The train started its journey back to Centerville by crossing the BNSF line that runs south of town and we made our way to Moravia for lunch.
Our train at Moravia after we all had detrained for lunch. It is believed to be one of the two standard-plan wooden Wabash combination freight and passenger depots that remain in Iowa. Completed in 1903, it served the Wabash Railroad. The Queen Anne style building is an example of the rural combination station plan. The museum features railroad artifacts, an operational model train layout and a restored railroad section car. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Our group enjoying lunch in front of the Wabash station.
A maintenance-of-way car, details unknown.
A section car is also on display.
Interior of the station.
I had Bart Jennings take a picture of me wearing a "dunce cap"m something I always had wanted to wear but they were outlawed in California before I started school. Sometime later, we all reboarded the train to continue our trip back to Centerville.
We had a green signal for the crossing of the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad.
The Union Pacific locomotive was still sitting on the interchange track.
Looking west down the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern tracks. We continued south at a good clip, scaring a couple of deer who took off through the corn fields.
Crossing Iowa Highway 2 on a bridge which I had seen this morning and the "Wa" of "Wabash" was still visible as I passed under it. We made our way to Moulton Junction for the next photo runby.
The location of the interchange track from the Rock Island to the Wabash. We detrained onto a road that once was a bridge that went over the Rock Island Line here.
The last photo runby of the day.
The grade to the right where the Rock Island line went down to go under the former bridge, now fill. We continued west to the Chariton River bridge for a static photo opportunity.
The Chariton River bridge.
A static shot.
The photo line where we would rotate to the front.
The train came back across the bridge to pick us up and returned us to Centerville, where we arrived early. It was another great trip with a special thank you to Bart and Sarah Jennings, as well as the Appanoose County Community Railroad for this very special and unique excursion.
I returned to the car and said goodbye to all my rare mileage friends then drove Iowa Highway 5 which became Missouri Highway 5 south to Unionville, where I turned right onto US Highway 136. At Interstate 35, I went south to Cameron where I exited and checked into the Best Western Acorn Inn before getting some KFC for dinner then spent the evening in my room working on this story before calling it a night.
