Iowa Traction: Electric Survivor

[railohio]

The Iowa Traction Railroad is a relic from a bygone era. Common-carrier freight service is offer by the privately-owned company in Mason City; traffic is interchanged with Canadian Pacific's Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern subsidiary and Union Pacific. I went to observe the railroad in October 2008 and have uploaded a number of photos this winter:

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[sgtcarl1]

Railohio: Thanks for the link!! Man, it didn't take me very long to "get lost!!" Almost made me homesick for the prairies. (I was born and raised in Iowa.)

[Ralph]

Nice shots Brian! I had the opportunity to see the line during a visit to Mason city years ago. I lived in Iowa for five years.

Ralph

[Sarge]

Great pics. My Dad lives in Mason City, so I too have had the opportunity to see the little railroad that could

[nachoman]

I had no idea something like this still existed in the USA!

[Steamtrains]

I guess those critters are the "bugs" of the RR'ing world....
Surprising that they can haul several cars that are more than twice their size....Do they have some kind of "autonomous" power source so they can traverse small sections of "unpowered" trackage..??

Thanks for posting...

[FiatFan]

My wife and I rode up there in the fall of 2008 and took a "few" pictures. About 40 or 50 apiece, IIRC. We were just talking the other day about going back during the week to watch them operate. Here are a few of them.









Tom

[nachoman]

What other non-passenger non-museum electric railroads are operating in the United States? The only other one I am aware of it the Black Mesa and Lake Powell railroad in Arizona. It is not a common carrier and only hauls coal from the mine to a power plant. Perhaps some small industrial railroad on the campus of a steel mill or refinery?

[railohio]

There's one or two in Texas. I think another utility coal-hauler and another traction remnant like this line.

Next time I'll be sure to post my photos in this forum. They seem to get a lot more views and comments than when I post them in US Rails.

[Triplex]

Black Mesa & Lake Powell, Texas Utilities, Deseret Western - all dedicated power plant lines. Is the Navajo Mine still running?

Iowa Traction is the only traction remnant. I seem to recall there was another in Texas that lasted to the 90s?

[railohio]

2001, according to Wikipedia...

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There is also, of course, the South Shore, but that is passenger-only for electrics now; freight service was dieselized in the 1970s.

[nachoman]

If you are talking about the Black Mesa mine, yes it is still operating. The adjacent Kayenta mine closed when the power plant in Laughlin, Nevada was closed. The Kayenta mine transported it's coal to the power plant via pipeline. In their future water use claims, both the Hopi and Navajo indicate a potential to re-open the Kayenta mine, or develop other mining areas, and build new power plants on the reservation. Proposals include the possibility of new dedicated electric railroads. However, I doubt such plans will ever come to fruition. There are too much politics that would have to agree (most importantly inter- and intra- tribal), and a very limited supply of a crucial natural resource - water. Most likely water to run a power plant or mine would have to come from off of the reservation, requiring a pipeline. And, the source of that water would have to be won in court -

[Triplex]

The Navajo Mine Railroad is distinct from the Black Mesa & Lake Powell, though they're often confused. The BM&LP is in Arizona, from the Black Mesa Mine at Kayenta to the Navajo *Generating Station*. The Navajo Mine RR is in New Mexico, from the Navajo Mine to the Four Corners Power Plant.

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<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thedieselshop.us/Navajo.HTML">http://www.thedieselshop.us/Navajo.HTML</a><!-- m --> says they bought E60Cs from NdeM, but lists the ex-Amtrak/NJT E60CP/CHs as still rostered in 2005. I thought they were scrapped by then?