IAIS Heritage Fleet
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IAIS CBBI at Minooka, Illinois on Feb 26, 2006. Its hard to beat IAIS's paint scheme on standard cabs!
I missed out on the Paducah and Alco eras of the Iowa Interstate, but got a little on the GP38-2 era, which now is about gone too. A southbound grain extra to Peoria is passing one of my favorite areas on the railroad just north of Putnam, IL on a sunny Sunday morning.
After being placed in storage yet again due to US fuel prices, Iowa Interstate released 2 of 4 SD38-2s back into service due to 3 GEVOs being OOS from “train vs truck” incidents.
It’s hot, it’s humid and the clouds were playing mind games, but here is train SIPE-06 (Silvis, IL - Peoria, IL) heading south on the Peoria Sub bound for interchange with the Tazwell & Peoria RR. A pair IAIS SD38-2s (153/152) lead this 70ish car train with an NS GP60 in transit for interchange and IAIS 702 (GP38-2) that was picked up at Bureau. The train is seen here just on the outskirts of the small town of Putnam, IL, heading uphill across the Western Illinois countryside while putting on the smoke show in run 8 as they get deeper into the Illinois River Valley. Taken: 8-6-22
As you can see here, the sun popped out at the correct time before fading in again!
The 1500 SISW crew brings Iowa Interstate 515 and the BICB road freight westbound into Iowa crossing the Government "Arsenal" Bridge and over one of the few bridges over roads in Downtown Davenport.
Just a few miles to the east of my last location, a low layer of clouds was building. As the IAIS passenger deadhead passed, a well timed sucker hole eluded me.
The Atlantic Rover's first job of the day was to pull some hoppers from the end of a spur on the far side of Atlantic. 513 slowly makes it way to the hoppers passing the Atlantic ethanol plant
As I discussed in this post: flic.kr/p/2msyG96 we were fortunate to catch the Iowa Interstate working around Council Bluffs for the short couple hours we had while passing through town. Owing to the length of the train they were yarding they had to pull well west of the old depot as they switched it out. Here they are about 3/4 mile west of the prior shot seen crossing the stop board protected diamonds with the Union Pacific's 12 Street Line right at about MP 500 (as measured from Rock Island's LaSalle Street Station in Chicago).
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Tuesday August 31, 2021
At the East end of the Council Bluffs yard, the BICB-19 has slowed way down, with only a few minutes left to work.
Screaming out of Atlantic, IAIS train CBNT is wasting no time on their trek east. The CBBI is right ahead behind them and they will fly by the BICB who is in the siding at Anita awaiting their arrival.
In a lapse of good judgement, I voted to backtrack and shoot the CBBI at Atlantic. Unfortunately their work there took longer than I was expecting and we ended up sitting until high sun. Then it was off to the other end of the state to get the 513 in Iowa City... Nebraska at sunrise, and central Michigan before we were able to sleep. Life on the road is fun.
Iowa Interstate’s SIBI train crossing Bridge 407 over the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois on the former Rock Island.
Screaming over the highway 6 overpass east of Council Bluffs, IAIS train CBNT-05 is wasting no time getting a good distance ahead of the CBBI which is preparing to depart CB.
This was a pretty fun chase along an awesome stretch of railroad. I can't wait to make another trip down to the Council Bluffs area and chase some IAIS.
When we were nearing Atlantic, we heard the crew talking with the dispatcher about swapping with the crew on the BICB at Atlantic and taking it back to CB.
Now, apparently this was a more common sight a few years ago, but nowadays a BICB in daylight is incredibly rare. The icing on the cake though was pulling into town and seeing that they had put a geep leader on the front. Score.
The chase back to McClelland was a lot faster paced, as this train wasn't limited to the 18mph the donation train was. With that in mind, we knew we wanted to get him coming across at Hancock, and I decided to put the drone up to get a bit of a different angle. I just about missed the sucker hole on that lead motor as well.
Note the farmer on the right side. Thankfully he wasn't there when the UP went through, or otherwise he would have had to put up with the crowd of foamers gathered around his property.
Iowa Interstate GP38-2 711 leads the BICB westbound on the Council Bluffs Subdivision outside Hancock, Iowa, November 18, 2022.
Recently reactivated IAIS 153/152 are working hard pulling NS 7111, IAIS 702 and 69 cars up Putnam Hill. At Mile Pole 123 on the Peoria Sub, 8/6/22. Copyright © Revenge Photography. All Rights Reserved.
The day ended with one last shot in mint lighting at McClelland before breaking off and heading back home. It looks like IAIS sure knows how to pick a good leader. UP could take notes. All in all a good day with good people. Thanks for letting Jamie and I ride along with you, Paul.
Iowa Interstate GP38-2 711 leads the BICB westbound on the Council Bluffs Subdivision outside McClelland, Iowa, November 18, 2022.
Over all of the years, one of my most memorable chases occurred on July 1, 2012. I had been up in Chicagoland the week prior, and on my way back to Kansas, I got word that the IAIS 513 was leading the BICB out of the Quad Cities that day. I first caught up with it at Marengo, IA, and chased it as far west as Kellogg. Mid-way through the trip, I shot it crossing UP's ex-M&StL line, and the beautifully restored depot in Grinnell.
Even after all these years, I still love this engine, and it stands as my favorite of any of the Heritage units out there.
I went digging for an image from 5+ years ago when I was able to catch CBBI at the same location as the UP donation special train. The location is MP 447, about 5 miles west of Atlantic. Today this is tough to capture as both CBBI and BICB run by here at night.
On October 9, 2024, IAIS 701 East struck a liquid asphalt semi truck at the 110th Ave crossing between Walcott and Davenport, IA. The collision ripped the tank trailer in half and sent liquid asphalt everywhere. Thankfully the crew and truck driver were uninjured.
For now, IAIS 701 and a 3-pack well car, sit on the RIP track at Silvis pending cleanup and repairs. 701 is not only covered in asphalt, but also has damage to the pilot and nose. 701 is one of four GP38-2's with PTC and one of about half-a-dozen that have been fitted with air conditioning.
October 10, 2024
IAIS 152 leads 104 potash empties on the PEDAV 20 (Peoria Illinois to Davenport Iowa) across N River Beach Drive at South Rome Illinois, September 20, 2022. Copyright © Revenge Photography. All Rights Reserved.