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 in 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.

Company route map

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

GE 44-ton (1941) / Des Moines, Ia / Feb 1959 / collection

Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern #502

builder:General Electric
model:44 tonner
type:B-B light switcher
built:Dec 1941, GE #15029
series:334 produced 1940-56
engine:(2) Cat D17000, 400 hp
notes:
blt New York Ontario & Western #102
to Mississippi Export
to Fernwood, Columbia & Gulf #D-5

Links / Sources

Ames Historical Society article on FDDM
Chicago & North Western Historical Society article on FDDM
Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad & Museum