Iowa Traction for sale

ted_roy · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:41 am

I just heard on a interurban focused yahoo group the Iowa Traction in Mason City was for sale, with stipulations on the overhead. Any more details out there?

Ted.

o anderson · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:02 am

From IowaInterurbansandStreetRailways:

Quote:

The Iowa Traction is for sale.

Dave Johnson told the Iowa Chapter that the line was for sale and that
he was going to retire. One of the conditions of the sale is that the
overhead must stay up. They can run diesels if the want to.

He also told us that me may stay on as a consultant.

That is all I know for now.

Thomas Van Horn

Perhaps a non-profit historic railroad could take this operation over. Revenues from freight could help keep the facility maintained, and if revenue grows it can support expansion to a museum campus. Are there some railway museums who haul freight?

tomgears · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:32 am

This is the country's only electric freight operation connected to the national rail system. Is that right?

thirdrail · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:22 pm

tomgears wrote:

This is the country's only electric freight operation connected to the national rail system. Is that right?

Sort of. The Municipality of East Troy, WI, line can handle freight and last I knew had one active customer, but it acts as Agent for the CN. The line has never appeared as a railroad since the TMER&L shut down, but has physically handled freight cars. It has been years since I've heard, but it may use a Diesel to handle freight.

Jim Lundquist · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:39 pm

California State RR Museum hauled freight last I heard.

ted_roy · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:32 pm

IIRC, the line has no other motive power other than its fleet of Baldwin's. The only time diesels were used was when the carbarn suffered a catastrophic fire, but they returned to the overhead as soon as possible after.

Ted.

Dennis Storzek · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:16 pm

thirdrail wrote:

tomgears wrote:

This is the country's only electric freight operation connected to the national rail system. Is that right?

Sort of. The Municipality of East Troy, WI, line can handle freight and last I knew had one active customer, but it acts as Agent for the CN. The line has never appeared as a railroad since the TMER&L shut down, but has physically handled freight cars. It has been years since I've heard, but it may use a Diesel to handle freight.

M.E.T.R.R. (which is how they lettered their locomotive) dieselized sometime in the early seventies with a 44 tonner numbered 3. This came about when Trent Tube built a new facility on the south east side of town that required about a half mile of track expansion; the new line crossed what was then state highway 15 (now county ES). At the time I was told that difficulty in obtaining permits to string wire over the state route lead to the decision, but that may have been as much a cover story as anything. The wire would have come down at that time, except for the fact that the original museum group was already negotiating with the city to relocate their museum to East Troy. There have been many, many changes in the players since that time, but as far as I know, the freight the city has hauled for its own account has been with the diesel since then. Instances like the recent film of the electric car plowing out the line occur when the museum group has material to haul for its account, such as the carloads of ties cited in the discussion of the film.

Stephen Hussar · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 8:37 pm

Some excellent photos can be found here: http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos. ... 20Traction

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:57 pm

Trains NewsWire today:

Quote:

MASON CITY, Iowa - The Iowa Traction Railroad, noted for being the last surviving interurban electric railroad still carrying freight traffic, is not up for sale - at least not yet. Reports have surfaced recently on the Internet claiming that the railroad was being sold, since investor and operator Dave Johnson was retiring. But Johnson told Trains News Wire that while he's pondering retirement, the railroad is "wrestling with the issues" of what to do when he does retire.

The company's half-dozen investors are aware of the historic nature of the property and don't want to see the electric wire torn down and the railroad dieselized. "We are trying to answer the question of what to do next," Johnson says. "Some people have the thought when they retire 'I've got to get out of here' but I've never felt it was work," he says. Johnson and his family have close ties to railroading. His father was a telegrapher for the Burlington and the Chicago Great Western, and his own railroad career began with the New York Central. He then moved to General Motors Detroit Diesel Division, then to Union Pacific.

ted_roy · **Posted:** Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:52 am

Thank you for the clarification! It is a great thing the owners/ investors are doing by understanding and appreciating the historic nature of their business and it equipment.

BTW - The image in the thunderstorm is just awesome! I have found my new wallpaper for my PC.

Thank you again for the information,
Ted.

Howard P. · **Posted:** Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:42 am

A very brave photographer, to hang around trolley wire in a midwestern lightning storm!!!! Good grief!! And a metal tripod, I'd guess.

Nice shot, of course.

Howard P.
Good Ground, NY

Randy Gustafson · **Posted:** Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:12 pm

Wow. I had the opportunity to watch and photo the Texas Transportation Company in San Antonio haul beer insulated boxcars from SP to the Pearl brewery; now both are gone. The Texas Museum & Historical Commission was all interested in getting a vintage streetcar on the line and just couldn't seem to comprehend that saving the existing GE/Westinghouse equipment, and possibly the ROW - as one of the very last freight-carrying electric operations in the US - was even more significant and rare.

I can't see any sign of survivors in San Antonio now from mapping photos. I know the track was pulled, but I'd heard rumors that at least one of the boxcabs ended up marooned inside the brewery site. The generator was still there on standby too, looking old enough that Edison's fingerprints could be found on it.

Wiki may have the answer - it's now under roof:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Texas ... ation1.JPG

Frank Hicks · **Posted:** Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:40 pm

Randy Gustafson wrote:

Wiki may have the answer - it's now under roof:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Texas ... ation1.JPG

You're right that Texas Transportation 2 is preserved, cosmetically restored and on display under a roof. What I'm wondering is whatever happened to TTC 1, their Baldwin-Westinghouse class B. The most recent photo of it I can find is at http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0706/sb001.jpg, taken in 2006 apparently at the old SP San Antonio diesel shop site. This locomotive was actually built for the Milwaukee Road, which soon resold it to Monongahela West Penn; it later ran on Kansas City Kaw Valley & Western before going to San Antonio in 1953.

survivingworldsteam · **Posted:** Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:40 pm

Randy Gustafson wrote:

Wow. I had the opportunity to watch and photo the Texas Transportation Company in San Antonio haul beer insulated boxcars from SP to the Pearl brewery; now both are gone.

The Pearl Brewery itself is also relatively intact; at least it was when I saw it a year or two ago. The latest plans are to turn it into a mixed use development that will include a museum; even the boilerhouse/engine room appeared to be intact.

Texas Transportation 2 is indeed under cover; I don't recall seeing the Baldwin-Westinghouse class B; but I wasn't looking for it, either. One of these days I will go by on a weekday; it is my understanding tours may be available then.

Jack A. Siffert · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:11 pm **Posts:** 373

"taken in 2006 apparently at the old SP San Antonio diesel shop site. This locomotive was actually built for the Milwaukee Road, which soon resold it to Monongahela West Penn; it later ran on Kansas City Kaw Valley & Western before going to San Antonio in 1953"
The locomotive is still there. our sister company leases the building. TThe manager there and my self have been tring to work on liberating it but to no avail. If we do I was going to post here looking for a home. If anyone is interested please let me know maybe we can speed this up and save it.

Iowa Traction for sale

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