I've long been a vocal proponent of Tsunami decoders, and especially their ability to be configured with a working independent brake and coast/idle function.  I even went so far as to remove and sell the Loksound decoders from four Intermountain factory-equipped SD40-2s and use the proceeds to buy replacement Tsunamis.  I'd heard that ESU was working on adding support of similar braking and coast functions, but Tsunamis already had it, so I foolishly thought the best ESU would do was to "catch up".

A mere 16 years after starting layout construction, I'm finally to the point of tackling what I consider the signature scene of my prototype, what the IAIS refers to as "the High Bridge", on the east edge of Council Bluffs.  My hobby progress has been crawling along at a snail's pace in recent months, so this could take a while, but I'm really looking forward to finally recreating one of my favorite places on the IAIS.

Bird's eye view of the High Bridge courtesy of Bing Maps:

 I've been an MRH Forum member for almost 7 years now, but didn't start a blog here until about 3-1/2 years ago.  I do a lot of analytics and number-crunching at work and find that sort of thing interesting, so every year or so, I think it's fun to go through my blog summary "Reads" count at http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/blog/joe-atkinson just to see what subjects might have caught people's attention the most relative to one another.

For the past several years I've been enjoying the work of Frank Grizel, a very talented eastern Iowa photographer and painter.  Last February I contacted Frank about commissioning a painting for the entry into my layout room, and this week he finished it.  The painting depicts three of my favorite IAIS locomotives - SD38-2 2809, GP7M 400, and GP38-2 709 - leading a westbound grain extra over the High Bridge on the east edge of Council Bluffs.

At Hancock, Iowa, the Iowa Interstate's main passes over Hwy. 59 and the remains of the former RI Oakland branch.  The purpose of this post is to document construction of my model of this ex-RI bridge, warts and all.

I've had a thing for GP30s ever since that day in 1987 when I got a cab ride in UP 804 - my first such ride in a diesel.  That day convinced me (for a time) that I was meant to be a UP modeler, and while I didn't yet have a layout, I later modeled the 804.  My very first kitbash, that project consumed my limited hobby time through two busy years following college.  

My favorite IAIS locomotives aren't, well...IAIS locomotives.  I've always liked second-generation EMD SDs, so when LLPX SD38-2s 2802, 2805, 2807, and 2809 were leased, and later purchased, by the IAIS, they became naturals as future modeling subjects.  

With my IAIS locomotive roster projects winding down, one of the last remaining road units to build was SD38-2 2809.  It joins sisters 2802 and 2805, so I thought I'd include photos of all three in the post below for comparison.

A couple years ago I set out to find models of HO scale anhydrous ammonia wagons, called "nurse tanks", such as those shown below, from http://daltonag.com/dnn/daltonag.com/Portals/0/DNNGallery/uploads/2015/4/16/WN%20Series.jpg :

Several months ago, I got a great deal on an Athearn Genesis UP GP38-2 in the original UP scheme.  This post documents the steps I took to update this model to represent a battle-worn 2005-era UP unit that operated on the IAIS.

The 2-mile-long Atlantic Spur has long been a bit of a thorn in my side.  Its location puts it in an aisle on my layout, so I've never been able to really do it justice, only modeling about the first 30" of the spur.  Which means I've never been able to model ADM's Harlan Elevator at the end of the spur (see http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/18055 ).