eastern iowa railpics

UP's and an IC

2012-01-25T17:01:00.001-06:00

Started the day at the US 30 overpass with this westbound stack train

led by UP 7514.

Over to Fairfax to catch an eastbound loaded coal drag with

UP 5728 on the point.

On to Beverly with another stacker with UP 7790 on the head....

....and at the same time this eastbound rack train(UP 4906) was on the opposite track,

while Job 32 was working on the north yard track.

My stay apparantly was not welcomed by Job 32 so I

got out of there before something like getting called in

could've occurred. GRRRR!!!

With a lull in the action, that gave me an opportunity to

see what the Eagles were up to by the roller dam. Photos

are available at--"Buddy Burton Photography".

After a trip to the Eagles, it was this eastbound coal drag at

Blaines Crossing.

Another lull occurs, so I went down to Quaker and what a

surprise. IC 6201 STILL in its original Illinois Central

scheme working on L563 today.

After lunch at Taco Bell, heard some eastbounds were coming.

We are now west of Bertram on Otis Rd SE. The first one was this

coal drag led by UP 6626. Reporting marks were EDGX.

UP 6826 was waiting for this guy to cross over from 1 to 2

at CPA 074. A westbound empty WEPX coal train.

A bit later, its counterpart eastbound train led by UP 5901 comes

around the bend.

To Otis at Fir Ave SE for a couple more eastbounds.

UP 8026 east with a Q merchandise train.

And to wrap up the day was this eastbound baretable with

UP 5155 on the point.

See ya next time!!!

IAIS, UP, CIC-1/18/2012

2012-01-18T16:47:00.001-06:00

Got wind of the CRIC turn departing town.

Here is the train as it claws up Fairfax Hill. Power was

503, 512 with 506 on the rear all in Notch 8. US 151 is on the left.

Cresting Fairfax Hill at Wright Bros Blvd.

Nearing the crest of Walford Hill.

Down the other side of Walford Hill and rounding the bend.

Passing Amana Depot.

Climbing the east leg of Yocum.

The train would cut over 40 hoppers at Yocum for a

later-in-the-day Newton-bound train.

It also did a GCOR-approved reverse move.

CIC's 950's Interchange yard and a new TTX highcube.

Couple eastbounders on the UP--

UP 3899-Baretables

UP 4111-The Bird

CIC 125(slug)/123 moving empty UP coal hoppers to the

900 Yard.

See ya next time!!!

Another Slooooooow Monday

2012-01-09T16:08:00.002-06:00

CN 5796 south, 5681 and 28 cars entering Hiawatha, IA.

SOUTHERN boxcar in the consist.

UP 6681 east; Norway, IA.

UP 6443 east; Norway, IA.

Birds and Trains

2012-01-03T18:02:00.002-06:00

Some Trains--
CN L563 with the ES44DC 2337 working "A" Yard

L563 pulling freight next to the newly rebuilt CN

office. It is being partially powered by a pair of solar

panels.

Northwood COOP Elevator car from Northwood, IA.

UP 6789 west with WPSX coal empties near Otis.

Some Birds--

A Bald Eagle flying overhead.

One sitting on the north-side of the Cedar River.

The rest of the Eagles will be found on "Buddy Burton

Photography" under the title "Bald Eagles-1/3/12".

Few more Trains--

A westbound "Q" train over the Cedar River with the

Roller Dam.

Job 2 coupling up ethanol tanks from the "N" tracks.

With not much action on the UP, this was all I got;

Job 32 heading to town with a small train.

See ya next time!!!

First train of 2012

2012-01-01T17:03:00.003-06:00

CN 2337, CN 2413 and over 60+ cars coming into

Cedar Rapids on the L563.

Got this rare find in the UP Quaker Yard.

The Best of 2011-Part 2

2011-12-28T18:00:00.000-06:00

July 13th--The Katy leading solo on a merchandise train at Koch.

July 21st--Train Festival 2011
July 23rd--More from Train Festival 2011

August 20th--It was nice to see an ex C&NW unit on the point of a UP train.

August 29th--An ex-UP slug, #100 sitting in the shop tracks

on the CRANDIC.

September 5th--KCS/BICB

September 26th--A UP Passenger/Business Excursion

blazes by at 70mph, heading to Chicago from Omaha

in the rain.

October 3rd--Amtrak made a few appearances on the

ex C&NW. Here he is on the latest detour across Iowa

on this day with UP 6050 leading the charge at 70mph.

October 12th--[a]SD75I 5757 leading the way on the L563

into town.

[b]We also get a "pony"(ex Conrail) on an eastbound train on the UP.

October 17th--Set of new yard tracks leading into the new locomotive

facility being built for the Iowa Interstate west of Homestead, IA.

October 26th--[a]Some fall colors on the CRANDIC Amana line
with the Iowa Interstate's CRIC turn.

[b]An ex PRR boxcar being used as a storage building
near a farmhouse north of Norway, IA

November 9th[a]-Eastbound coal loads bending in a curve east
of Blairstown, IA.

[b]Eastbound "Bird" passing by the feed mill of downtown Blairstown, IA

[c]Merchandise train passing by some grazing bovines west of
Blairstown, IA

[d]Another SD75I leads the L563 in Cedar Rapids.....

....with a trailing SD70M-2 at McLoud Place.

November 16th--Galesburg to Mt. Pleasant on the
BNSF Ottumwa Sub

November 21st--CN Dubuque Sub

November 30th--The "skeleton" goes up on the new Locomotive
facility west of Homestead on the IAIS.

December 7th--ADM 1402 idles in the Dry Grind west yard.

December 14th--[a]Another piece of fine power leads the
L563 into Cedar Rapids on the branch line.

[b]Iowa Northern's South Job was a bit late on this day.
Departing from town by Ellis Park at the Cedar River.

December 19th--IAIS 513 west--North Star to Brooklyn, IA

December 28th--And wrapping up our "Best of 2011" is the XICCR descending Walford Hill.

Happy New Year!!!
See ya in 2012!!!

Light traffic-12/28/11

2011-12-28T17:57:00.001-06:00

CN 5731(SD75I) comes back light from the UP yard.

Got word from Dsp Paul of an extra ICCR with a pair of

700's. Here they are crossing 220 Trail.

The pair of 700's Geeps with 31 cars descend Walford Hill.

