At the height of the 1993 midwestern flooding many railroads are under water and scrambling to find detour routes to maintain service. At the time, the Chicago & NorthWestern is one of the few (if not the only) line still providing a thru route between the Missouri River at Omaha and Chicago.
On a less than spectacular day, eastbound Amtrak #6, the California Zephyr is shown passing thru Logan, Iowa led by Metra E8-A #518. Because Amtrak's F40PH's are not equipped with the required cab signals, four Metra (ex C&NW) E-units have been returned to service to lead the detour trains. The 518, built as C&NW 5030A in June, 1953 lends a touch of class and a dash of color to the otherwise standard Amtrak consist operating at the time.
Later that summer, as flood waters receded, Amtrak returned to their normal BN routing across Iowa and the vintage passenger diesels returned to storage once more. Still in existance, the 518 survives painted in Illinois Central passenger colors lettered Iowa Pacific and is currently operating on the Saratoga & North Creek in Saratoga Springs, NY.
