KALONA
A few feet of railroad track, just a piece of local history cut from the original rail line that created Kalona in 1879, was saved nearly a century later when all track left town, and then …
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KALONA
A few feet of railroad track, just a piece of local history cut from the original rail line that created Kalona in 1879, was saved nearly a century later when all track left town, and then forgotten, only to be found by chance in a local residential garage in late 2023.
Officially presented to the Kalona Historical Village’s managing director Nancy Roth Friday, Dec. 22 by Emil Schlabaugh, the mounted track with the two spikes that once held in it in place will be displayed in the Village’s Visitors Center. But when full restoration of the now 144-year-old depot is done next year, the artifact may reunite with the building that, with the piece of iron, began what is now the second largest city in the county.
Back in 1970, Emil Schlabaugh, who will be 97 this month, was among the volunteers who set up the depot’s foundation for the very first structure in the now 16-building and more than three-block long village along Highway 22. He said he believes the track segments went to the volunteers, as souvenirs, sometime after track’s complete removal and sale of the railroad right of way. Between the time of the original railroad and its removal, there was brief operation of an investor-owned Hills to Montezuma line.
Prior to his moving to Pleasantview, Schlabaugh’s family members, including grandson Ryan Schlabaugh, helped sort through his things, and in the process the mounted railroad memorabilia was discovered in the garage. There is no official record of how many were distributed, but he thought it was “several”. It is likely there could be others in the area.
The depot renovation will see a track installed on the south side of the depot, complete with a railroad car. Of course, its route will be measured in feet, not anywhere near the 66 miles it had as part of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway.
Besides his involvement with the track and depot, Emil Schlabaugh was a building contractor who built a number of the buildings in the city, and was joined in the business by his sons, who continued with it after his retirement.