XICCR coming into the CIC Interchange yard.

See ya next time!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-24T09:26:00.002-06:00

IAIS 513 West--North Star to Brooklyn

2011-12-19T16:08:00.002-06:00

Thanks to a heads up from Pete Zimmerman, IAIS 513

West led the BICB-18.

Here is BICB coming into North Star.

BICB would hold the main while a VERY SHORT CBBI-18

takes the siding.

BICB-18 crossing the Cedar River at Moscow.

BICB-18 passing the depot at West Liberty.

BICB-18 passing a yard crew in Iowa City.

IAIS 500 and 155 would be set off in Iowa City and

513 would lead 48 cars westbound.

513 going solo, passing by the new location for the

locomotive shops west of Homestead, IA.

On-the-fly shot of 513 with BICB-18 near South Amana.

513 passing over a waterway east of Marengo.

BICB-18 exiting Marengo after a pickup of.....nothing.

513 and BICB-18 passing Ladora. Got to meet Steve Wilhelm

as he was filming the train. His video is here.

The final stop of our chase takes me to Poweshiek County

and to the hamlet of Brooklyn as 513 and BICB-18

pass the local feed mill in action. Old Glory waves

on top. Brooklyn is home to a display of all

50 U.S. state flags.

See ya next time!!!

The Best of 2011--Part 1

2011-12-18T22:29:00.000-06:00

January 5th--CN 2131(C40-8, ex UP) leading the

northbound L563, getting its train put together.

January 12th--Job 3 heading back from the Amana plant

with hoppers, passing Walford.

February 23rd--One of ADM's Genset switchers

working Dry Grind in Cedar Rapids.

March 30th--A CIC switching crew pulls 73 heavy corn cars

down the main toward ADM......

.......while another crew pushes on the rear. You can

see the sanders working overtime.

April 6th--A long-lost gem of a locomotive(GP9RM) pulling

L563 into Hiawatha, IA.

April 17th--Detoured Amtrak #5 gets the green light to HIGHBALL

westbound by Beverly, IA.

April 27th--a]ADM COGEN locomotive #108(ex CIC)

waits on its next assignment at Walconia.

b]Iowa Northern's South job departing,

passing by the Cedar River at Ellis Park.

May 11th--BNSF-led CP train crossing over the UP

heading for homerails in Clinton, IA.

Also on the same day, spotted just east of Louden was

this unpatched SP unit, #144 on a "dogged" eastbound

coal train in the longtrack.

June 1st--The Circus Train passing thru Bertram on its way

to its next show in Omaha. Train was interchanged at NS in

Chicago.

June 15th--A trio from the same train:

a]Pair of NS units on an eastbound UP train. First up was

NS 2606.....

then NS 9802.....

and wrapping up the trio is a PAN-AM boxcar.

Next week, Part 2.

CN, IANR, UP-12/14/11

2011-12-14T16:45:00.002-06:00

CN 2137 south with 31 cars bound for downtown Cedar

Rapids. Passing by McLoud Place.

CN 2137 at I Ave NE

Passing cab view of CN 2137(C40-8W, ex BNSF-exx ATSF 804)

This loco was delivered to the CN in July 2010.

CN 2137 passing between the former steam plant(left)

and Cargill NE(right).

Iowa Northern's South Job was in town. Before heading

down the main to the North Yard to pick up his interchange

traffic from the UP, a brief patch of fog sets in on

the lights.

MOVE IT OR LOSE IT GEESE!!! Says IANR 3800,

bringing its interchange cargo back to couple up to the

rest of the train in the siding to depart to Waterloo.

Ex C&NW hopper.

Still intact with its original reporting marks is this
SOO LINE hopper.

IANR South Job departing Cedar Rapids....

......wrapping around the Cedar River near Ellis Park.

Over to the UP for a few afternoon trains. Beginning with

UP 4123 west with a loaded rack train.

UP 5049 east; Q-train

UP 4085 east; another Q-train.

UP 6619 east with WEPX loaded coal cars....

.....and a "smoker" bringing up the rear.

See ya next time!!!

Sporadic around town.

2011-12-07T15:38:00.001-06:00

Was hoping to chase 513 today but he was not leading.

So instead, I stayed in town.

First off, got Job 32 returning from Worley, making

a reverse move to the yard.

Moments later a "K" train hurried westbound.

While I was shooting the power around ADM, I missed

a couple trains. Oh well, here is ADM 1402 idling.

And ADM 1403 doing the same.

I was hoping to find an eagle at the roller dam but found

these pesky seagulls.

You know the lull has settled in when you decide to

take a photo of the portable "outhouses" just for kicks.

Little bit later, Job 32 sets out for town with his

interchange traffic for the Iowa Northern.

Just when I was about to give up, Dispatcher 12 sends

me four westbounds. The first with gondolas and are covered

up with something. Don't have a clue but they were from

some logistics place with FURX markings and a

trio of CSX power to boot. UP 7135 led the train west.

Video of above train, here.

Next was this westbound rack train.....

....then a merchandise train. Dadgum shadow!!!

And finally an ethanol train; all by MP 86.

Received a call from the daughter and had to go to pick

her up from school.

Another Sporadic day in town--DONE!!!

See ya next time!!!

IAIS, UP-11/30/11

2011-11-30T16:22:00.001-06:00

CRIC30 passing Fairfax station sign.

Did we mention its deer season?

CRIC30 climbing up Walford Hill. Taken with my

Mesmerize camera phone.

CRIC30 passing by an International near Amana.

CRIC30 cresting East Yocum.

Drove down to the construction site of the new

engine house. The "skeleton" is being raised.

Back to Homestead to catch the CRIC30 one more time,

passing the Homestead feed mill.

with IAIS 510 pushing on the rear of the 100-car train.

Switch Control signage for the OS at Yocum.

UP 8206 east at Fairfax. Possibly the MNPPR.

He would pass MPRCB on track one(not pictured)

who was picking up Iowa Northern exchange traffic.

Fresh welds on the downtown line.

Refurbished laid tracks from 21st SW to the limits

of Wilson Yard were replaced. Stick rail to the right.

Road level view of the refurbishing.

See ya next time!!!

CN Dubuque Sub

2011-11-21T15:21:00.001-06:00

Hoping to find the L563 along the CR Branch on the

CN Dubuque Sub but I did find new crossing lights/

arms out on County Home Rd. This was needed badly.

