Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is located on the east bank of the Missouri River, across from the city of Omaha, Nebraska. Council Bluffs was known, until at least 1853, as Kanesville. It was the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail. Kanesville is also the northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails, since there was a steam-powered boat to ferry their 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.
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York City Metropolitan Area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the original routes of the Interstate Highway System; its final segment was opened in 1986. The second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States after I-90, it runs through many major cities, including Oakland, Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Des Moines, and Toledo, and passes within 10 miles (16 km) of Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City.
Bureau Junction, usually called Bureau, is a village in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 322 at the 2010 census. The village name is shown as both "Bureau Junction" and "Bureau" on federal maps, and is commonly called "Bureau", including by phone companies and the United States Post Office. It is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statistical Area. Bureau Junction was the point where the Rock Island Line railroad's branch line to Peoria split. Track west and south of Bureau is operated by Iowa Interstate, while tracks east to Chicago were formerly operated by CSX but are currently leased to Iowa Interstate.
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.
The Iowa Interstate Railroad is a Class II regional railroad operating in the central United States. The railroad is owned by Railroad Development Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, southwest to Joliet. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are "Rocket Red". This refers to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad's Rocket passenger trains.
The Porter Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the Chicago, Illinois, area. Formerly a part of the main line of the Michigan Central Railroad, it now connects CSX's former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line and the Chicago Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad from the east with the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad towards Blue Island, Illinois.
The Keokuk Junction Railway Co., is a Class III railroad in the U.S. states of Illinois and Iowa. It is a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp.
The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a switching and terminal railroad that handles traffic in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. It is co-owned by several Class I railroads that reach the city.
Joliet Union Station is a former train station in Joliet, Illinois that served Amtrak long-distance and Metra commuter trains. It was replaced by the new Joliet Transportation Center in 2018, a train station that was constructed adjacent to the Union Station's location. Train service to Joliet Union Station permanently ceased in September 2014. The station is 37.0 miles (59.5 km) from Chicago Union Station on the Heritage Corridor, and 40.1 miles (64.5 km) from Chicago LaSalle St. Station on the Rock Island District.
Iowa Highway 92 (Iowa 92) is a state highway that runs from east to west across the state of Iowa. Iowa 92 is 279 miles (449 km) long. It begins at the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, where it is a continuation of Nebraska Highway 92. It stretches across the state and serves to roughly demarcate the southern one-third of Iowa. It ends at the Mississippi River in Muscatine where it continues into Illinois as Illinois Route 92. In 1939, Iowa 92 replaced the original Iowa 2 in its entirety.
The Barr Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Indiana and Illinois. The line runs from Willow Creek, west to Blue Island, Illinois, along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. At its east end, it junctions with the Porter Subdivision and Garrett Subdivision; its west end is at the south end of the Blue Island Subdivision, with access to the New Rock Subdivision via trackage rights over the Metra Rock Island District and access to the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. Junctions exist with the Lake Subdivision at Pine Junction in Gary, Indiana and with the Chicago Heights Subdivision at Harvey Junction.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Passenger Station is a historic building located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Built in 1898 for passenger use, it was the second depot in the city. The first one was built by the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, a predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P), in 1855. This one was built through the efforts of Harry Breene, the local Rock Island agent. W.K. McFarlin, CRI&P's superintendent of maintenance and construction oversaw the building's construction. Architecturally, it is a combination of the Richardsonian Romanesque and Victorian Romanesque. The depot was built to similar designs of stations in Ottawa, Illinois, and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Service included the CRI&P's Corn Belt Rocket and Rocky Mountain Rocket passenger lines. The depot ceased operations in 1970, although the railroad continued to maintain offices here. In 1982 it was acquired by a couple of attorneys for their offices. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places the same year. The building sits adjacent to the Iowa Interstate Railroad lines, and the railroad has operated occasional excursion trains that have stopped at the former depot.
Morris station was a Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway station in Morris, Illinois. Unlike many old stations, the depot is still standing on the south side of the track just west of Route 47. The tracks were built by the Rock Island Line in 1853. The single track line is now on the CSX New Rock Subdivision. Across the tracks is the former Illinois Terminal Railway station house, now used as a business. The station is considered for service on Amtrak's proposed Chicago—Moline—Iowa City line. There is speculation that Metra's Rock Island District will be extended to Morris.
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.
Seneca station was a Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad station in the small town of Seneca, Illinois. It was located on the south side of the track, just west of Main Street. The station is just west of a passing siding, one of only a few on the CSX New Rock Subdivision. The tracks also form a wye with a branch line to the Illinois River starting there. That line is rented by CSX, which has a lease with the International Mining Company until 2030.
Peru – LaSalle station was a Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad station situated between the towns of Peru and LaSalle, Illinois. The station building—which still exists as a lawn and garden center—is located on the north side of the track, on 1st Street. LaSalle/Peru was the original eastern terminus of the Rock Island Line, as it first traveled from Rock Island, Illinois to connect with the Illinois and Michigan Canal. "The Rock" was eventually liquidated, and now the track is operated by CSX, with the Iowa Interstate Railway getting some service via trackage rights.
IL 23 / IL 71 (Columbus Street) 
