Nostalgia & History > Maroon Monday: Iowa cornfield

Here’s some rural scenery that could be found just about anywhere on Rock Island’s vast, granger-oriented system map. We have a railroad line splicing a cornfield. A classic scene. The train is a bit unusual, though. Three geeps with an unknown switcher at the point of a solid string of empty gons. Jim Watson has identified his slide as “Des Moines, IA”. I’ve only been through Des Moines once, but not as a railfan. So I had to take a little tour through Google Maps. I may have found the spot where Jim bagged this train. I’m thinking this shot could have been taken on the west side of I-35, south of Grand Avenue. But even allowing for 42 years of likely changes in the landscape, there are a couple of things that don’t really match up in the current Google ‘street view’. I’m quite sure someone out there will be able to pinpoint the location accurately. And that’s part of the magic of this great website…

1. CRI&P 1308 leads a westbound (?) train through a rural area in or near Des Moines, IA on September 24, 1975.
(Photo by James W. Watson)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Jim Watson (UP6900)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/22 21:02 by santafe199.

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I'm wondering if that switcher might be a Ft. Dodge, Des Moines & Southern unit, such as their center-cab 60-tonner #2254.

http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr549.htm

- Jeff Carlson

Great image with an interesting lashup. Thanks for posting this.
Bob

Looks to be well East of Des Moines, say somewhere just East of Altoona.

Out

Lance has identified the location  correctly. That is I-35 in the background, and Grand Ave to the left.
the area is actually West Des Moines.

The switcher belongs to one of the quarries a little way to the west.

Jim Watson
UP 6900

This is West Des Moines, with I 35 in the back ground. Its a location once called Commerce. This is probably the "Rock Roller" that made a daily turn from Des Moines to Winear, East of Earlham, then worked down the branch to the quarry on the Winterset Branch. The rock would come out of the quarry and go to the cement plant at West Des Moines. The rock business dried up I think during the IRRC days but I will leave that up to Mark Amfarh to add his .02 there.

Great photo thanks for sharing.

MILW86A
Des Moines Area Resident since 1999

Thanks for the correction, it looks like I-80 in the background where the tracks enter Altoona, and yes,
altogether now, all the Midwest looks the same!

Out

Empty "rock train" in more ways that one.

I'll add my 2 cents that UP6900 is correct.    That looks like the 'rock roller' that took limestone from the quarries in Madison County to Monarch Cement in DSM.    
At first that switcher looked like it might have been Fort Dodge line, but that would make little sense on this train, but I'm betting is going to the quarries.   I remember a very similar unit being used at the quarry in Winterset to shuffle the gondolas in for loading.   When it went out for maintenance RI switcher would show up in it's place.    Not sure if they used one  at Winear or not. 
Now my question would be what's on that flat car right behind the locomotives?

Stephen

rfdatalink Wrote: > ... I'll add my 2 cents that UP6900 is correct ...
er, um... "UP6900" is the photographer...

:^/