(Central) Iowa railfanning in the 1970's

Brian Norden Wrote:
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> I count twelve narrow gauge railroads on the Iowa
> map in Hilton's American Narrow Gauge
> Railroads.
>
Yep, but some of them lasted less than a year and the remnants of the ones in the Eastern part of the state were way outside my range of the possible, especially before '78 when I had to bicycle everywhere.. [1] My guides as a kid were several old issues of The Palimpset, old maps at the ISU library, and an article in Model Railroader. [2] At some point I found out that the ISU library (mom was a professor in the Botany Dept.) had a complete set of Poor's Manual from sometime in the 1860's thru 1922. Much tracing of various lines histories ensued, until they were moved into storage during a reshuffle when the (newest) section was opened in the mid 1970's[3]. I still have photocopies of pages of Poor's that I made back then. Even at $0.05 per copy (good copier was a dime a shot) that was another limited endeavor and most of what I copied was Colorado/Utah stuff but I did get some Iowa pages too. Since I discovered ICC Reports about the same time, and lost all the ones before the late 1950's in the same shuffle as the Poor's, money for photocopies was tight[4]. So my knowledge of stuff in Colorado was, thanks to Lucius & to the CRRM, actually deeper than what I knew about Iowa.

If you're wondering why I've gassed on so long, well consider it a testament to how things were before the 'net. And consider that, with the ISU library right there, I had it lucky. If only I had had more nickels...

Hank

PS Only other local railfans I met were at the hobby shop and all they cared about was the Chicago & North Western (bleech) as it currently existed. Not even CMStP&P, less than 10 miles away to the South (Omaha main) or CRI&P less than 8 miles East(Spine Line). And they'd never heard of the Chicago Great Weedy or the Maimed & Still Limping, let alone some long-gone 3' lines. and what did I meant Steam? Or Electric?

[1] I grew up in a house South of Ames and North of Kelly. could see the Ames branch of the FtD,DM&S from our back yard(torn out while I was still a toddler) and the C&NW Des Moines line(section abandoned post 1983), the former 3' gauge Des Moines & Minneapolis, from where I waited for the school bus in later years. Ames swallowed the area around my folk's house about the time I entered high School. Yes, I am a hayseed, a hick, a yokel a ...
[2] One in the "Railroad You Can Model" Series about the Ftd,DM&S interurban which mentioned that it had a previously narrow gauge branch. Crooked Creek Railway.
[3] funny how more space resulted in fewer books. But lots of trendy "Study Areas" were added.
[4] After I had graduated I discovered that the local college, which I like to call "Cheney Normal" has a set of ICC reports (with significant holes) and I go up from time to time, when I can afford to make some copies, and search some. No Poor's Manuals though.