The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is a

heritage railroad A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

that operates freight and passenger excursions in

Boone County, Iowa Boone County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,715. Its county seat is Boone. Boone County comprises the Boone, IA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Des Moines- Ames- We ...

History

The heritage and excursion railroad was begun in 1983 by a group of volunteers who wanted to preserve a scenic section of the former Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad (FDDMS). The original track was built in the 1890s and electrified in 1907. After massive flooding damaged the power plant (located at

Fraser, Iowa Fraser is a city in Dodge Township, Boone County, Iowa. The population was 101 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the larger Ames– Boone Combined Statistical Area. Th ...

) providing electricity to the line in 1954, the railroad soon turned to diesel equipment to pull its trains. The Chicago & North Western (CNW) purchased the entire FD, DMS system in 1968. Shortly after acquiring the line, the Chicago & North Western began to place portions of it up for abandonment. In 1983, an section of the line was purchased by the Boone Railroad Historical Society, and its 2254 charter members, for $50,000. The stretch of track winds through the Des Moines River Valley and across a tall bridge spanning Bass Point Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River. The line runs from Boone, through the old coal mining town of

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

, and ends at the site of the former junction with the

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) was an American Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota for 90 years from 1870 to 1960. The railway never reached St. Louis (despite its n ...

at Wolf. The railroad, an immediate success, has expanded regularly since its founding. A depot was dedicated in 1985. Today, more than 30,000 visitors take a ride on one of the regular or special event trains, including

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, ...

(September), the Pumpkin Express (October), and Santa Express (weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas) that features a book written and illustrated especially for the trip. Dining cars are reserved for special dinner trains. The James H. Andrew Railroad Museum and History Center was added to the existing depot and dedicated in 2012. It displays and preserves thousands of Iowa railroad artifacts and memorabilia such as track equipment, toy trains, dining car china, timetables, photos, lanterns, and telegraph equipment. The museum hosts special exhibitions, maintains a research library, and has a small theater/conference room.

Collection

The railroad owns numerous locomotives and dozens of cars. One of the railroad's steam locomotives, former Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway (CO&E)

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheel ...

No. 17, is most widely known for holding the historic title as the last operating common carrier steam locomotive in North America. Purchased on February 9, 1987, it sat on display for several years while painted with the CO&E's pyramid logo, but it is also in poor condition, since it has been sitting outdoors. It has been moved, along with a non-operable passenger car, to a location prominatly visible from Highway 30 in Boone. The locomotive, its tender, and the passenger car are on permanent static display as a

welcome sign A welcome sign (or gateway sign) is a road sign at the border of a jurisdiction or region that introduces or welcomes visitors to the city/county/state/province/prefecture/canton/region. Examples of welcome signs can be found near political border ...

for Boone, and the locomotive has been repainted to black. In the late 1980s, the railroad also acquired one of the last new

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing whee ...

Mikado

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s to be constructed in China (

China Railways JS Is China Railway JS Ford Motor Co. Locomotive Roster With Is The JS for Freight and Passenger Trains with 2-8-2 operated by the China Railway. is one of the National Coal Board steam locomotives used by China Railways built mostly by British Rail ...

No. 8419, cost $335,000). The JS locomotive powers the museum's 1920s excursion trains on Saturdays, from Memorial Day Weekend to October 31. In 2002 the BSVY acquired and restored an GMD FP9, originally a

Via Rail Canada Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operatin ...

passenger locomotive. Painted in

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

inspired colors, it powers the BSVR dinner train. The railroad also runs a short trolley ride and has begun to do light freight switching at Boone industries in recent years. Its station is located just one block from the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

mainline.

Gallery

File:BSVRR GMD FP9.jpg, BSVY #6540, a former

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

GMD FP9 with

CNW The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

markings. File:CCW X50 caternary.JPG, Ex- Charles City Western Railway X50 trolley. File:FDDesM 2254.JPG, Ex-Fort Dodge and Des Moines centercab #2254.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone Scenic Valley Railroad Iowa railroads Heritage railroads in Iowa Switching and terminal railroads Spin-offs of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company Tourist attractions in Boone County, Iowa Museums in Boone County, Iowa Railroad museums in Iowa Transportation in Boone County, Iowa

History

Collection

Gallery

See also

References

External links