Pre-BSVY years The earliest origins of the BSVY trace back to 1893, when the Boone Valley Coal and Railroad Company—founded by businessman Hamilton Browne and headquartered in Boone—constructed a spur to mine and ship coal between
Fraser and Fraser Junction, Iowa, where they connected with the
Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. In 1902, the company was restructured as the Newton and North Western Railroad (N&NW) with a goal to expand their operations throughout Iowa, extending southward into
Des Moines and
Newton, expanding westward past
Rockwell City and into the
Dakotas, and connecting with other major railroads. In January 1904, the N&NW completed their southern extension to Boone, where they connected with the
Chicago and North Western Railway's (C&NW) former
Cedar Rapids and Missouri River line. A brief dispute over the Boone extension occurred: the N&NW initially laid rails on C&NW property, which in turn ordered for them to be ripped up, and then they were re-laid after Browne secured permission to use the property. Later that same year, Browne was forced to resign from the railroad, as it underwent a
takeover by
Boston-based capital firms H. T. Loring and Son and
H. V. and H. W. Poor Co.. In 1909, the N&NW was acquired by the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad (FDDMS), which electrified the line for
interurban service and expanded their freight operations, and they would later ship
gypsum along the route. In 1912, the FDDMS'
Des Moines River trestle near Fraser was collapsed from flooding, and a steel bridge was quickly built in its place. The wooden Bass Point Creek High Bridge was likewise replaced with a steel structure within 70 days. In 1954, a Fraser power plant that provided electricity for the FDDMS was forced into closure by another major flood, and the following year, the FDDMS was dieselized with
GE 70-ton switchers, and all their remaining passenger operations were discontinued. Also in 1954, the FDDMS fell under ownership of the Des Moines and Central Iowa (D&CI), owned by scrap dealer and shortline operator Murray Salzberg. In 1968, the D&CI and FDDMS were acquired and absorbed by the Chicago and North Western, which subsequently filed multiple petitions to abandon the trackage.
Formation and operations In 1982, a group called the
Save the Tracks fund was founded by local
jeweler George Eckstein and
bank officer Aaron Keller, who attended the abandonment hearings and offered to purchase of the line to prevent it from being ripped up. Today, more than 30,000 visitors take a ride on one of the regular or special event trains, including the
Day Out with Thomas (September), the Pumpkin Express (October), and Santa Express (weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas) that features a book written and illustrated especially for the trip. Dining cars are reserved for special dinner trains. ==Equipment==