Still hoping to catch the L563 proved nothing but a

westbound did depart Manchester. So I chased it.
Power was 2176(C40-8W), 9544(GP40-2LW )
& 5666(SD75I) and was over 7000ft long. First quarter
of the train had mixed freight, the rest of the train had
ethanol tankers.

Coming downgrade from Manchester.

Crossing a wooden trestle near Winthrop, IA.

Rounding the bend west of Independence, IA.

Passing one of many CO-OP's along the line; @ Jesup, IA.

Went into Waterloo and EJ&E 672 works the

CN Waterloo Terminal.

After dropping off some merchandise cars and a

locomotive, CN 2176 west waits for EJ&E 672 to get in the

clear to resume its westbound trek to Ft. Dodge.

See ya next time!!!

ON LOCATION: BNSF Galesburg-Mt. Pleasant

2011-11-16T16:06:00.001-06:00

A beautiful sunrise to start my trip to the BNSF. Taken near

Davenport, IA.

A merchandise train "dogged" east of Galesburg, IL.

Amtrak east of Galesburg

Closeup of the fake bonnet "dogged" east of Galesburg, IL.

Another merchandise train coming in to Galesburg;

near Wataka, IL

Visited Bob Hook's home at Peck Park. Grabbed a

BNSF stack/pig train passing by.

Another train in Galesburg with a bonafide Warbonnet

trailing a merchandise train near the Amtrak station.

The same train I'd seen earlier east of town, now exiting

Galesburg.

On to Burlington, IA and a westbound empty coal train

just changed crews after it came off of the "K" line.

Again the westbound coal train passing Danville, IA.

Another westbound coal empty led by BNSF 9761

coming into Mt. Pleasant, IA.

Amtrak 6 was nearly two hours LATE. Never fails.

Traffic was sparse on the Ottumwa Sub due to some

track work in Burlington and the bridge renovations.

After Amtrak, I came back home to Cedar Rapids.

See ya next time!!!

UP, CRANDIC, CN 11/9/11

2011-11-09T19:00:00.001-06:00

UP 5543 West at Beverly; stack train.

Video of UP 5543 West at Beverly with 3x1 power.

UP 8035 west; mixed freight; Beverly.

UP 8631 west; stack; Beverly.

UP 6738 west; CWEX coal empties; Watkins

UP 6030 east; MARX coal fills; Watkins

UP 6061 east; coal fills; East of Blairstown, IA

New antennas installed along Dispatcher 19's territory.

Possibly the new narrowband system.

UPDATED 11/11/11: The above mentioned antenna is
going to be for the new PTC(Positive Train Control) and
not the narrowband as mentioned.

UP 4615 east; stacks and pigs(a.k.a. the Bird); Blairstown

UP 8193 east; mixed; Luzerne, IA

A pair of bovines graze in the grass west of Blairstown

as UP 8193 east rolls by in the distance.

UP's test truck at W. Blairstown(CPA 108).

A Southern High-Cube car in the eastbound mixed

freight train passing Norway, IA.

A CRANDIC job pulling and cutting off cars in the

Iowa Interstate Interchange tracks near Fairfax, IA.

Job 32 heading to town with 41 cars.

UP 6068 east; KGLX/EXEX coal cars; MP 86

Video of possible defects on Main Track One at
MP 85.9

CIC 127(slug) and 121 shoving hoppers into the "P" Yard.

Job 53 returning from the CRANDIC Wilson Yard

with 30 cars for Beverly.

Wrapping up the day with the CN L563 coming up to

McLoud Place.

Lead unit was the 5738(SD75I)....

with CN 8866(SD70M-2) trailing and 37 cars returning

to Manchester.

See ya next time!!!

Rain and Trains

2011-11-02T16:03:00.002-05:00

CN 5700 passes by Hiawatha with only one car.

Better than none.

The rains moved in after my CN meet. Here, a westbound

merchandise train passes a Beverly Job in the south-side

section of Beverly Yard.

UP 7603 west at Fairfax with a stacker.

IAIS 500, 513, 102 cars and 508 on the rear; pull

away from the interchange tracks southward near

Fairfax, IA.

CRIC02 passing the Fairfax station post.

CRIC02 coming into Walford, IA

Remember last week's photo of this cornfield?

This week it got harvested as CRIC02 passes near

East Amana, IA.

CRIC02 at East Amana.

CRIC02 enters homerails at OS Yocum. One interesting

note is the contrast of the rainclouds in the background.

Lighter clouds meaning lighter rain and a darker cloud

meaning heavy rain.

CRIC02 passing Homestead in the rain.

CRIC02 rounds the curve near Eagle Rd with the rain

beating down.

Barely made it to get this shot at the Iowa River bridge.

Head-on shot of IANR 678 in the hole at Vernon.

Hawkeye Express waits for the next home game.

One of the six cars that serve up the Hawkeye Express.

The car numbers are--IANR 7743, 7723, 7750, 7704,

7735 & 8704. The lead unit is IANR 678.

The rains got heavier and so ended my day out.

See ya next time!!!

IAIS, UP--10/26/11

2011-10-26T17:16:00.001-05:00

Train CRIC26 readies to depart with 69 cars from Track 951.

CRIC26 at Fairfax

CRIC26 @ Walford Hill

CRIC26 topping Walford Hill

CRIC26 splitting the colors.....

and passing the cornfield south of Walford.

CRIC26 passing some fall color near East Amana.

CRIC26 passing the Amana depot

Flatcar at Norway still in MOPAC colors.....

and most of the logo still intact.

Ex CNW crane in the hole at Norway, IA. Employee let

me come over to take a few shots.

View of the transfer caboose still in CNW colors.

CNW logo a bit weathered.

Seen this former PRR boxcar in a backyard of a farmhouse

north of Norway, IA.

UP 7510 east; the Bird.

UP 5865 east.

See ya next time!!!

Iowa Interstate-New tracks and CBBI

2011-10-17T11:19:00.001-05:00

New tracks have been laid west of the soon-to-be locomotive shops.

Looks to be at least three sets of tracks that will lead to the shops.

The switch is located at MP 261.

"Throat" view of the trio set of tracks.

CBBI16 resumes its trip eastbound at

South Amana(MP 262) after getting a

track warrant.

