Remembering an unusual 1959 fan trip


BY DONALD L. MELSHA PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR


THROUGH THE 1950S, the Midwest states were still marvelous places to see, photograph, and ride regu- larly scheduled passenger trains. Most secondary routes as well as nearly all the major ones were still in the business of carrying passengers. Regional routes such as the Minneapolis & St. Louis and the Chicago Great Western still maintained a token daily service on most of their lines. Thus, it was still possible to plan weekend circle tours using an itinerary we can only nostalgi- cally long for today.


The Iowa Chapter of the Na- tional Railway Historical Society took full advantage of this situa- tion on March 7, 1959, by sponsor- ing a trip from the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s branch from Creston, Iowa, to St. Joseph, Missouri. This was to be the last weekend of service using a motor car. By the middle of the next week, service would be provided by a mixed train...


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