This is a general request for the Iowa Interstate Railroad, finding information about this railroad is not the easiest thing ever so I will just be making a general discussion about it instead of a particular route section. About: The IAIS (Iowa Interstate Railroad) is a class II regional road operating in the central US. It was formed on the second of November 1984 using former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad tracks between, Illinois and Omaha, Nebraska. The railroad's mainline is roughly a straight line between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Chicago, Illinois, with a branch line connecting Bureau to Peoria, Illinois. The mainline is separated into 4 Subdivisions: Council Bluffs Subdivision (Council Bluffs to Des Moines, Iowa) Newton Subdivision (East Des Moines to South Amana, Iowa) Iowa City Subdivision (South Amana to Silvis, Illinois) Blue Island Subdivision (Silvis to Bureau Junction, Illinois) The railroad also includes the: Peoria Subdivision (Bureau Junction to Peoria, Illinois) Cedar Rapids Subdivision (South Amana to Cedar Rapids, Iowa). This line is owned by the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railroad but dispatched and operated by the Iowa Interstate. The Iowa Interstate is unique in that it is the only Class II railroad in the US that has connections to every Class I railroad, affording its customers a reach not offered by other regional railroads. Rolling stock: 4 EMD SD38-2 (Numbered 150-153) 20 GE ES44AC (Numbered 500-519) 1 EMD GP38 (Numbered 601) 17 EMD GP38-2 (Numbered 700-703; 705; 707-708; 710-716; 718-719; 721) 720 was sold/leased to ADM in Des Moines, Iowa in 2017 2 Slugs (Numbered 650 and 651) 601 and 650 are semi-permanently mated, as are 721 and 651 In 2006, IAIS also purchased two ex-China Railways QJ 2-10-2 steam locomotives, numbered 6988 and 7081 for special excursion trains and fundraising events. 6988 has been "Americanized", with a paint scheme inspired by Iowa Interstate's ES44AC locomotives. 7081 retains its original China Railways paint with Iowa Interstate badges. Since 2018 the 6988 has made several excursion trips to raise money for local volunteer fire departments and promote awareness of Operation Lifesaver. Trips for August and September 2021 have been announced. 7081 is currently out of service. Bonus: 2 of the GE ES44ACs no 513 and 516 have special liveries Links to more information https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa_Interstate_Railroad https://iaisrr.com/ship-with-iais/what-where-how/#
I'm in. I've never heard of a Slug before, so I learned something new this morning as well. Excellent post, thanks.
Excellent idea some of the route have Junctions to existing train operating company so we have in game including the new horseshoe curve. Utica Il Junction Base game Sand Patch CSX Service Cedar Rapids Iowa to get Canadian national service purchase Oakville Subdivision Union Pacific Services require either Sherman Hill or Cane Creek. You are going to run across an issue with the locomotives it's that the American Freight railroads order the same locomotives meaning ES44AC 500-519 becomes Sand Patch Grade 3200-3300s Union Pacific ES44AC 3200s both Cane Creek & Sherman Hill.
I don’t know about the 3300s or the later 3200s considering those are the tier 4 version of those locomotives which have a different radiator design so I think 3000 to 3200 is probably more reasonable in my opinion. Or even the 800s and 900s on CSX will do
