Muscatine and Iowa City Railway
| Company type | Railroad company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | October 25, 1915 |
| Defunct | August 11, 1916 |
| Fate | Entered receivership and service ended; control reverted to Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway |
Area served | Southeastern Iowa, United States |
| Parent | Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway (leased lines) |
The Muscatine and Iowa City Railway was a brief-lived railroad enterprise that, in 1916, leased multiple southeastern Iowa rail segments from the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. These routes, initially constructed during the 1870s and 1880s by predecessors of the Rock Island line, were largely discontinued by the 1970s.
History
The Muscatine Western Railroad was established on May 23, 1870, with the objective of extending rail service westward from Muscatine, Iowa to the Missouri River. This was part of the envisioned New York City-Council Bluffs Continental Railway.[1] Construction commenced on April 21, 1872; shortly thereafter, on May 27, the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway (BCR&M) took over its assets and franchise rights. The inaugural train journeyed on July 2 between Muscatine and the BCR&M mainline at Nichols, with tracks reaching Riverside by late 1873.[2] However, following the financial crisis known as the Panic of 1873, BCR&M defaulted on bond interest payments and halted any further expansion beyond Riverside.[3]
The Iowa City and Western Railway was incorporated in 1878 to construct a line westward from Iowa City through the English River valley to Montezuma. The segment from Iowa City to What Cheer was completed in 1879, followed by the stretch from Thornburg to Montezuma in 1880,[4] relegating the original Thornburg-What Cheer portion to branch status. Control and leasing of this railway soon passed to the BCR&M successor, the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N), linking it with the former Muscatine Western line near Riverside.[5] In June 1902, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway (CRI&P) leased BCR&N,[6] acquiring both its assets and those of Iowa City and Western by mid-1903.[7]
Formed on October 25, 1915, the Muscatine and Iowa City Railway took on lease of these CRI&P routes effective January 1, 1916: from Muscatine to Montezuma; Iowa Junction (near Riverside) to Iowa City; and Thornburg to What Cheer. The company intended to transition from steam-powered engines to gas-electric locomotives for freight services and deploy self-propelled gas-electric motor cars for passenger transport.[8] Its operations persisted for less than a year before entering receivership on July 1; service ended on August 11 with control reverting back to Rock Island.[9]
By 1938, CRI&P had abandoned most of the eastern section between Muscatine and Iowa Junction except for a branch running Nichols to Lone Tree that remained active until 1958. The What Cheer branch was discontinued in 1957. The remaining stretch from Iowa City to Montezuma remained operational until sold in 1972 to the Central Iowa Railway, which soon terminated its operations.[10] Presently, a short segment at Iowa City is managed by the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway.
References
- ↑ American Railroad Manual, 1873, p. 486
- ↑ S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Volume I, 1911
- ↑ Henry V. Poor, Manual of the Railroads of the United States, 1876-77
- ↑ Nineteenth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners for the Year Ending June 30, 1896
- ↑ Henry V. Poor, Manual of the Railroads of the United States, 1880
- ↑ Poor's Railroad Manual Company, Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, 1903
- ↑ Template:Val rep
- ↑ Railway Age Gazette, November 12, 1915
- ↑ Electric Railway Journal, November 4, 1916
- ↑ Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Railroad Abandonments Log, September 17, 2008