Passing the MP 262 marker.

CBBI entering Homestead, IA.

CBBI had approx. 89 cars; power was 506, 512 & 720.

See ya next time!!!

Just a few today

2011-10-14T16:53:00.001-05:00

CRANDIC's Job 6 working Penford.

CN SD75I 5757 pulling freight then will shove into UP Yard limits with approx 40 cars.

UP 7083 east with a coal drag coming toward Bertram, IA.

23 cars returning on CN's L563 with 5757 pulling

uphill nearing Robins, IA.

See ya next time!!!

Dreary day in town

2011-10-12T18:07:00.003-05:00

Started off with the CN L563 led by an SD75I, 5757

and approximately 33 cars in the rain.

UP's Job 51(UPY 657) taking four cars to

the Cargill SE facility.

Milepost 86

UP 4648, 4259 and NS 8402 lead the MCBPR(?)

eastbound after dropping off some "reefers" at

Beverly.

The trailing unit, NS 8402(C40-8W, ex Conrail).

Job 32(UPY 374) shoving a buttload of freight up

to the CRANDIC "N" tracks from Beverly Yard.

Job 53 coming back from the CRANDIC Wilson Yard

interchange with 17 cars.

UP 4157 with the eastbound "Bird" train.

UP 7296 east with TILX coal.

Job 32 (UPY 374)heading to town with 40 cars for

North Yard.

An SD9043AC leads the eastbound CWEX coal train.

Final train for my day is a Rack-n-Stack train led by

UP 7699 east.

See ya next time!!!

CN, Amtrak, CRANDIC-10/3/11

2011-10-03T17:31:00.001-05:00

CN 2561 leading the L563 south by Louisa with

approximately 35 cars.

L563 at J Ave NE.

L563 at Steam Plant

L563 stretching a bit toward the Stickle Dr NE crossing.

UP 6050 east on lead of the Amtrak "California Zephyr"

detour train. This is the only good angle I can get

since there were some @#%*@ truck drivers rolling

out of the picture kicking up dust. GRRRR!!!

Job 32 rolling toward town.

CIC Job 4 with approximately 3 dozen coal empties,

rolls south toward the 900 yard. Not pictured is

Job 5 who is waiting on the "P" 8/9 spur.

A NS "Top Gon" car......

and a black NS hopper are the cars being used by the

CRANDIC for the CO-GEN plant at ADM. These

cars run from Cedar Rapids to Peoria, Il via the

Iowa Interstate weekly.

See ya next time!!!

Rainy day in town

2011-09-26T15:03:00.003-05:00

Job 51(UPY 675) passing 9th Ave SE heading for

Cargill.

CRANDIC Job 4 with the first set of a loaded corn

train heads thru the downtown corridor.

Job 4 takes the switch to homerails near 8th Ave SE.

Video: CRANDIC Job 4 at 8th Ave NE with the 44

loaded corn hoppers.

UP 7156 east; loaded coal train

UP 8167 west; empty coal train

A passenger special led with a pair of SD70ACe's

blazes by MP 86.

CN 2561(L563) shoving back to Louisa to drop off

cars for U.S. Corrugated.

See ya next time!!!

Iowa Top Blogs

2011-09-26T06:58:00.000-05:00

"eastern iowa railpics" and "Buddy Burton Photography" has been selected as Iowa Top Blogs.

It is such an honor to be a designated Top Blogger in the State of Iowa.

Thank you to all of the viewers and followers for making it possible.

CRANDIC, IAIS-9/19/11

2011-09-19T18:09:00.002-05:00

CIC 129(slug), CIC 133(MP15DC) pulling pretty hard

on some loaded hoppers coming from Zone 5 into

Zone 6.

Job 6 working between 9th and 10th Ave SW.

Just as I was about to head home, heard Iowa Interstate

was coming toward town. Here, IAIS 156, 506 and 44 hoppers

runs down interchange track 952.

Crawling up to the switch at Old Bridge Rd SW.

See ya next time!!!

Monday morning around Cedar Rapids-9/12/2011

2011-09-12T21:49:00.001-05:00

North Yard job heading to Cargill SE with a load of

syrup and grains.

UP 5708 west; coal train. MP 75....

...with UP 7183 pushing on the rear.

UP 6821 east rounding the bend near MP 75.

Train was carrying some C&NW hoppers.

Over to the CN line and CN 2677 south coming into

town.....

....nosing up to McCloud Place with 74 cars.

The L563 coming by the former steam plant.

The trailing unit on the 74-car train was CN 2418(C40-8M)

Also in the train was a pair of TFM steel coil cars.

See ya next time!!!

The day the Twin Towers came down

2011-09-11T13:07:00.003-05:00

Viewer discretion advised!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDXBSym2R7c&feature=player_embedded

Patriot Day-2011

2011-09-11T08:37:00.002-05:00

KCS Detour

2011-09-05T16:55:00.002-05:00

Got a field report that the BICB combined with the

KCS "detour" train in Rock Island. Headed to Iowa City

to intercept it and as soon as I positioned myself at

Scott Blvd, the train began to head west after waiting on the

eastbound counterpart to finish working the yard.

This shot was just the tip of the iceberg. KCS 4706.

KCS hopper 286269

The power sitting in Iowa City Yard after the IAIS

power was cut off.

The CRIC05 coming into town after eastbound CBBI

departed; passing the Iowa City depot.

After the "turn" got snugged into the siding, the westbound

started its work.

Shot of the lettering.

Cab shot.

Herald.

Nose shot.

Joined Frank Grizel and Barry Anderson on the bridge

to photograph the train crossing the Iowa River bridge

as the train continued to get its train together for the trip

westbound.

While waiting for the train to cross the river, this

triple-engined plane passed overhead. The plane was

on display thru today(Labor Day) and was giving rides

for $70. Info--http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=D5&Dato=20110901&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=109010801&Ref=PH

Westbound departing Iowa City for Newton. The sun
just didn't cooperate with us today.

Westbound BICB/KCS at Eagle.

KCS hopper 309061

KCS hopper 310625

Westbound at OS Yocum.

Pacing the westbound near South Amana.

Barry Anderson(L) and Frank Grizel(R) photograph

the westbound as the train prepares to set out at Marengo.

Barry Anderson getting a shot in in Marengo.

The conductor on the combined westbound heads into

the industrial track to release a derail in Marengo.

