MARION, Iowa (KCRG) -

The city unveiled its first “Pocket Park,” a mini park with substantial features, on Monday at Draper Park.

Railroads are a big part of the city of Marion’s history. According to the city, more than 50 trains would come through town each day.

The train crossing signs and the caboose that once stood in Uptown now make up the new ‘Draper Park’ along Grant Wood Trail. For train enthusiast Sam Dillon, this is a reminder of Marion’s long history with the Milwaukee Railroad, which ran along the trail decades ago.

“The Milwaukee was an important East-West line that gathered grain from Chicago to the Pacific Coast,” said Dillon.

He spent 30 years living in Marion and remembered the former switcher that was at the park’s location. This ribbon-cutting will keep that histor

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