Steam locomotives stoke interest of Iowa train buffs
By WILLIAM PETROSKI
DES MOINES REGISTER STAFF WRITER
July 10, 2006
Two steam locomotives will be tested in eastern Iowa by the Iowa Interstate Railroad, a prospect that is already generating strong interest among railroad buffs.
"We are getting a tremendous number of calls on these things," said Dennis Miller, Iowa Interstate's president and chief operating officer. "A lot of private individuals want to take pictures. But we don't want to let a lot of people down there and get them hurt in the yard."
The Chinese-made locomotives have been acquired by Railroad Development Corp. of Pittsburgh, the parent of Iowa Interstate. They were transported on a ship from China to the United States, arriving in Houston in June, and were then placed atop special flatcars and brought to a rail yard in Rock Island, Ill. They will be brought to Iowa City, probably in early August, for final work needed before they can be fired up for train use, Miller said.
"We have a little shop there in Iowa City, and we will test them out, get the water on, and load some coal and probably start them up," he said.
The Iowa Interstate, based in Cedar Rapids, has no plans to use the locomotives for regular freight service, but the engines will pull at least one freight train to obtain certification from the Federal Railroad Administration, Miller said. That trip will likely be run between Iowa City and the Quad Cities, he said.
The steam engines may also be used in September for passenger train trips planned in conjunction with Riverway 2006, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River, said Sally Heffernan, a special projects manager for the city of Rock Island. The bridge linked Rock Island and Davenport.
The excursion train trips will be operated by a Minnesota-based nonprofit group known as "The Friends of the 261," which has an old Milwaukee Road steam engine available. But the Chinese-made steam locomotives may be used instead to pull the trains, Heffernan said. Passenger trips are planned around the Quad Cities area, and from Rock Island to Homestead and Muscatine, and to Bureau Junction, Ill.
Eliot Keller of Iowa City, a member of the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers, said he plans to buy tickets for the train rides.
"People are fascinated with the machines. When you actually stand near a steam locomotive, you realize it's not an electric motor. They belch steam and smoke, and they have a unique personality," Keller said.
These won't be the first Chinese steam engines to operate in Iowa. In 1989, the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad acquired the last commercially built steam engine from China, and it remains as one of the tourist railroad's top attractions.
By WILLIAM PETROSKI
DES MOINES REGISTER STAFF WRITER
July 10, 2006
Two steam locomotives will be tested in eastern Iowa by the Iowa Interstate Railroad, a prospect that is already generating strong interest among railroad buffs.
"We are getting a tremendous number of calls on these things," said Dennis Miller, Iowa Interstate's president and chief operating officer. "A lot of private individuals want to take pictures. But we don't want to let a lot of people down there and get them hurt in the yard."
The Chinese-made locomotives have been acquired by Railroad Development Corp. of Pittsburgh, the parent of Iowa Interstate. They were transported on a ship from China to the United States, arriving in Houston in June, and were then placed atop special flatcars and brought to a rail yard in Rock Island, Ill. They will be brought to Iowa City, probably in early August, for final work needed before they can be fired up for train use, Miller said.
"We have a little shop there in Iowa City, and we will test them out, get the water on, and load some coal and probably start them up," he said.
The Iowa Interstate, based in Cedar Rapids, has no plans to use the locomotives for regular freight service, but the engines will pull at least one freight train to obtain certification from the Federal Railroad Administration, Miller said. That trip will likely be run between Iowa City and the Quad Cities, he said.
The steam engines may also be used in September for passenger train trips planned in conjunction with Riverway 2006, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River, said Sally Heffernan, a special projects manager for the city of Rock Island. The bridge linked Rock Island and Davenport.
The excursion train trips will be operated by a Minnesota-based nonprofit group known as "The Friends of the 261," which has an old Milwaukee Road steam engine available. But the Chinese-made steam locomotives may be used instead to pull the trains, Heffernan said. Passenger trips are planned around the Quad Cities area, and from Rock Island to Homestead and Muscatine, and to Bureau Junction, Ill.
Eliot Keller of Iowa City, a member of the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers, said he plans to buy tickets for the train rides.
"People are fascinated with the machines. When you actually stand near a steam locomotive, you realize it's not an electric motor. They belch steam and smoke, and they have a unique personality," Keller said.
These won't be the first Chinese steam engines to operate in Iowa. In 1989, the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad acquired the last commercially built steam engine from China, and it remains as one of the tourist railroad's top attractions.
