Dear Readers,

Our brother Joe worked in the railroad industry for his entire career and in retirement is involved in the railway museum. Here is a notice and some photos he sent about a tour around the state:

"Columbia, Missouri Come join us on this First Iowa Division ride which runs northeast from Columbia to Centralia on an ex-Wabash track. We will set on beginning at 6:30am and have a scheduled 8:00am departure for the first run. Our set on location is at Boone County Mill Works which is located in downtown Columbia. Take the Rangeline Rd. exit from I-70 and drive south until the T intersection with Rogers St. Turn left and the set on is about a half block in the Boone Co. Millworks facility. We will run this line two times during the day. Each run is approximately 44 miles round trip so we will have a total for the day of about 88 miles. There is a Lee's Chicken across the street from the tracks for our lunch break. Cost of this ride is $45 per car. There are several motels in Columbia with many at the junction of I-70 and Hwy 63. There is a Super 8 (800-800-8000 or 573-474-8488), Ramada Inn (537-449-0051), and Econo Lodge (573-442-1191) just to name a few. Dave Pratt (515-674-3803) is the Excursion Coordinator for this ride. Contact Carl Schneider at 515-967-5181 or e-mail motorcarl@mchsi.com for more information. This is a Narcoa-insured ride and all Narcoa rules apply."

For those nostalgic about riding a train, here is your opportunity.