Took ya long enough..............lol............. COngratulations Keith! Short Line Jct., Des Moines, IA North-south line is ex-CNW, east-west line is ex-Rock Island. Nowadays, UP and Iowa Interstate cross here- IAIS has a yard east of the diamonds. N&W/Wabash used to approach from the southeast, and CGW used to go southwest. As a kid, I used to walk to school over the 14th Street viaduct, and there used to be a boatload of tracks below me- I specifically remember seeing Rock Island pig trains with E-units in the lead. The 1960s were a cool time to see trains in Des Moines- I wish I had a camera back then.
Only home from work 20 minutes when I made my search! Bet it was great seeing the various railroads that existed back then!! Would have been neat to see.
It was- Chicago Great Western & C&NW; Milwaukee Road; Rock Island (including the Rocket passenger trains, KC-Minneapolis and Chicago-Omaha); and Norfolk & Western. Also saw boxcars from the FDDM&S and hints of the Des Moines & Central Iowa. In May 1981 I shot a long string of F-units in the C&NW Hull St. Yard- the slides are in my collection somewhere. In 1987 I saw & shot my first Iowa Interstate power, all ex-ICG chopnose Geeps. I had an uncle, aunt & cousins in Des Moines- Uncle Budd was a firefighter, Aunt Ruth a homemaker, Steve was a UPS driver, Mark runs the family reel repair shop, and Diane lives in Minnesota. Got another uncle & aunt buried in the cemetery on the west side. Bud & Ruth are now in a cemetery in Cummings, IA south of town. Central Iowa is a big part of my family history & heritage.
