Making IAISRailfans.org Possible

IAISRailfans.org is made possible by a whole community of people, far too numerous to individually credit here. The Iowa Interstate list has dozens and dozens of active contributors, and a good portion of this site is gleaned from information they provide. First, I should recognize those that I don't have specific biographies for, or who haven't contributed directly as much as provided all the basic knowledge needed to get here. There are far too many to credit, but one of these days as I get time I'll try to work through the list.

However, we thought you might be interested in quick bios of the usual suspects around here who have significant contributions to the website, so we started a quick list of contributors and a way to contact them. That way, if you find you have a question about one of their photos, etc., you can contact them directly. If a contributor is not listed below, email us and we will forward the question to the appropriate person.

Nathan Holmes    
Co-maintainer of the IAIS site. Nathan should really add some details. Otherwise, we may have to make up something... :)

Photo License: Creative Commons

Michael Petersen  
Co-maintainer of the IAIS site. I was born and raised in Altoona, IA. Sometime in the spring of 1992 at age 14, I suddenly realized that it could be fun to watch and photograph those trains running through town. So began a hobby... That summer I met the crew who did the nightly Des Moines / Pella turn out of Newton. Since I was around EVERY night they came through (my new scanner sure came in handy), I eventually got to know them pretty well and was invited into the cab whenever they had a decent amount of switching in town (most nights). That experience hooked me on the Iowa Interstate.

When I went to college in the fall of 1996, my ability to railfan the IAIS was severely curtailed. However my interest in the railroad didn't diminish. Nathan and I met in the fall of 1996 while working on the ISU Solar Car Project and realized we had a mutual interest in the IAIS. Thus began this site... in a much simpler form.

My wife Heather and I were married in 1999 and I graduated in 2001 with a Masters in Electrical Engineering. I took a job with Maxim Integrated Products and we subsequently moved to Colorado Springs and have lived here since. Obviously distance has made railfanning the IAIS on a regular basis somewhat difficult. However, through the wonderful resources of the IAIS list it's been easy to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings. Lately, I've been working on a layout plan for an N-scale module set based on Altoona... hopefully soon, but no promises.

Photo License: Creative Commons

Joe Atkinson  
I grew up in Council Bluffs and graduated from high school in 1984, the year Iowa Interstate came into existence, but I rarely paid any attention to it back then, since I was a die-hard UP fan. However, the mergers of the mid-1990s left me increasingly dissatisfied with modeling that road, or any class 1. The summer of 2000 seemed to be a time for fresh starts, though, as it was then that my wife and I got divorced, then remarried again, and it was on our honeymoon that we spent the night in Atlantic, Iowa.

Wandering around the town together and admiring the ex-Rock Island depot and yard there, then later driving along the IAIS on our way to dinner in Anita, the idea of modeling what is now my favorite railroad was born. The next day, on our way back to Council Bluffs, we decided to take the "scenic route", so we got off I-80 and explored the back roads that took us along the IAIS main. The scenery was beautiful, and it wasn't long before I was developing a layout plan in my head. Within a week I made the decision to tear down my existing UP-based layout and move ahead with depicting the IAIS between Atlantic and Council Bluffs in HO scale.

Soon after, I discovered the IAIS e-mail list and Nathan and Michael's web site, and met a number of very friendly, helpful employees and fans. It's been the blessings of those friendships that have made modeling and chasing this railroad so fun and interesting.

Erik Rasmussen    
I was born in August of 1984, mere months before the IAIS ran its first train, in Moline, Illinois. I went to school in the Rock Island school district and spent grades 2 through 6 at Earl Hanson Elementary which is adjacent to the Milan Branch. I spent many recesses on the swingset overlooking the Milan Branch and saw the 250 drag cars to Milan just about everyday. I fell in love with the 250 and eventually the entire IAIS when I obtained my drivers license.

I am currently in my second year at Black Hawk Community College in Moline going through their Pre-Engineering program and plan on transfering in the Fall of 2005 to Northern Illinois University to study Electrical Engineering. I keep close tabs on the IAIS and enjoy overlooking their operations, especially between Bureau and Iowa City. I'm currently building an S-guage roster of the IAIS for my eventual recreation of IAIS's First Sub, but that will have to wait until I'm in my own place. With the combination of friendly folks on the IAIS and my overall joy of the entire railroad, I can't help but call the IAIS my favorite.

Harold Mickley (The Restless Railfan)  
Harold Mickley - The Restless Railfan - is a fan who hails from from Cleveland, OH. He's helped us out catching several of the new ES44ACs moving through on NS train 145. Be sure to check out the rest of his photos on his website [here].