The Iowa Traction Railway Company (reporting mark IATR) is a class III common carrier shortline railroad, operating 10.4 miles (16.7 km) of track connecting Mason City and Clear Lake, Iowa. However, since 2020, most of the railroad's traffic travels on only 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of track within Mason City.
Originally founded in 1896 as the Mason City and Clear Lake Railway (a passenger carrier), but since 1937 it has been exclusively freight. It is one of the only remaining freight railroads in the United States to use electric locomotives.
Iowa Traction Railway 50-Ton Steeplecab 50, built in October 1920 by Baldwin-Westinghouse, has just picked up a cut of grain hoppers for the AGP elevator across 19th Street SW. IATR 50 was built by Baldwin-Westinghouse in October 1920 as Washington & Old Dominion 50. In 1948 it became Cedar Rapids & Iowa City (as CRIC 58), and in 1956 was sold to Kansas City’s Kaw Valley & Western (KVW 507). In 1963 it was sold again, this time to Iowa Terminal (ITR 50) and then Iowa Traction 50 in 1987. The diminutive locomotive is dwarfed by today's large covered hoppers.
