MUSCATINE ARBORETUM ASSOCIATION

MUSCATINE, IA

Railfanning below zero A cold day in January finds IAIS train CBBI running 1 by 1 near Walcott, Iowa. We counted 30 cars and trucks in the ditch between Iowa City and Davenport on the way down the previous night. — Railfanning below zero Credit: chief_huddleston

The Muscatine Arboretum Association is a non-profit organization located in Muscatine, Iowa. Its mission is to promote the education, conservation, and appreciation of trees and other plants in the community. The Association was founded in 1983 and has since been dedicated to preserving and enhancing the beauty of Muscatine through the cultivation of a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and plants.

The Muscatine Arboretum Association maintains several gardens and habitats throughout the city, including the Riverfront Garden, the Butterfly Garden, and the Herb Garden. The Association also manages a tree nursery, where it grows and sells trees to individuals, businesses, and other organizations. In addition, the Association provides educational programs and events to the community, such as tree planting workshops and guided tours of the gardens.

The Muscatine Arboretum Association is run by a volunteer board of directors and relies on the support of community members to maintain its operations. The Association is funded through donations, grants, and the sale of trees and other merchandise. Its efforts have helped to make Muscatine a more beautiful and sustainable community, and its work continues to be an important part of the city's cultural and environmental landscape.

MUSCATINE ARBORETUM ASSOCIATION is a Arboretums, Botanical Gardens, & Nature Center in MUSCATINE IA. US MID #8401900547

The museum is classed as BOT (Arboretums, Botanical Gardens, & Nature Centers). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin).

IAIS CBBI 20 Under a clear blue October sky, IAIS CBBI 20 starts into the curve at Durant, Iowa

CP Ku81 On the old MB&S Track. (2-8-2023, Muscatine, IA)

Drifting Through Durant As time flew by and the afternoon came about, there would be little opportunity to shoot the face of the QJ in the sun, so each return trip had to be treated a little differently. It worked out well enough, I think.

One such case of that was in Durant, IA, where some industrial spurs still remain, but don't appear to be served terribly often - if much at all. That high sun definitely dries everything out though, from the grass to the photographer alike! I definitely need to keep more water on hand when I'm doing these things... Ah, well, it worked out anyways - I swear I do a railhead shot on every trip I take at least once.

Out of Stock(ton) At a local logging/woodchip company in Stockton, the IAIS 6988 flies backwards towards Wilton to restart the next excursion. On a busy day where you can get only one or two shots per run, there was only so many opportunities for shots in towns. Stockton was one I would have liked to have shot more of, but I had just the one shot - and for all intents and purposes, it worked out well enough.

Retreat At a dirt road between towns, the IAIS 6988 comes to a stop after its first excursion of the day. The IAIS 700, tacked onto the back, will take control and pull the excursion train back to Wilton.

There were a lot of chasers who headed over to the next town, and I was nearly one of them until I saw the gravel road come up. Very luckily, I made it there with a few others, just in time to watch the QJ roll in and come to a stop beside the cornfield. I think a lot of other chasers got a hefty surprise when the train never made it to Walcott!

Drift Away The race to Moscow was one that wasn't particularly hard to do, but when you make a wrong turn before your target - well, that doesn't make things very easy.

On my approach to the bridge over the Cedar River, I took a turn too early, ending up by the south side of the bridge. In my all-too-tired brain in the morning, I had readily assumed that was the sun side. Spoiler: it wasn't. I spun the car around and flew down the road to get to the right place - not far, but with the QJ barreling down the tracks, it wasn't a sure thing, either.

I parked on the grass and sprinted down the gravel road to where dozens of others were all prepared, taking a seat on the edge of the riverbank. It wasn't even 30 seconds later that we heard the whistle, and not even half that time until the train broke through the trees and across the river. Not quite enough time to get really ready, but enough to get the camera up anyway. Cutting it close is something I seem to have found a natural talent for...

Not Over Til We Say So IAIS 700 becomes the leader of the excursion train, dragging the steamer and the coaches back west to its temporary home in South Amana. At West Liberty, we can find the lines original Rock Island heritage standing right in front of us with the wonderfully maintained CRI&amp;P brick depot, fitted with a train order signal and a fine double-headed searchlight.

State of the Nation As the IAIS 6988 is dragged back to Wilton for its last run by, we’re greeted with an interesting juxtaposition. Dressed up in new American garb, the Chinese steam engine meanders past an American graveyard - at the trailing edge of a pandemic that ultimately traces its roots back to China. It’s been a strange last few years, and it makes you wonder what the future has in store - for the individual countries, the world, and even the little steam engine that crossed an ocean. How peculiar.

Modigliani The long journey nears its end as UPs donation train passes the small town of Durant, Iowa and the cemetery beside it. As our train nears the homestretch, one can't help but marvel at the whole thing. Long-dead locomotives and even rollingstock, each one carrying with it plenty of history and stories alike, now have a fresh chance at life they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. The Challenger has been dormant for a dozen years, and the 5511 five times that. Even the DDA40X, not pictured here, hasn't been roaming around for a fair few years now. It will be one hell of a day when they and the rest of the equipment have new life breathed into them.

I can't even imagine how insane the roads and photolines will be when those days come. Oh, boy. At least they were somewhat manageable here. More than once, people came and parked right in front of my shot, but thanks to another railfan intervening, we got the space cleared for our shots, and we got that striking view of the slow moving train. The days storms can be seen back behind the dormant steamers, and in fact some of those clouds were just overhead. Very, very narrow timing granted us a sliver of clear sky and the light we needed for our shots. Nice when things work out that way, eh?

Contact MUSCATINE ARBORETUM ASSOCIATION

MUSCATINE ARBORETUM ASSOCIATION
2368 HWY 22
MUSCATINE
IA
52761-8769

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MUSCATINE ARBORETUM ASSOCIATION Information

MID #	8401900547
Name	MUSCATINE ARBORETUM ASSOCIATION
Alternate Name
Classification	Arboretums, Botanical Gardens, & Nature Centers, , Midwest
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)	421452212
NTEECC	C41
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM)	201212
INCOME	0
REVENUE	0
LAT/LONG	41.436379, -91.106833
CODES	FIPS State Code: 19 FIPS County Code: 139 US Census Tract: 050500 US Census Block: 2012