the Des Moines YMCA Camp.

You could look through the trees at the river far below.

While the train was on a fill, there is water dammed below us.

Crossing the High Bridge.

The High Bridge sign again.

The train ran by Pilcher's Crossing.

Passing the cornfields for which Iowa is known.

That unique snowplough again.

All too soon, we were back in Boone.

The train at Boone station. What a fantastic trip I had just had. I thanked the crew for having me and visited the gift shop for a T-shirt and postcards.

The water tower.

Chicago and North Western Railway museum/lounge car 400 "Kate Shelley", builder and year unknown.

I returned to the car and said goodbye to the conductor before starting the drive back to La Plata over the same route that brought me here, although I stopped for petrol in Ottumwa. Once back, I went to the Red Rooster for another top sirloin dinner. Ray and Shivam from Trainweb.com stopped by for a visit then I did some laundry and used the sauna tub before calling it a night.

8/14/2007 Up early, I worked on this story and learned that the Southwest Chief was running over an hour late so went to Casey's for some trip supplies before finishing the story. Enterprise picked up my rental car at the hotel as I left the keys at the front counter. Later I was driven to the Amtrak station, ending another excellent visit to the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Missouri.