2020 was anything but fun for most of us. We made it thru it so far, keep pushing ahead and hope everyone has a good 2021. All the railroaders out there, wishing you safe travels.

Photo: Back in February 2019, winter got alittle tough in the Midwest. For about 6-8 weeks the snow and wind came in and never let up. IANR got to use their new Jordan Spreader for the 1st winter. Here they open the Manly Sub up after being shutdown for a few days of from a winter storm.

After interchanging cars with the UP at the small yard north of town, the Iowa Northern North Crew is going through the junction switch with the former Rock Island RR Spine Line at Manly, Iowa.

Southbound Manly Turn rumbling past the old Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Ry station at Rockford, Iowa. This was once a portion of Rock Island RR with it being used as a component of their Chicago to Twin Cities route.

The Iowa Northern's North Crew swing around the curve on the southside of Shell Rock. The job is a healthy 88 cars today mainly made up of CP empties bound for Nora Springs, IANR empties, and a few freight cars. The crew will do work at Butler, the next stop about 8 miles ahead. Kind of an odd 3 unit GP 38 lashup today.

With windchills around -9 and temps hovering around 15, Iowa Northern train CRWR (Cedar Rapids, IA - Waterloo, IA) gets underway after coming off the UP and onto home rails. Seen here skirting along the frozen Cedar River with IANR 3810 (ex SBD GP38-2) leading two IANR GP40-2LW while sandwiching a pair of rebuilt GP9 slugs. This would begin our chase along the former Rock Island all the way to Washburn, just outside of Waterloo, IA. Taken: 1-8-21.

This was my first time shooting the IANR, as it’s been a major bucket list of mine for years that I finally get to cross off.

Back when trios of 38s were the norm. No slugs to be found - yet.

The 1133rd Transportation Company out of Mason City loaded equipment bound for Corpus Christi, TX, at the Manly Logistic Park. This is the 1st time the IANR has done a military train. The 1133rd is deploying to the border of Ukraine sometime soon. The 67 flats were mainly loaded with semis and trailers. Here the job pulls down to the south end of the yard so they can cross the UP Albert Lea Sub before departing for Cedar Rapids.

Photo: taking in a location with permission.

I had to go to my niece's basketball game in Clarksville tonigh, so I thought it would be cool if the Iowa Northern ran the North Crew out of Waterloo in the afternoon for me. Well if I went out to do that it would of not happened, but with little plans I did get just that. Here the north job blast past an old Rock Island signal that seen its better days. The job has 7 units and the head 3 units will setout in 6 miles at Butler for the Butler Job tonight. The train makes good time rolling over the welded rail the IANR has gotten in on this end of the railroad the past few years.

Iowa Northern Railways directors extra train crosses by a house at 5th & Franklin St in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The train is being pushed by IANR 461 It will pass thru many backyards for several blocks till it reemerges on Iowa St to pass by the Mcdonalds previously seen here

Back in 2009, the Mason City local LMC-15 had just pulled off the Owatonna Sub and is now on the Mason City Sub as they pull by the depot. Due to no wye at Mason City this train will have to be run around before it heads east towards Marquette as a FMCKC. Power for the Jordan Ditcher sits on # 2 track waiting for the switch engine get the plow off the turntable so the can head west towards Spencer with it. The CP must off been fighting with the IANR, cause normally these trains would go down the IANR to Nora Springs to bypass this runaround move.

Iowa Northern's Cedar Rapids to Waterloo train moseys through La Porte with a hefty train. IANR 3804 was built in May of 1971 as a Louisville & Nashville GP38AC.

The Iowa Northern went out for the 3rd time this week with their new Jordan Spreader. The 1st 2 times they did the Manly Sub around Nora Springs. Today's agenda was the Oelwein Sub from Dewar to Oelwein. They went to work at 4am at Bryant Yard in Waterloo and worked out to Oelwein by 2pm. Pushing drifts back on 19 miles of railroad helps track inspections, improves train movements, and has the railroad set up better for the next snow storm. The 1st decent drift north of Dewar was here near MP 334, about 3 miles south of Dunkerton. The morning winter light looks good on the Iowa Northern's newest operations!

