Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railroad
The other striking feature [of the FDDM] is that it is one of the first actual instances of the actual electrification of an existing steam railroad in the country. A great deal has been said on this subject and many arguments have been advanced as to the comparative merits of alternation the direct current for electrified steam railroads but little or nothing in the way of actual transformation from the use of steam to the use of electricity as a motive however has been accomplished.
Ames Times, August 1906 edition
Incorporated in 1906, the Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Railway grew in length to become the longest interurban line in the state of Iowa.
Its 85-mile long electrified north-south mainline from Des Moines to Fort Dodge linked the coal and agricultural regions of western Iowa.
Several branches increased the total mileage of electrified railroad to 147. A segment of the line survives today as the Boone & Scenic Valley tourist line.
FDDM route map / web
FDDM timetable
Interurbans
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #62
Fort Dodge, Ia / 1938 / collection
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #82
Des Moines, Ia / Jun 1955 / collection
Motive Power
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #502
Des Moines, Ia / Feb 1959 / collection
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #502
to Mississippi Export #47
to Fernwood, Columbia & Gulf #D-5
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #503
Des Moines, IA / Nov 1958 / collection
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #503
to Fernwood, Columbia & Gulf #D-6
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #504
Gypsum, IA / Nov 1958 / collection
Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #504
later to Raymond International #4405
Gypsum, IA / Nov 1958 / collection
See also our Fernwood, Columbia & Gulf shortline scrapbook for more GE 44 tonner images
Lagniappe
Des Moines River Crossing
collection
Links / Sources
- Ames Historical Society article on FDDM
- Chicago & North Western Historical Society article on FDDM
- Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & Museum