Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & Museum

The Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & Museum preserves and promotes the area's rich railroading history. Established in 1983, the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad (BSVR) is a heritage railroad that preserves an eleven-mile section of a former interurban, electric line called the Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railroad (FDDMS). The line runs from Boone to the town of Wolf through the Des Moines River valley and over the 156-foot tall Bass Point Creek High Bridge. The BSVR owns a variety of railroading stock including steam locomotives, passenger cars, and electric cars. It also offers on excursions on the line. The museum, which is officially called the James H. Andrew Railroad Museum, features a wide range of railroading artifacts on display and exhibits about the history of the FDDMS, the Chicago & North Western Railroad, which acquired the FDDMS in 1968, and other Iowa railroads. The Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & Museum is a division of the Iowa Railroad Historical Society.

The FDDMS was established in 1893 to help transport coal from newly discovered coal deposits near the town of Fraser. The company built a line from Fraser to the town of Wolf, which was were it connected to the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad. In the coming years, lines were built north to the towns of Gowrie and Rockwell City, and south to the towns of Fort Dodge, Boone, and Des Moines. The system was electrified in 1907 after a power plant was built in Fraser and electric interurban cars began running between the towns. The Bass Point Creek Bridge, which is built of steel, was erected in 1913 to replace the original wooden trestle bridge.

At the height of their usage, the interurban cars ran once every hour. Unlike other interurban systems, the FDDMS remained financially successful and continued to operate after World War II thanks in large part to its freight business. However, the company did have to cut its passenger service as the popularity of automobiles increased. The beginning of end of the interurban electric cars came in 1954 when the Des Moines River flooded and severely damaged the power plant in Fraser. The last interurban car ran in September 1955 and the company started to use diesel engines. The Chicago & North Western Railway bought the FDDMS in 1968 and ended the use of parts of the rail network. Many of the former FDDMS properties were either abandoned or sold.

It appears that the old FDDMS network was used until 1983. An organization called the Boone Railroad Historical Society was established that year to buy 11.3 miles of track that runs through scenic terrain. The first tourist train rides began in November and the depot building was constructed in 1985. Electric car rides started in 1988. In 1989, the Iowa Railroad Historical Society bought the world's last commercially built steam locomotive, which was built in China. Over the coming years, visitor train rides were expanded. The James H. Andrew Railroad Museum was built in 2012.

"Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad." American-Rails.com. Accessed September 12, 2021. https://www.american-rails.com/bsvy.html.

"History of the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad." Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & Museum. Accessed September 11, 2021. https://bsvrr.com/wp/history-of-the-boone-scenic-valley-railroad.