A major storm hit the Midwest on Saturday February 23rd. The storm dump rain, ice, and snow, followed by high winds. The result left the westside of the state of Iowa in complete disarray. Railroads scrambled to keep lines opened and many were drifted in. The Iowa Northern's Manly Sub was drifted in and on Wednesday the IANR was still plowing north to open the line up. Here the Jordan nose plows a drift up to the walkways in spots between Rockford and Marble Rock. Contractors were brought in for the drifts at MP 209, south of Nora Springs.

The boys give a friendly wave to this crew on the MITDM as they roll east on the Clinton Sub at sunset. Now if you know anything about the UP, you say "MITDM on the Clinton Sub?" Yes UP ran what was left of this ITDM to Cedar Rapids for interchange with the Iowa Northern. It is a potash train bound for Waterloo that would normally go to the IANR at Manly...more fine PSR railroading!

The Iowa Northern's North Crew swing around the curve as they drop down into the southside of Shell Rock. The job is a healthy 88 cars today mainly made up of CP empties bound for Nora Springs, IANR empties, and a few freight cars. The crew will do work at Butler, the next stop about 8 miles ahead. Kind of an odd 3 unit GP 38 lashup today. A few ex-Rock Island signals can still be found here and there along the route.

The Iowa Northern's North Crew slowly roll south on the Manly Sub outside of Nora Springs. The crew will stop and do work here at Nora Springs with the CP in a few miles. The rear car is a 5-packers full of the new business IANR got beginning of 2020 that is going to the Butler Logistic Park from the UP at Manly. I wanted to get some photos of the new business but today it was combined with the North Job. Stoffer is a siding put in for interchange with CP-IANR, but looks like now its being used for storage.

The Iowa Northern shut down operations for a bit on Saturday so their employees could enjoy a company ride and lunch. The employee special ran from Waterloo to Vinton and back. Here the job pokes along through La Porte City on the way back to Waterloo. The 461 looks nice and shiny bringing up the rear end. The train ran with 2 IANR cars along with 2 Amtrak cars, which I believe are leased right now.

Vinton meet...something the Iowa Northern doesn't do too much. Considering there really isn't anywhere to meet, these things don't happen, especially in daylight. The IANR is deadheading their Jordan Spreader to Cedar Rapids to help the CIC plow their Amana Line. The crew had to clear for the South Job at Vinton who is running pretty late on the way back to Waterloo from Cedar Rapids. The South Job is normally thru here by mid-AM if things went well in Cedar Rapids.

Unfortunately getting the train together and air tested, plus getting across the UP, took way longer than I expected. By the time the train took off from south Yard Limits at Manly, the sun had set. It was pretty disappointing, as this is the 1st time the IANR has done a military train. The North Crew is in the clear at the Reindl Siding as the train blast off for a night run to Cedar Rapids with 67 flat cars in tow.

An Iowa Northern freight rolls west out of Waterloo, IA. A late-day surprise in the land of "not quite right"

The Iowa Northern shutdown operations for a bit on Saturday so their employees could enjoy a company ride and lunch. The employee special ran from Waterloo to Vinton and back. Here the train rolls along the Cedar River on the northside of Vinton as they make their way back to Waterloo. The 461 looks nice and shiny bringing up the rear end. The train ran with 2 IANR cars along with 2 Amtrak cars, which I believe are leased right now.

The Iowa Northern's Jordan works north on the Oelwein Sub towards Oelwein. Past Fairbank the trains haven't been over the line since the last wind storm. The drifts however were pretty minor for the middle of February. Snow melts and light snow storms haven't produced much for drifts this winter yet. This is only the 2nd time out for the Jordan this winter. Glad the IANR got this Jordan 3 years ago and put some TLC into it, gives some close to home chasing opportunities for me.

For a colder view of the same spot taken three years earlier.

flic.kr/p/JJwWtr

IANR

The Iowa Northern's North Crew does work in the Manly Terminal. This is the farthest north the Iowa Northern goes. The Manly Yard used to be a small little operation with an interchange point with the Union Pacific, but now it is like everything on the IANR, expanded to meet more and more customer's needs. I haven't been up here in years, but I got a few shots in, and chatted with the trainmaster while the Manly Switcher and North Crew get the work done to get the North Train out here and heading south.

