Ted Larson wrote: Should I assume that Iowa coal came straight from the coal
fields via rail?

Yes, maybe. Most rural locations had no way to unload hoppers. The gondola
loaded with coal was shoveled into sheds. These sheds had sliding doors tracked.
The bottoms of the doors were well above track height. There were doors on the
back of the sheds at ground level for loading trucks. The shed had several bins
with separate doors for different grades of coal.

Why was the coal from the twin ports in boxcars rather than hoppers?
I would assume to keep it from freezing. One of the local cement plants
received a hopper of iron ore in the winter. It took six weeks to unload! I can
list all the box car loads on coal from Fairfax MN, there were alot. It has been
mentioned on this list that there was a special elevator for loading coal into
box cars.

Does anybody know the source of lime for agricultural use?
It too is a fertilizer, but has to be applied very sparingly. I've been told it
will 'burn' the soil.

This car of phosphate was loaded from a barge at the Mississippi river terminal
at Keithburg Iowa 11/24/59 M&StL 54356 XM phosphate

These three car loads are from the M&StL Fairfax MN agent's seal book.
4/2/48 CofG 6941 PHOSPHATE XM 6300-6999 FARMERS COOP
4/5/48 IHB 10140 PHOSPHATE XM 10000-10599 RENVILLE,SIBLEY AGENT
1/12/48 L&A 16014 PHOSPHATE XM 16001-16300 PACIFIC GRAIN
Clark Propst