I'm working on an article about a 24-hour trip I made in 1966, when I was 15:
RI No. 9, Iowa City-Des Moines; CB&Q mixed No. 28, Des Moines-Albia; Q No. 10,
Albia-Burlington; RI No. 201, Burlington-West Liberty; and back on No. 9 W.
Lib.-Iowa City.
The crew on board No. 28, the "Capital City Limited," told me that some of the
track I was riding on would soon be underwater. Were they right? I remember the
Albia station being red brick, but another source said it was wooden. The Albia
station made an impression on me because it appeared to be segregated--not by
race, but by sex--with the men's waiting room resembling the "colored" waiting
rooms of the South. I suspect this segregation wasn't enforced, but I wondered
whether a foreign anthropologist visiting the depot might have concluded that
America was a matriarchal society.
I recall a sign outside the Fairfield station proclaiming the town the "Home of
Parsons College--the notorious "Flunk-Out U." that later was sold to the
Maharishi.
Memory can play tricks after 35 years. I'd appreciate any help from the group.
Steve Wylder
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