About midway across Iowa, along Interstate 80, I saw a sign for the "American Train Museum", which was like dangling a night crawler in front of a bass. I took the exit and located the museum, complete with a Civil War era Rock Island station under heavy repair. The museum itself was closed for the season, while the owners were out harvesting corn, but the occupant of "Red's Model Trains" was around and opened his shop inside this Rock Island coach. Red repairs all manner of toy trains and has a few nice artifacts around and inside, plus a few litters of kitties.



We arrived in Council Bluffs to find the Welcome center in the old Rock Island Station, closed. The station has received a great deal of attention, and worthy of its preservation as seen here. A rather exciting building, in terms of railroad architecture.


I suppose it is wrong to kick a railroad museum or collection when you are not the one carrying the burden of repair and maintenance, so I'll simply suggest that perhaps a local Boy Scout, or Girl Scout troop, be invited to scrape and paint the wooden caboose on the property. The rest of the photos tell you what you might need to know about a nice collection without a quality cleaning, repair, and painting.

The Burlington 4-6-0 is a "sexy" little Belpaire fireboxed loco, ideal for a live steaming operation. She seems to be mostly intact, very reasonable amount of rust for an outdoor locomotive. A really nice artifact of the railroading era she represents.



The big disappointment for me, is Union Pacific 814, which requires abatement, repair, paint, and protection. Of the three FEF's I've seen, my heart most goes out to this one. In no way does she show her express passenger train heritage, looking rather like an old person fallen on hard times. Compared to the other Union Pacific equipment pieces on display, she stands out like a sore thumb.




Tomorrow morning, I head for Kenefic Park, to photograph Union Pacific "Big Boy" 4023.

Stop in Lincoln and check out sister CB&Q 710, kept up by local railfans. At night it is lit up very nicely.

There is a nice display at the Lincoln Union Station(Burlington depot's correct name)of BN predicessor freight cars as well as the 710.

915 in Council Bluffs was the 715 before renumbering.

A photo I took of UP 814 at Grand Island, Nebraska on August 20, 1957. If she could only look like this in preservation!

I was told a few years ago that the stone building in the background was still standing.

She's not so gone that she might not look like that again. She needs a group of devoted friends. Nice picture.