UPDATE: NOW CANCELLED Trolley motorman and railroad transit historian Wes Bender will present a free program called “Iowa City Railways”, 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 21, 2020. The program will be held at the James H. Andrew Railroad Museum and History Center at the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad in Boone, Iowa.
Wes will cover the growth, importance, and contributions of railways in Iowa City. He will highlight with visuals the advantages as well as stress the importance of electric and traditional rail transportation and its effects upon the growth of the old State Capitol city.
Wes was born in St Louis, a city that had a vast network of streetcars. His earliest memories in life include his mother taking him to town aboard the cars. She never drove and it was often that they went shopping and utilized this form of transportation. “Our family moved to Kansas then to Iowa but we often returned to St. Louis and rode streetcars there,” Wes said. This early introduction to traction began his lifelong passion for streetcars and electric transportation systems worldwide. Over the years Wes’ enthusiasm caused him to study to become an authority on the history of the entire collection of trolley cars at Mt. Pleasant as well as Cedar Rapids traction and Iowa traction history in particular. Today Wes is a motorman and historian at the Midwest Electric Railway Association in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where he has been a member for 4 decades.”
If you wish a tour of the museum with a tour guide cost is $8 adults, and $3 children. Otherwise the program is free to the public.
The museum is located on the grounds of the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad in Boone. Address: 225 10th St., Boone, Iowa 50036.
For more information contact Museum Director Mike Wendel at 1-800-626-0319, or mike@bsvrr.com.