Another view of KCS 4706....

....with a gray "ghost", KCS 3961(Ex TFM).

Video of the BICB/KCS train shoving into a local facility in Marengo:
BICB/KCS shoving into local facility in Marengo, IA. 9/5/11

After setting out at a local industrial facility and backing out

of the siding, the KCS/BICB combined train continues

west toward Newton, IA; passing a local feed mill in

Marengo, Iowa.

Thanks to Barry Anderson and Frank Grizel for the
fun today. See ya next time!!!

Waterloo and Cedar Rapids--8/29/11

2011-08-29T16:50:00.002-05:00

Waterloo

Hawkeye Express sitting in Iowa Northern's Bryant Yard

waiting to go south soon.

Pan shot of IANR 3811, 3800.

IANR Caboose #11 at Bryant Yard.

IANR Cedar River Bridge in Waterloo.

Pan shot of the bridge.

IANR's South Job returning to Bryant with

41 cars from Linden Yard.

Gunning for the bridge.

The shot I've been wanting to get for quite a while now.

FINALLY GET IT!!!!

CN Waterloo Yard finds IC 9618(CN) shoving

ethanol tanks into the south-side yard.

Cedar Rapids

CN 2559 with some headroom, working "B" Yard near

Cargill NE.

As I was chasing UP's Job 53 heading back to Beverly,

noticed this ex UP slug sitting in the CRANDIC

shop tracks. Ex UP #100.....

......and also ex UP slugs 925(left) and 101(right).

View of the R/C stand.

Closeup shot of the R/C stand.

Wrapped up the afternoon at Beverly with a couple eastbounds.

UP 8607 east with a stack train.....

.....and a merchandise train with some "reefers" at the

head-end of the train.

See ya next time!!!

Clinton Sub and a CRANDIC move

2011-08-22T18:23:00.001-05:00

UP 6793, CSX 5397 west-ethanol.....

UP 7230 east-coal loads.....

UP 8656 west-stack....

Job 53 east(UPY 657/674)-heading to town with

23 cars.....

UP 7273 west-coal empties....

UP 5511 east-Bird.....

UP 7722 west-stack....all by MP 86.

A quick jaunt to the CRANDIC-side and Job 5

pulling/shoving Iowa Northern hoppers into the "P"

tracks at 26th Street SW.

An ex South Point Ethanol hopper in the line-up.

Job 53 returning from town with cars from Wilson tracks.

UP 7362 west at MP 86-mixed freight.

UP 4902 east-baretables at Blaines Crossing.

UP 6066 east passing by the silos of River Valley

COOP in Clarence, IA.

Soft spot on the #1 track as UP 6066 east passes by

in Clarence, IA.

UP 7612 east-Rack 'n Stack.

UP 4293 east-mixed freight at Koch (Cook).

A new TTX autorack in the consist.

See ya next time!!!

UP, CRANDIC--8/20/2011

2011-08-20T21:32:00.001-05:00

Finally got some action on the UP today. YAY!!!

Silly cornstalk gets in the way of my photo of an eastbound

merchandise train at Fairfax, IA.

Eastbound stack train led by UP 7839......

...and its DPU on the rear at Fairfax.

A trio of EMD's pull the K-LINE stack train at Fairfax.

Video of CRANDIC's Job 14

shoving at ADM's Dry Grind on 76th Ave SW.

Back to the UP and an eastbound coal drag being led

by an ex CNW.

Beverly Yard job on my backdoor coming from town.

See ya later!!!

A very DEAD day

2011-08-14T18:33:00.000-05:00

Job 6(Penford Job) working Penford.

UP 6486 west was the only train that I'd seen on Sunday

afternoon on the UP Clinton Sub. Talk about DEAD day.

Government says the economy is getting better.

From the looks of Beverly Yard, I'd say,

they are full of horsepuck's.

See ya next time!!!

UP 4640, IAIS 503

2011-08-07T22:24:00.001-05:00

IAIS 503 gets his final preparations situated with

75 empty hoppers on the new #951 interchange track.

Took a quick jaunt to see if any traffic was moving on

the Clinton Sub at Fairfax and got this eastbound merchandise

slowing up to make preparations for work at

Beverly Yard ahead.

IAIS 503 got his warrant to proceed, here exiting

track #951 from the CRANDIC near Fairfax.

XCRIC passing MP 7.5

XCRIC strolling along around MP 11, north of

Walford, IA.

UP 4640 gets a signal to proceed after working

Beverly Yard.

See ya next time!!!

Only a couple CRANDIC

2011-07-31T19:37:00.000-05:00

Couple new signs posted on either side of 26th Street

SW says "REPORT TO YM". My guess is for the crews

to call the YardManager before either going to the

900's or the "P"/"N" Yards.

One of the other new signage(s) posted is some

"ZONE" signs.

UPDATED at 7:37pm CDT--The new signs could possibly be "RCO Zones".

I missed two UP westbounds, UGH!!!

But I did snag a CRANDIC crew pulling 51 cars-one

buffer and 50 empties to ADM. The one good about
this is, the movement occurred over the new set
of "Interchange" tracks(951, 952), which connects
with the 900's.

The reason for the slowest day being Sunday was a

derailment out in W. Iowa at Denison where about 18

coal cars derailed eastbound and FOULED both

Main's. Oh well, maybe next time.

See ya then!!!

More from Train Festival 2011 and vicinity

2011-07-23T21:39:00.003-05:00

AMTK #66 in one of the 40th Anniversary scheme's

on the Iowa City Special.

One of the other Amtrak 40th Anniversary scheme's

on #156 in consist on the Iowa City Special.

The Iowa City Special rounds the curve from the

Rock Island IAIS Yard, westbound.

The Iowa City Special crossing the Rock River.

The rear car is the Milwaukee Road's "Cedar Rapids"

car from the Hiawatha.

Static Display's

C&NW F7-A 411

CB&Q #9255(SW7)

Old and new Generational Locomotives
BNSF 6688(ES44AC, left)
CB&Q 9911A(E5A)

DM&E 4001 "City of Wall"

IAIS 513(Rock Island scheme, ES44AC)

CB&Q 225-Parlor Observation Juno

MKT Business Car #403

Nickel Plate Road 765

NW 250001(RPCX)

NKP 765's Tender.

Profile shot.

