IMPOSSIBLE TO BE EVERYWHERE. The Iowa Interstate Railroad recently took delivery of two Chinese-built QJ mudsuckers, one each built in 1985 and in 1986.

Image courtesy Steam Train Diaries.

As part of the sesquicentennial of the bridging of the Mississippi River, the locomotives were in steam to the great delight of Quad Cities boosters. Over the weekend, some excursions ran east along the Hennepin Canal to Bureau, where the trains could be wyed. Adding to the excitement, North Star Rail's super 4-8-4, Milwaukee 261, participated.

Tom Lampman photograph from a public Flickr archive.

Look how quickly Wikipedia picks up such things.


Tripleheaded SD90MACs or whatever variant on C60AC-9 GE calls its top-of-the-line diesel these days can walk off more expeditiously with whatever the yardmaster can cobble together. But tripleheaded steam really brings the public to trackside. (I'm not smart enough to figure out how to tap that enthusiasm for the Steam Age to develop awareness that in many ways, THESE are the Good Old Days of railroading. Is anybody at Union Pacific or BNSF or Iowa Interstate making that effort?)