Does anyone have information that could answer an Iowa question for me? Many years ago, the Milw ran excursions and regular passenger service to some lakes in north central Iowa. These were once popular resorts. I'm sure that the depression had a lot to do with some of their decline. There is a book, I believe by either Cecil Cook, or Don Hofsommer about these places. What I am primarily curious about, is did the RR itself have any ownership in these? And do any of these resort sites still exist? Or the hotels? Do people still go there for a holiday? BoxcabE50
Boxcab! I presume you are referring to spirit lake, lake okabojii, clear lake, or storm lake! Yes, I remember as a boy growing up in central iowa in the 50s and 60s hearing stories from my grandfather and other old timers talking about excursions to all of them,however I believe the last one took place in the late forties. As for the railroads owning any of them,I dont believe they did, and the resorts are doing well as far as i know! Rich!
Rich- Yes. Those are the ones sparking my curiousity. I wondered because so many of these classic resorts seemed to fade away when the depression, the automobiles came along. Do any of the old hotels still stand? I suppose when the excursion days came to an end, so did many of the buildings. The "motel" era was starting. Wouldn't it be great fun to take a relaxing train ride to a beautiful destination? I'd sure go for that right about now. Those Iowa lakes. The Rocky Mountains. A remote ocean beach. BoxcabE50
Boxcab! As far as I know, there might be one or two of the old hotels remodeled into b&bs. The rest are of course motels, and all are popular vacation spots and yes I sure would like to take a slow train across Iowa, especially in the fall!
Rich- Thanks for your input! If you have any good stories about the Milw, I'm all ears. Iowa isn't my corner of the world. But I'm interested in the many facets of the Milw. Please post a topic. Hopefully, a few others will join in. BoxcabE50
I'm not an authority on Milwaukee Road , but CERA has books on trolleys/interurbans in Iowa - there are pictures of juice lines at resorts/day parks. One shows N.G. steam train in same view with interurban. The N.G. books on Milwaukee owned lines should have data, and the CNW which also operated rundown N.G. lines (don't know if in Iowa) also served similar summer places. Hope this is helpful; PJB.
PJB- I must admit to knowing a minimum about Iowa RR's. Just a little here and there. I do have the Bellevue & Cascade book. But that's the only Iowa Milw NG info in my "library." BoxcabE50