Date of when locomotive was built.

The Leviathan takes a stroll to let off some steam
and give us shutterbugs a roll-by.

A panoramic view of the 765's drivers.

Gear plate where 765's driver gears originate from.

Top set is the class.
Bottom is its tonnage.
source: http://www.steamlocomotive.com/misc/specifications.shtml

Viscose Company's #6

A Tiger Lily in bloom at the Festival.

Model Trains area

The 10am Walcott trip returning to downtown Rock

Island to unload passengers.

Another shot of NKP 765....

....and me in front of the behemoth.

The Thrill Of The Chase

The 2pm Walcott Excursion coming thru the streets
of Davenport, IA.

The Walcott Excursion leaving West Davenport.

The Walcott Excursion returning with GP38-2

IAIS 701 pulling the train.

After waiting for over an hour, the Iowa City Special
with IAIS 6988 on the point emerges from
Walcott.

The Cedar Rapids Observation car ends our day
and our trip to TrainFestival 2011.

See ya next time!!!

My Official logo for Train Festival 2011

2011-07-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

My Official logo in honor of the Train Festival 2011

in Rock Island, Illinois.

Images are copyrighted and may not be republished

without written consent by the owner of the logo.

TrainFestival 2011

2011-07-21T19:42:00.003-05:00

IAIS 6988 backing up on the BNSF Barstow Sub

for some photos.

Here I am telling Rebekah to turn my camera the other

direction as I stand in front of the Leviathan loco.

Nice photo op of me in front of the Leviathan

locomotive, #63...

and Bekah too.

Profile shot of the Leviathan loco, #63

Lehigh Valley steamer #126.

Flagg Coal Co's 0-2-0 #75

The Burlington Route's "Nebraska Zephyr" on display.

Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern's #4001.

C&NW's #411 with the famous bell on the nose.

And who can forget Iowa Interstate's "pride and joy",

#513.

Oh and a BNSF GEVO on display too, #6688.

IAIS GP38-2 701 pulling the one end of our Walcott

excursion. IAIS #6988 pulled the other end.

A KCS detour train sits in the Rock Island Yard waiting

on a fresh crew to take it westbound. Here is one of

their finest fleet of hoppers.

Our excursion steamer, 6988, making the turn in

Davenport.

There were a lot of folks everywhere taking photos along

the way. Even this fellow had it right; towering over the

cornfield for a shot.

IAIS 701 bringing us back in to town from our excursion

from Walcott....

....and passing by a crew from the IC&E grabbing

interchange traffic from IAIS.

See ya next time!!!

TrainFestival 2011

2011-07-20T22:18:00.000-05:00

eastern iowa railpics will be ON LOCATION Thur-Sat at TrainFestival 2011 in the Quad Cities. Also Buddy Burton Photography will also be there as well.
See ya there!!!

Caught The Katy

2011-07-13T23:01:00.005-05:00

CN 2660 and 2230 idle in the "A" Yard hole waiting on

a fresh crew.

UP 6868 west; empty coal @ Beverly Yard. Two other
UP units were on the rear pushing.

Minutes later UP 8147 east rounds the "shoofly" near

Beverly.

Beverly Yard job pushes hoppers at General Mills.

Looks to me that UP is going to lay ribbon rail down

on the Industrial line and remove the jointed rail.

Stay tuned!!!

Seen an eastbound coming and look what they sent

me. The Katy leads an eastbound merchandise train

from North Platte(M-NPPR), passing CPA 086.

Going away shot. And the chase was on!!!

UP 1988 at CP Koch(pronounced Cook)....

...and once again at CP East Stanwood. Thanks to the
crew for giving me some toots at every stop.

A brief lull in the action gave me time to grab a bite and

get back into Cedar Rapids to catch a few more.

Sunlight was fading as UP 8205 east passes MP 86.

A midDPU 8016 assisted.

After the passing of the EB train, the Z-train pops

behind the rear of the eastbound and nearly surprises me.

Few minutes later, this empty coal westbound with

UP 6692 leading passes MP 86.

I even caught the nearly Full Moon rising over the area.

Last two trains after sunset-

Train M-MTCL(Marshalltown-Clinton) gets ready

to work Beverly Yard.....

....while this pacing westbound autorack train passes by.

See ya next time!!!

Z-Train and X-CRIC

2011-07-06T21:57:00.002-05:00

UP 4619(?) west, Z-train at MP 76. Clinton Sub

X-CRIC. IAIS 511, 510, 507 and 56 cars. MP 12.9

on the CRANDIC Amana Main.

Stopped to take a photo of a developing raincloud east

of the Amana's.

X-CRIC passing East Amana.

Pacing shot of X-CRIC at East Amana. The power would

be turned at Yocum Connection.

See ya next time!!!

2011-06-30T21:44:00.003-05:00

This week's HIGHBALL shot is a two-part deal.

First shot is the leader of a HEAVY 73 car hopper

train that came from the CN Yard. This crew and another

CRANDIC crew(below) managed to haul the entire

train across town. Here is the train topping Ingleside

Hill on March 30, 2011. You can see the sanders were

HARD at work in the below shot.

An evening at Beverly, IA

2011-06-29T22:53:00.003-05:00

UP 6784 east.

UP 7753 west.

Westbound on the #2 "shoo-fly" while an eastbound comes

by on the #1 "shoo-fly" where both creek bridges are

being replaced.

UP 5072 east....

..with a couple "east coast" GEVO visitors--

CSX 5293(left) and CSX 5464(right).

CRANDIC's Job 14 shoving ethanol to the Smith-Dows

Yard at 26th Street SW.

A brand new circuit wire just installed on the UP

downtown line.

UP 5053 west.

UP 8015 east.

Video--CRANDIC crew pulling merchandise cars across

26 Street SW crossing.

CRANDIC @ 26th SW

UP Job 71 coupled up to 43 cars and pulling to the yard.

See ya next time!!!

Iowa Interstate-6/22/11

2011-06-22T13:43:00.002-05:00

CRIC22-507, 503 and 505 on the rear-94 cars;

climbing the grade at Yocum Connection.

CRIC22 passing by the feed mill at Homestead, IA.

Rock Island heritage unit 513 in the house track.

CBBI21 throttles up on the main; heading east.

CBBI's rear passes by as BICB comes in to

Iowa City.

