Iowa Traction

[Otto Vondrak]

I'm planning a trip to Iowa this spring to photograph the Iowa Traction. I've never been to Iowa, and all I know about the ITAR is what I've seen in photos... cany anyone else help fill in the blanks?

http://www.trainweb.org/twerhs/iowatraction.html

-otto-

[Komachi]

Even though Mason City is three hours south of me, I don't really get a chance to get down there. Although, we do drive through there when we go visit my brother in Kansas City.

You pass over the ROW on I-35... in fact, the overpass is one of the ends of the line (west end?). Sorry I can't say more on it...

Here are some other websites I found on the IT...


http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transit/MasonCity/

http://www.davesrailpix.com/iatr/iatr.htm (Lots of pics!)

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 9799&rfi=6 (History)

But I'm sure you know most of that already.

[dhaugh]

I've made many trips to Mason City, almost all on weekends, and the Iowa Traction is never running on weekends. Their main customer is an AGP plant, otherwise there's a few smaller places, but not many. There was just recently an feature article in TRAINS magazine about the operation, which was very interesting. Dave

[Otto Vondrak]

I was planning a trip for a weekday, so I guess iI need to contact the railroad and see if I cant determine their schedule. I would hate to plan a trip all that way and get nothing! I'm planning on visiting sometime in March, spending a day with IATR, then maybe seeing what the neighboring lines have in store...

-otto-

[Otto Vondrak]

What are the major airports in Iowa? I figure I would fly into the closest city then rent a car to get to Mason City...

-otto-

[natethegreat]

The closest Iowa Airports are The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids and The Des Moines International Airport. Both are served my major airlines although Des Moines sees more daily flights. Another option would be to fly into Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and drive south. Mason City is about half way between Des Moines and Minneapolis.

[Komachi]

Otto,

Given the choices, I'd say go with Des Moines, it's the closest airport of the bunch. It's a three hour drive from Cedar Rapids and a two hour drive from Des Moines. Rule out the Twin Cities, you're talking 4-5 hours drive time that route. (Of course, times may varry depending on the lead content of your lower extremity.)

Also, March-ish... I'm not sure what their traffic load would be, as their major shippers are the grain elevators. They may do some other transfer work for the UP, but it's mostly grain traffic. I believe they also do some maintainance work during the "off season." But I would contact the railroad and see what they're up to during that timeframe.

[route_rock]

Go to CR! You will see more RR action on your way up. But really I agree with Komachi in checking what they will be doing in March.