Jeff Prater, of Ames, talks with Juan Trujillo, of Webster City, during IRROTA — or Iowa Railroads on the Air on Tuesday at Wilson Brewer Park in Webster City.

Huddled over their microphones, a handful of people occupied the picnic tables under the trees next to the old Illinois Central Depot at Wilson Brewer Park on Tuesday afternoon.

“CQ, CQ, CQ!”

They weren’t talking to themselves.

In fact, the members of the Hamilton County and the Story County Amateur Radio clubs, were talking to whoever they could find. CQ, CQ, CQ is amateur radio speak meaning, hey, there’s someone here. It’s used in rapid succession so that other operators scanning for such calls recognize the rhythmic sound.

The occasion was IRROTA — or Iowa Railroads on the Air.

Where’s the railroad, you ask?

Right there at the old Depot, which is a museum in Webster City.

Organized by the Great River Amateur Radio Club, which is in the Dubuque neighborhood, IRROTA began in July and is continuing through August 2022.

“This will be a great opportunity to remember Iowa’s railroad history and the railroad depots across the state,” Great River said in an online statement.

“Iowa has approximately 375 former railroad depots,” it said in its instructions to the radio enthusiasts. “Most have been abandoned, others are active railroad depots, some, such as the one in Dubuque have become museums, some have become business buildings, and some have been drug to other sites to serve other purposes.

“You can operate from any of these train depots.”

Jeff Prater, of Ames, an emeritus professor of music from Iowa State, thought bringing the group to the Webster City depot would serve a double purpose.

One, it would take part in IRROTA.

Two, it would honor his late grandfather Forrest (F.S.) Prater.

Forrest Prater, he explained, worked for the railroad in Webster City for 50 years, so that depot that Jeff Prater stood near on Tuesday was a bit like his grandfather’s second home.

He showed a photo of Forrest in the office.

“He came to Webster City in 1913 as a telegrapher,” Jeff Prater said.

But he worked a whole gamut of jobs, from ticket agent to station master. For a while, he said, he occupied the tower, which was sort of the command center at the railroad station.

“He pulled the levers that switched the track,” Jeff Prater recalled.

They were heavy.

When Forrest Prater retired in 1963, a letter from his boss, meaning the big boss, W.A. Johnston, president and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Central Railroad, thanked him for his dedication.

“It goes without saying, Mr. Prater, that you have been a real mainstay on our Iowa Division, as well as an asset to our railroad as a whole,” the letter said. “The qualities which you have exhibited in performing your duties — efficiency and capability — have distinguished you among your fellow workers. Few men can boast of a record such as the one you have established, and you have every right to be proud of it. It is difficult to fill the shoes of someone who has meant as much to the Illinois Central as you, and you will be missed. …”

Back when Forrest Prater retired, the Illinois Central Railroad called itself the Main Line of Mid-America.

Now, locally, its presence is marked by the old depot.

And the radio calls made from it on Tuesday. More than 50 contacts were logged, a number most fitting for the event.