Finally CRIC comes thru behind the CBBI

to tie down on the main, until another crew

takes it to Rock Island as the ICRI.

See ya next time!!!

Around town-6/15/11

2011-06-15T19:06:00.000-05:00

CN C44-9W 2684 working "A" Yard.

CN 2684 pulling 32 cars to Manchester, running LHF.

UPY 675, 698-Job 32-with 35 cars for Beverly.

UP 6546 east; coal.

UP 4652 east with a couple "ponies" in the consist-

NS 2606(SD70M), NS 9802(C40-9W).

NS 2606

NS 9802

and a PAN AM boxcar, MEC 32044.

UP 4556 east, mixed. MP 87.

CIC123, slug 125 with 67 tanks for ADM-26th St SW.

UP 7208 west with another set of "ponies"-NS 7691(ES44DC),

NS 9577(C40-9W)-MP 85.9

UP 8592, 4970, 7704 with what is possibly the KG4LA.

MP 86.

UP 8238 east with another east-coaster power, CSX 8609(SD50).

On the rear was UP 8193.

After the passing of the last eastbound, traffic was halted for a

bit due to a couple kids playing on the gurders next to the mainline

at the US 151 overpass.

See ya next time!!!

HIGHBALL Shot of the Week

2011-06-13T01:02:00.001-05:00

June 1, 2011--UP 4096 west leading the Ringling Bros

Barnum-Bailey Circus train westbound near Bertram, IA.

The Circus Train--6/1/11

2011-06-01T19:44:00.001-05:00

UP 5099 east, merchandise freight.

UP 374 east(Job 32), 30 cars for North Yard.

UP 7694 west, MP 75. Stack.

UP 7140 east, MP 75.2. Coal loads.

UP 6050 west, MP 75. Coal empties.

UP 4272 west, M-PRDM.

UP 4096 west, S-PRCB(Circus Train).

Video slideshow of the Circus Train available on

See ya next time!!!

Two for one at Otis

2011-05-29T19:01:00.000-05:00

Eastbound empty autorack train at Otis Detector.

Video below.

Westbound mixed freight at Otis Detector.

Video below.

Canadian National-5/25/11

2011-05-25T17:06:00.000-05:00

IC (CN) 9620 working in "A" Yard.

Tale of two locals-L563(left) and an extra L563.

IC 9620 shoving.

Trailing partner is CN 9677

Nose/cab shot of IC 9620

Going for some headroom on the UP downtown corridor

as they transfer cars to the "B" Yard.

After a brief trip to the other side of town and a bite,

CN 9677 takes over and brings 11 cars over to the

"A" Yard before departing.

See ya next time!!!

UP Clinton Sub

2011-05-18T22:50:00.000-05:00

Starting off at Beverly with a westbound mixed freight train led by UP 4202...

with UP 2001, the Olympic Torch loco trailing.

Moments after the 2001 sighting, Job 52(North Yard job)

comes into Beverly with 21 cars.

Moments later, UP 5943 west brings an empty coal

drag by......

.....and a rail train not too long afterwards.

Job 52 returning to the North Yard with some

interchange traffic.

The Rack-n-Pig train, the "Bird", rolls by Beverly.

A lull in the action on the Clinton Sub and

hearing some chatter from Cargill SE, leads

me to Job 51 working.

Got out to Sac and Fox Trail and seen this

disgraceful sight.

This is just uncalled for folks!!!

UP 5681 west, MP 76.

Deer deciding to cross the tracks or not.

Blooms near the tracks.

Another encounter with a "track inspector" this week.

Plain Yellow-nosed UP 7312 west leading a stacker

at MP 75.

Seconds later, eastbound UP 8256 leads a mixed

freight toward Bertram.

Closer view of the power.

UP 7394 east rolling by Otis, preparing for a crossover

move at Bertram.

Took a 30 minute walk around the Prairie Park Fishery.

Panoramic view of the area.

And wrapping up my day at the Fishery with a westbound

UP coal train.

See ya next time!!!

UP, CP(IC&E)

2011-05-11T18:53:00.000-05:00

Went out this morning to see if the CN was on its way in to town, but
it was not around. I did manage to snap a few pics of an
old barn north of Alburnett, IA.
Click here to view.

The Eastbound Z Train, the "Bird", passes by the Otis Detector.

The "Bird" flying thru the dirt fields near Mechanicsville

Spotted this unpatched SP unit in a consist on a coal

drag in the Louden longtrack.

UP 5130 east leads a baretable under the US 30 overpass

near Brophy.

Clear block signalling a westbound is coming.

Only just a Clinton Yard Job going to do some work

at DeWitt.

The Z Train again passing by Camanche.

A "Track Inspector" at Fifth Ave Interlocking in Clinton

Once again, the "Bird" at Fifth Ave Interlocking, preparing

to start its journey over the Geneva Sub.

A BNSF-led train from the Canadian Pacific gets the

green light to proceed to the CP River Sub at Fifth

Avenue Interlocking.

Lead unit was a B40-8W BNSF 534,

BNSF 544(B40-8W)

and BNSF 4467(C44-9W)

A DME "spreader" sits in the hole in Clinton.

Final train of our trip-after missing two other trains

due to M of W's in the way-is an eastbound

merchandise train led by UP 8034, passing by a

feed mill at Wheatland, IA.

See ya next time!!!

IAIS, CN

2011-05-04T16:24:00.000-05:00

Iowa Interstate Sub 1--

I finally caught up with the westbound BICB-03 west of

Durant. I ran back to Wilton to catch him at the depot.

BICB03 at MP 229, near the Johnson/Muscatine line.

BICB03 coming into Iowa City.....

...and waiting in the siding is sister train CBBI03. The

conductor is holding out his cab-side window an

article from June 2011 of Trains Magazine on the IAIS.

As soon as the 40-car BICB03 passed, the switch gets

lined and the CBBI03 departs for Rock Island.

Not too soon after the departure of CBBI, CRIC comes

to tie down in the siding.

Canadian National, Cedar Rapids line-

Roster pose of CN 9677 at "A" Yard.

Shot of IC 1000 at "A" Yard.

CN 9677 leads the L563 northbound at McCloud Place

with 11 cars.

See ya next time!!!

Iowa Northern, Union Pacific and CRANDIC

2011-04-27T16:43:00.000-05:00

IANR's South Job departs town at Mohawk.