Photo: taken with permission.

Manly, Iowa is the far north end of the Iowa Northern Railroad, and home to one of their yards and a number of customers for the railroad. On this particular Tuesday a quad pack of GP38s (all originally L&N engines that spend time on the Seaboard Cost Line and CSX before coming to Iowa) are tied down on the on the loop track waiting for a crew as the sun sinks low in the late afternoon sky. The yard crew has built the train with IANR 3808 ready to lead the way, and the "North Job" crew is cabbing up to get it, I believe from the crew base at Greene. It would be around sunset before the crew reached the train and then the dispatcher would instruct them to wait for a set of intermodal cars that a UP train was supposed to be delivering to Manly about 1700.

There aren't a ton of diamonds in small town Iowa, and most of those don't have alot of movements per day go thru them. So when I heard the CP B38 get a warrant at Mason City to head east, and I knew the Iowa Northern's North Crew had work at Nora, I headed for the diamond. As luck would have it the CP local got the light 1st and hammers across while the IANR does their work. An Iowa meet not seen too often, especially here. In the past 12 hours only 4 moves have passed thru Nora Springs, with 1 going via the connection, and here are 2 of the 4.

Southward Iowa Northern North Job pausing to spot cars at the elevator at Marble Rock, Iowa.

I believe this might have been the first snowfall of 2019. Here a IANR train returning to Bryant Yard is about to cross the old CGW bridge across the Cedar River in downtown Waterloo, Iowa

E units of the IANR at a night photo session. With thanks to Steve Glischinski, Chris Guss and the IANR crews

Ran into this odd Iowa Northern move coming south out of Manly. The crew has split their power to pickup mainly storage looking cars at Manly. Here the train crosses the CP Owatonna Sub at Plymouth Jct. Can't say that I have shot the Mother-Slug set too often by itself. The train would tie down at Rock falls til dark, so I am not sure what the plan was, maybe Garner bound?

The North Job passes a reminder of the importance this route once had to the Rock Island Railroad when Chicago to Twin Cities traffic once passed.

Returning to Waterloo after turn around run to Oelwein. This was once the Chicago Great Western Railway's main line to Kansas City.

The South Crew is working back north towards Waterloo with traffic from Cedar Rapids. The job is running alittle later today do to work they had at Vinton on the way back north. Here the crew tops the grade at Mount Auburn as the snow gently falls. The crew is still 20 miles from Bryant Yard their destination in Waterloo.

The Iowa Northern's North Crew does work in the Manly Terminal. This is the farthest north the Iowa Northern goes. The Manly Yard used to be a small little operation with an interchange point with the Union Pacific, but now it is like everything on the IANR, expanded to meet more and more customer's needs. I didn't realize the the Rock island E-units were outside on a back track deep within the yard, but cool surprise. I haven't been up here in years, but I got a few shots in, and chatted with the trainmaster while the Manly Switcher and North Crew get the work done to get the North Train out here and heading south.

Photo: taken with permission.

The Iowa Northern's Jordan Spreader works north on the Oelwein Sub towards Oelwein. Past Fairbank the trains haven't been over the line since the last wind storm so they will be opening it up. Today the drifts were pretty minor for it being the middle of February. This is only the 2nd time out for the Jordan to be out this winter. The plow is seen here between Dunkerton and Fairbank as they cross the Wapsipinicon River in Bruggeman Park.

The 1133rd Transportation Company out of Mason City loaded equipment bound for Corpus Christi, TX, at the Manly Logistic Park. Unfortunately getting the train together and air tested, plus getting across the UP, took way longer than I expected. By the time the train took off from south Yard Limits at Manly, the sun had set. It was pretty disappointing, as this is the 1st time the IANR has done a military train. Here the job shoved the loop at Manly for the air test. The train would make a night run to Cedar Rapids with 67 flat cars in tow.

