It started out Thursday afternoon as rain, and then snow mixed in. When the precip turned to all snow, the flakes were the size of potato chips. The snow stuck to every little twig on every tree... (more)

'He leadeth me beside the still waters'… part II. The last time I was at this overlook at Mississippi Palisades State Park last October, I captured a beautiful scene ( http://www.railpictures.n... (more)

'He leadeth me beside the still waters' ... These words from the 23rd Psalm are what I think of when I see this view from the Mississippi Palisades at sunset. It was a beautiful, very quiet eveni... (more)

I call this one 'Rural Railroad Crossings'. A southbound manifest crawls along at 10 mph just north of Blooming Prairie. The John Deere tractor with a snow blower showed up as if on queue!

It was only 3 degrees, but the sun was shining, the Red Tail Hawks and Bald Eagles were soaring above the Mississippi, and the chimes from a church in the town of Bellevue rang out a beautiful hym... (more)

An eastbound (south along the Mississippi River) BNSF grain train passes beneath the bluffs just north of Savanna that are lit up by late afternoon sunlight passing through residual sugars left in... (more)

Whole lotta switchin' goin' on! Four engines, an SD38-3, two MP15 DCs, and a GP38-2, take their turn at making switching or transfer moves. There always seems to be a lot going on at the massive... (more)

"Season's Greetings" A southbound manifest runs through downtown Bellevue on a frigid December afternoon. What an opportune time to get a big red ex CP locomotive on point! Merry Christmas, eve... (more)

A GP15-1 performs its switching duties at the small but busy Clinton Yard. This yard is a veritable cornucopia of agricultural and manufacturing products of Iowa and the rest of the Midwest. Som... (more)

A rebuilt SD40-2 (ex UP 3381), now classified as an SD40N, leads two SD60Ms on a westbound manifest train as it crosses the North Platte River. Just beyond the river, the train will enter North P... (more)

A BNSF work train was dumping riprap along the bank of the Mississippi River with side dump gondolas, which I had never seen in action before. The train consisted of a green and white GP50L 3162,... (more)

A Pac-Man GP38AC and a SOO GP38-2 pull a long cut of grain hoppers through Canadian Pacific's Muskego Yard. In the area between the lead engine and the parking garage is a collection of MOW equip... (more)

A local rounds the bend and crosses Catfish Creek at Rockdale as it heads west towards Peosta. This short train is led by a wide cab GP40-2W, and a GT GP38-2. Thanks to Ray Peacock who inspired ... (more)

Although most of the leaves are off of the trees in eastern Iowa due to recent wind and rain, I was surprised to find quite a lot of vibrant fall foliage along the protected east facing bluffs alo... (more)

An empty coal train heads west towards a sunny Wyoming sky after passing under a plains thunderstorm east of Chappell, Nebraska.