William Butler Ogden was an American politician and railroad executive who served as the first Mayor of Chicago. He was referred to as "the Astor of Chicago." He was,at one time,the city's richest citizen. He brought the Galena &Chicago Union RR out of insolvency and was it's first president in 1847. He created the Chicago &North Western Railway from the failed remains of the Chicago,St.Paul,Fond du Lac and was it's first president in 1859. He spearheaded the 1st transcontinental railroad as the Union Pacific and was it's first president in 1862 [although he relinquished that position due to health.]
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage,that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies along a continuous route. Although Europe is crisscrossed by railways,the railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental,with the possible exception of the historic Orient Express. Transcontinental railroads helped open up interior regions of continents not previously colonized to exploration and settlement that would not otherwise have been feasible. In many cases they also formed the backbones of cross-country passenger and freight transportation networks. Many of them continue to have an important role in freight transportation and some like the Trans-Siberian Railway even have passenger trains going from one end to the other.
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County,Iowa,United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 census,making it the state's tenth most populous city,and the most populous city in Southwest Iowa. The Omaha metropolitan region of which Council Bluffs is a part,is the 58th largest in the United States,with an estimated population of 983,969 (2023). It is located on the east bank of the Missouri River,across from Omaha,Nebraska. Until about 1853 Council Bluffs was known as Kanesville. Kanesville was the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail. Kanesville is also the northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails because there was a steam-powered boat which ferried the settlers' wagons and cattle across the Missouri River. In 1869,the first transcontinental railroad to California was connected to the existing U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs.
Luzerne is a city in Benton County,Iowa,United States. The population was 112 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Dunlap is a city in Harrison and Crawford counties,Iowa,United States,along the Boyer River. The population was 1,038 at the time of the 2020 census.
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles (51,800 km) routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF,with which it shares a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western,Midwestern and West South Central United States.
The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was the first railroad constructed out of Chicago,intended to provide a shipping route between Chicago and the lead mines near Galena,Illinois. The railroad company was chartered on January 16,1836,but financial difficulties delayed construction until 1848. While the main line never reached Galena,construction to Freeport,Illinois,allowed it to connect with the Illinois Central Railroad,thus providing an indirect route to Galena. A later route went to Clinton,Iowa.
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,CB&Q,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".
The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago,Minneapolis,Omaha,and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad. Through mergers and new construction,the railroad,named Chicago Great Western after 1892,quickly became a multi-state carrier. One of the last Class I railroads to be built,it competed against several other more well-established railroads in the same territory,and developed a corporate culture of innovation and efficiency to survive.
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track at the turn of the 20th century,and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972,when the employees purchased the company,it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway.
The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad,backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontinental railroad was being constructed by the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific,it tried and failed to join the transcontinental ranks. It was originally the "Union Pacific,Eastern Division",although it was completely independent. The Pennsylvania Railroad,working with Missouri financiers,designed it as a feeder line to the transcontinental system. The owners lobbied heavily in Washington for money to build a railroad from Kansas City to Colorado,and then to California. It failed to get funding to go west of Colorado. It operated many of the first long-distance lines in the state of Kansas in the 1870s,extending the national railway network westward across that state and into Colorado. Its main line furnished a principal transportation route that opened up settlement of the central Great Plains,and its link from Kansas City to Denver provided the last link in the coast-to-coast railway network in 1870. The railroad was consolidated with the Union Pacific in 1880,and its mainline continues to be an integral part of the Union Pacific network today.
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company,known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt",was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis,Missouri,and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas,Tennessee,Louisiana,and Texas from 1891 to 1980,when the system added the Rock Island's Golden State Route and operations in Kansas,Oklahoma,and New Mexico. The Cotton Belt operated as a Southern Pacific subsidiary from 1932 until 1992,when its operation was assumed by Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad was the first railroad in Iowa. It was chartered in 1853 to build a line between Davenport,Iowa,on the Mississippi River and Council Bluffs,Iowa,on the Missouri River. The railroad was the first west of the Mississippi river to join by bridge to the East. It played an important role in the construction of the First transcontinental railroad although the competing Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad under lease to the Chicago &North Western railroad actually became the first Iowa railroad to reach Council Bluffs from the Mississippi River. Thomas C. Durant,vice president of the Union Pacific Railroad,owned stock in both.
The Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad was a railroad chartered to run from Cedar Rapids,Iowa to Council Bluffs,Iowa on the Missouri River. Under lease by the Chicago &North Western Railroad,it was the first railroad to reach Council Bluffs opposite Omaha Nebraska,and the eastern terminus of the First transcontinental railroad. It was one of four railroads that were built as result of the Iowa Land Bill of 1856 that gave land grants for railroads.
Railroads in Omaha,Nebraska,have been integral to the growth and development of the city,the state of Nebraska,the Western United States and the entire United States. The convergence of many railroad forces upon the city was by happenstance and synergy,as none of the Omaha leaders had a comprehensive strategy for bringing railroads to the city.
The Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. states of Iowa and Nebraska. Built as a connection from Sioux City,Iowa to the Union Pacific Railroad at Fremont,Nebraska,it became part of the Chicago and North Western Railway system in the 1880s,and is now a main line of the Union Pacific (UP). The east–west portion from Fremont to Missouri Valley,Iowa,is the Blair Subdivision,carrying mainly westbound UP trains,and the line from California Junction,Iowa north to Sioux City is the Sioux City Subdivision.
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area,including track in the states of Ohio,Indiana,Illinois,Iowa,Michigan,and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago,Illinois;Kansas City,Missouri;Detroit,Michigan;Buffalo,New York;St. Louis,Missouri;and Toledo,Ohio.
Edward Higginson Williams was an American physician and railroad executive known for his philanthropy.
The Overland Limited was an American named passenger train which for much of its history was jointly operated by three railroads on the Overland Route between San Francisco and Chicago. The Southern Pacific Railroad handled the train west of Ogden,Utah,the Union Pacific Railroad between Ogden and Omaha,Nebraska/Council Bluffs,Iowa,and east of the Missouri River to Chicago it was operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway as well as,for a few years starting in 1955,by the Chicago,Milwaukee,St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.
Marion station was a railroad station in Marion,Iowa. It served passenger trains of the Chicago,Milwaukee,St. Paul and Pacific Railroad,commonly known as the Milwaukee Road. After passenger train service was discontinued,elements of the station were moved across the street to City Square Park,where it remains as a pavilion today. The structure is listed as a non-contributing property by the National Register of Historic Places in the Marion Commercial Historic District.