During my time living in Waterloo, IA the IANR didn't run a lot of tractor trains out of the John Deere plant in town. I did get lucky in the spring of 2004 though when they ran one to Cedar Rapids in the afternoon which made for a great chase. A trio of their new to the property and freshly painted GP38s are just passing through downtown Waterloo.

CRWA has just departed the CIC for a pickup from the UP before heading back for Waterloo.

There were comments on my shot of the North Train with the set of GP38's, and how people like them without the Mother/Slug set. I ran into this nice 4 pack of 38's at Bryant Yard on my way to work. The bummer was they were on their way to the shop for the day, but man the 3808 looks nice and clean! The IANR has retrofitted some of these 38's with a cylinder looking cover on top of the exhaust on some of the units to probably protect against sparks? Unfortunately one thing it does is collect fuel and then it dips down the middle of the units making them dirty over time. Not all of them have the retrofit.

The Butler Job has begun the duties tonight to get all the business switched out here at Butler before heading to Waterloo. It is crazy all the business that keeps coming to this area between Clarksville and Shell Rock on the north end of the IANR. The new Shell Rock Soybean plant is still being built, and more and more track is added everyday around here. The stack business also looks healthy as they spot the pad after sunset.

I know some of you aren't fans of the slug version of the Iowa Northern, so here is a normal consist for you. The Butler Switcher has 49 car now for the Manly Sub as they leave the CN interchange at Waterloo.

The Iowa Northern's Jordan Spreader is just out of the Waterloo city limits as they work north on the Oelwein Sub towards Oelwein. The drifts however were pretty minor for the middle of February unfortunately though. Winter has produced a fair amount snow this year but the timing, wind, and temperature hasn't been exactly right for big snow drift building. This is only the 2nd time out for the Jordan this winter. Here they pass over Elk Run Creek few miles west of Dewar on this Union Pacific trackage that IANR is leasing.

Two years and a day after I had first shot the IANR during the day I returned to get a shot that I have thought about ever since. MABU works south to Butler past the classic Rockford Depot. This was my third and final shot of the night, capturing three different EMD models leading three trains. This wait was by far the coldest I have ever been for a night shot, with hands stinging and wind being channeled down between the buildings and wind chills hovering at -13 the wait was long and worth it.

No available crews on this hot July morning made for a cool afternoon run up to Waterloo with the CRWA. Usually out of CR in the early morning a 1300 extra crew brought the train north in the afternoon making for good light on a usually backlit train.

A IANR switch job pulls 7 cars out of storage from the CFU line on a nice Feb afternoon. I heard this guys horn as I left the hobby shop, and after seeing no gate action on the CN main, I knew it was a CFU switch job. Unfortunately I was not able to get in front of it as it went down to the storage tracks by the Utilities. After about a hour, they put their train back together and headed out to the CN Main.

FYI the train was traveling at about 5 mph and was having each crossing flagged by the trainmaster in the black truck seen ahead of the train

The Iowa Northern's North Crew is just back to home rails at Cedar Falls Jct. The IANR uses CN trackage across Waterloo to Cedar Falls to get out of Bryant Yard and to the Manly Sub. The crew also setout cars to the CN on the way by today. Here they pass some old relics of the Rock Island near "Barking Dog", Not alot left of the days gone by from the Rock Island days.

An empty bean train is about 20 miles from Waterloo. The train will return to the IANR side and to Butler, IA. Pretty rare for westbound evening trains on the west end of the Dubuque Sub, so Calen and I made good use.

After spending the late morning/early morning chasing a sb plow train on the Manly Sub, I stumbled upon WABU switching out the CN interchange at Jaxton on my way back home. Here, WABU heads west towards Cedar Falls Jct on the CNs Waterloo Sub, at CF Jct they'll return to home rails on the short trip up to Shell Rocks Butler Yard.

Today is the last day of Iowa Northern Railway, with Canadian National assuming ownership of the railroad tomorrow.

It was a classy shortline with a Canadian Pacific inspired paint scheme and slow to moderate speeds, making chasing possible.

Apparently, not much will change to start with, so it'll be a while until images like this will be hard to come by.

Shell Rock, Iowa