Central Iowa Railway

Last updated

Central Iowa Railway (formally named the Central Iowa Transportation Cooperative) was a 63-mile (101-km) freight railroad that operated during 1974 from Hills, Iowa to Montezuma, Iowa.

Contents

History

On February 22, 1974, the Central Iowa Railway took over operations of a 63.41-mile (102.05-km) branch line that its owners had purchased from the line's former owner, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The Central Iowa operated in Amish-settled country and had one locomotive: a 600-horsepower EMD SW1 that formerly had been owned by the Burlington Northern Railroad. The railroad's founders gave the blue and black SW1 locomotive the unusual unit number of J33-3 after verse 33:3 in the Book of Jeremiah in the Bible, which says, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." [1]

The Central Iowa Railway was headquartered at 425 B Avenue in Kalona, Iowa, and its president was Harlan A. Stubbs (1909-2003). Extending south and west from Hills, the railroad's freight stations were in the towns of Hills, Riverside, Kalona, Wellman, Kinross, South English, Webster, Keswick, Thornburg, Gibson, Barnes City and finally, Montezuma. [2]

The Central Iowa Railway was short-lived; it couldn't cover its costs and suspended operations in October 1974. [3]

The Central Iowa Railway is not to be confused with the Des Moines and Central Iowa Railway, which now is part of the Union Pacific Railroad, or with the Central Railroad of Iowa, which operated in Iowa in the 1800s. [4]

Abandonment

The federal government formally approved abandonment of the Central Iowa Railway's entire 63.4-mile line between Hills and Montezuma on May 4, 1978. [3] The tracks were later removed. A small section of track just south of Hills, Iowa remained in place until it was removed in June 1992, however.

Today

The Central Iowa Railway's line never was brought back into service, and its right-of-way largely reverted to adjacent farms. However, the Central Iowa's connection to the outside world, at Hills, changed hands in 1980, when the trustees of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad sold the Rock Island's 7-mile line between Hills and Iowa City to the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway. The CRANDIC owns the Hills-Iowa City line to the present day. Until 2018 the line was operated by the Iowa Interstate Railroad from its own yard in Iowa City. Since then the CRANDIC has once again assumed operations with a captive locomotive interchanging cars with the IAIS at Iowa City.

Related Research Articles

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Defunct American Class I railway

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".

Grand Trunk Western Railroad American railroad

The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding company, the Grand Trunk Corporation. Grand Trunk Western's routes are part of CN's Michigan Division. Its primary mainline between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan serves as a connection between railroad interchanges in Chicago and rail lines in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The railroad's extensive trackage in Detroit and across southern Michigan has made it an essential link for the automotive industry as a hauler of parts and automobiles from manufacturing plants.

The I&M Rail Link was a railroad operating in the north central portion of the United States. The company commenced operations on April 5, 1997, acquiring lines from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Soo Line Railroad.

EMD SW1

The EMD SW1 is a 600-horsepower (450 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation between December 1938 and November 1953. Final assembly was at EMD's plant at LaGrange (McCook) Illinois. The SW1 was the second generation of 3,402 cu in (55.75 L) switcher from EMD, succeeding the SC and SW. The most significant change from those earlier models was the use of an engine of EMD's own design, the then-new 567 engine, here in 600 hp (450 kW) V6 form. 661 locomotives of this design were built, with a gap in production between March 1943 and September 1945 due to World War II.

Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Shortline railroad in Iowa

The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway, also known as the CRANDIC, is a Class III railroad operating in the US state of Iowa.

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway

The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) was an American Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota for 90 years from 1870 to 1960. The railway never reached St. Louis but its North Star Limited passenger train ran to that city via the Wabash Railroad.

Willamette Valley Railway

The Willamette Valley Railway is a short-line railroad that operates in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. It leased a line from Woodburn to Stayton from the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in February 1993, as well as a branch from Geer west to Salem, and purchased the property in 1996. The company also leased a line between Albany and Mill City in 1993, but transferred the lease to the Albany and Eastern Railroad in October 2000.

The Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad was a 17-mile (27 km) heritage railroad headquartered in Dodge County, Nebraska and, offered excursion services on the line. Its equipment is now owned by the Nebraska Railroad Museum.

Railroad electrification in the United States began at the turn of the 20th century and comprised many different systems in many different geographical areas, few of which were connected. Despite this situation, these systems shared a small number of common reasons for electrification.

Arizona Eastern Railway

The Arizona Eastern Railway is a Class III railroad that operates 265 miles (426 km) of railroad between Clifton, Arizona, and Miami, Arizona, in the United States. This includes trackage rights over the Union Pacific Railroad between Lordsburg, New Mexico, and Bowie, Arizona. The railroad serves the copper mining region of southeastern Arizona, and the agricultural Gila River Valley. Primary commodities are sulfuric acid, copper concentrate, copper anode and cathode, and copper rod and other copper processing materials. AZER also handles minerals, chemicals, building supplies and lumber. The railroad offers a transload location for lumber, building materials and other consumer commodities at Globe, Arizona.

Tidewater Southern Railway

The Tidewater Southern Railway was a short line railroad in Central California in the United States. For most of its history, it was a subsidiary of the Western Pacific Railroad. It was originally built as an interurban system, connecting to the Central California Traction Company, Western Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in Stockton, California. Its mainline went southeast from Stockton to Escalon, California and thence to Modesto, California before splitting into two branches ending at the towns of Turlock and Hilmar. Until the mid-1930s, there were plans to extend the line to Fresno and even toward the Los Angeles area. Today, much of the line is still operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. Of all the former interurban railroads in California, the former Tidewater Southern retains the highest percentage of still operating trackage.

Cadillac and Lake City Railway

The Cadillac & Lake City Railway was a railroad which operated in the Midwestern United States. The operation was owned by Western States Properties, Inc. and several investors who operated lines in three states; Colorado, Kansas, and Michigan during its time.

Burlington Junction Railway

The Burlington Junction Railway is a Class III short line railroad which was chartered in 1985. Originally operating on the southernmost 3 miles (4.8 km) of the former Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway mainline in Burlington, Iowa after abandonment by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it provides short freight hauling, switching operations, locomotive repair, and transloading services, the latter currently handling over 3,000 carloads a year. Typical commodity types transported include chemicals and fertilizer. The BJRY's primary interchange partner is the BNSF Railway.

Iowa Northern Railway

The Iowa Northern Railway is a Class III shortline railroad operating in the U.S. state of Iowa.

Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway

The Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway is a Class III common carrier shortline railroad that operates in the cities of Marion and Herrin in the Southern Illinois region. It is most historically recognized by the FRA for being the last U.S. railroad of any kind to use steam locomotives exclusively in regular revenue freight service up until 1986.

The Muscatine and Iowa City Railway was a short-lived railroad that leased several lines in southeastern Iowa in 1916 from the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. Those lines had been built in the 1870s and 1880s by predecessors of the Rock Island, and were mostly abandoned in the 1970s.

Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway

The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in turn, the result of merging several predecessor lines, the construction of which began in 1869. The corporate headquarters were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it had operations in Iowa and in Minnesota. It was succeeded by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.

Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway

The Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway, nicknamed through most of its history as The Saltair Route, is a short line railroad located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally incorporated as a dual passenger and freight railroad, it now provides freight-only railcar switching services to industries in Salt Lake City along its sixteen miles of track.

The Thermal Belt Railway is a Class III shortline railroad that operates for freight service on an irregular schedule on a former CSX line from Bostic to Forest City and on a former Norfolk Southern line from Forest City to Alexander Mills, North Carolina. Total mileage is 8.5 miles (13.7 km). Connections are made with CSX at Bostic. Rail is 85 pounds.

References

  1. Trains magazine, January 1974, p. 14.
  2. Laidlaw, Robert J. (1975). The Official Railway Guide. National Railway Publication Company. p. 114.
  3. 1 2 Lewis, Edward A. (1978). American Short Line Railway Guide. The Baggage Car. p. 123.
  4. "Central Iowa Railway Election". The New York Times. June 5, 1879. Retrieved April 28, 2010.