The date that the Midwest Electric Railway began service is a somewhat unclear. The official history of the Midwest Old Threshers states that two cars were acquired during 1968 but they had to await the construction of a car barn and tracks. The trolley barn is recorded as being erected during 1968. The Southern Iowa Railway number 9 is reported as operating during the 1971 season with the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern 381 arriving during 1973. During 1974 it is reported that the trackage beyond the car barn is extended 4,400 feet giving a total length of 1.1 miles (this would include a platform at the Log Village site). The 1975 season sees the first operation of four trolley cars by the Midwest Electric Railway which suggests that the full loop had been completed.

In this collection we first take a trip around the complete loop of the line, seeing not only the four operating trolleys but also some of the infrastructure, before we return to the Car Barn to take a look at some of the other rolling stock on site.