Rounding the bend in NW Cedar Rapids.

IANR South Job passes the Cedar River in NW Cedar Rapids.

IANR South Job splits the ghosts of Rock Island

past near Ushers Ferry.

IANR South Job throttles up near Ushers Ferry.

IANR South Job passing by 42nd Street NE.

After picking up some cars in the Power Plant lead,

IANR South Job continues on its journey northbound

thru Palo with 87 cars.

A NS black coal car sits on the Edgewood Main in

the 900 yard waiting to be moved to ADM's CoGen.

UP 6059 west; coal empties; Fairfax.

ADM switcher #108(ex CIC) idles in the Waconia

yard, waiting on its next assignment. Note the

word "COGEN" below the logo on the cab.

UP 8455 east; MP 86, mixed freight.

Beverly Yard Transfer(UPY 675/UPY 659) east;

27 cars.

UP 8592 west; ethanol train, MP 85.9......

.....and a East Coast visitor; CSX 7342(C40-8W)

Thanks for stopping by. See ya next time!!!

Happy Easter from "eastern iowa railpics"

2011-04-23T23:36:00.000-05:00

A quick note

2011-04-21T10:35:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note:

Doctor told me that I do not need surgery, but to keep my fiber in check to avoid repercussions of it happening again. I was RELIEVED. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. As for me, I will continue to HIGHBALL ahead with "eastern iowa railpics".

Cloudy, cold, busy day

2011-04-20T15:33:00.000-05:00

CN local L563 comes into town with 24 cars,

CN 9672.....

....and IC 1000 trailing.

UP 5326/4042 west; stack. MP 86. DPU-UP 7423

UP 7228/7028 west; coal MTY's. DPU-UP 6821.

UP 5771/6301 west: C-WIBM coal MTY's. DPU-UP 5788

UP Job 51 with 12 cars waits on its conductor to return

to head-end.

UP 4044/4491 west; Baretables.

UP Job 51 departs just as the Baretable train clears

the crossing.

UP's Fairmont Tamper.

UP's EC5.

UP 7200/6228 east; coal loads. Noticed the numberboards

a little different.

Not pictured: UP 8561/8409 east; mixed freight.

For a peek of my first Blue Jay of the Spring season, click here.

As for my surgery, there will be none for now. Doing fine.

See ya next time!!!

Few UP trains, deer crossing and the #5 detour

2011-04-17T19:59:00.000-05:00

UP 6821 east; coal fills.

Deer crossing as an diverge medium approach flashes.

Noticed the tracks are now marked. Main Trk 1.

#5? Nope. UP 6068 west (Peoria Sub coal train)

heading back to the mines.

The other track with a similar marking.

Next was UP 6058 east; coal fills.

After the 4334(KG3LA) cleared and got a high green all the way

to Watkins, FINALLY #5 comes thru.....

crossing over from 2 to 1 at CPA086 but will return to

2 track at Fairfax for the rest of the trip to Omaha.

This could be my last post for a while.

I am possibly having some surgery on an

exterior "roid". Your thoughts and prayers

are appreciated. Until then,

See ya later!!!

CN, CRANDIC, UP--4/6/2011

2011-04-06T19:55:00.001-05:00

CANADIAN NATIONAL

CN 4028 (GP9RM) leads this week's L563, passing

Hiawatha, IA with 15 cars.

CRANDIC

Job 2 (115/128) pull 59 coal loads toward the 900

yard limits for Alliant Energy's Prairie Creek Generating

Station.

UNION PACIFIC

UP 9812 west leads the RailTrain thru Watkins.

UP 8068 (empty racks)gets the HIGHBALL to continue eastbound

after waiting on the RailTrain to clear the crossovers

at Watkins.

The next eastbound-UP 4733, UP 4916-was caught at Norway

by one of the two feedmills in town.

The same eastbound, this time at Fairfax.

Train was slowed to 40MPH for a FORM B.

A third eastbound, UP 6860 east at Fairfax; coal train.

Yet the eastbound parade continues with the "Bird"

up close and personal at MP 86

with UP 8651 on the point.

A small window gave UPY682 a chance to crossover

from the Southside of Beverly Yard to the Northside

via CPA086. The yard job shoved back to the Northside.

Next eastbound was a Rack-n-Stack with UP 7751

leading the way......

....and a visitor from Mexico-Ferromex 4662. This is

all I got of him since I was in a bad position.

So I tried to chase the last eastbound but he was

WAY too fast for me. So I gave up near Calamus

and grabbed a couple more shots of the other

eastbounds, like the UP 8068 east at Wheatland

(on-the-fly shot).

Dispatcher 12 started sending out westbounds like

this coal train heading back to the PRB mines led by

UP 6010.

UP 6010 met the eastbound coal train led by

UP 6860 at Lowden.

The westbound's DPU was an ex C&NW. When I

looked at this shot, I noticed its former numbers are

still visible next to the OLS logo. The nose job was

a bad patch as the C&NW herald is partly showing

under the UP shield.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya next time!!!

CRANDIC, CN and UP-3/30/11

2011-03-30T16:55:00.002-05:00

CIC 123/125 pull hard on a 73-car corn train from

the CN thru downtown Cedar Rapids.

CRANDIC Corn Train continues to crawl thru town;

seen here at 4th Street SW.

There was additional help from the rear courtesy of

CIC 121/127.

Even the sanders got a workout.

The corn train cresting at the Ingleside bridge

over the UP Clinton Sub.

Corn train passing Ingleside Drive SW.

L563 comes into the "A" Yard with 59 cars and

CN 5793 and EJE 675.

After the L563 cleared the yard, the extra L563 departs

town with 22 ethanol tankers and a hopper as a

buffer. Passing McCloud Place.

UP's North Yard Transfer southbound(RR westbound)

with Y675, Y659 and 28 cars, including loads of new

John Deere tractors.

UP 6740 west, mixed freight at MP 85.9

UP 4885, UP 4297 and NS 9956 east-MP 86.

Mixed freight.

View of NS 9956(C40-9W) in the consist.

UP 7106 west; light power from the UP Fairfax

Connection.

UP 6740 west had to wait for a track gang to clear

#2 track and the light power.

While out, also took some photos and a video of
some SeaGulls around Cedar Lake. You can find that
on my personal site, Buddy Burton Photography.