Located on the Missouri River, Chamberlain had been the western terminus of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road) since 1881. With a new expansion, a pontoon bridge was built across the Missouri River, and the race to Rapid City was on.
In 1906, the railroad was further extended to Murdo, and reached Rapid City by 1907. By 1910, the Milwaukee Road fully engulfed the WRV.
This route became one of only two routes crossing the entire State of South Dakota. From Rapid City, plans were made to continue west, but these never materialized.
With the route dead ending at Rapid City, the route was a major cash hole to the railroad. Still reeling from a Pacific expansion made at the same time, the railroad was reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railway in 1913.
Traffic on the route was highly competitive, as the Chicago & North Western ran a main line just to the north, which roughly paralleled this route between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Rapid City.
Since this line became such a major expense, it was identified for abandonment in 1980, as the Milwaukee Road reorganized to avoid bankruptcy.
Fortunately, the State of South Dakota stepped in and bought the entire route between Sheldon, Iowa and Rapid City. However, no operator would be found until 1987, when the Dakota Southern Railway began operations on the route between Mitchell and Rapid City.
In 1998, the route was discontinued between Kadoka and Rapid City. However, all critical infrastructure is still in place, waiting for a train that may never come again.
Proposals have been made to recycle this segment as a trail, as it directly goes through the famous Badlands of South Dakota.
In 2021, the State of South Dakota sold the Mitchell-Rapid City line to Ringneck & Western Railroad; a subsidiary of Watco. The line is in service to Vivian, and the route to Rapid City may again see service in the future.
08/19/21
Located near the ghost town of Creston is this massive bridge crossing the Cheyenne River.
Built in 1907, the bridge here was the original to this line.
Consisting of a trio of 6-panel Pratt Through Trusses, the bridge is also approached by deck girder spans and trestle spans.
Unique to this bridge are the connections on the truss spans. These connections are a hybrid pin connected and riveted design, rarely seen on large trusses like this.
The substructures of the bridge are mixed, with concrete piers supporting the main trusses and deck girders, with trestle spans resting on wooden substructures.
Within the last decade, the center pier of the bridge became severely undermined, nearly causing the collapse of this bridge.
However, the State of South Dakota decided to rebuild the bridge pier, with a new steel piling pier.
Overall, this bridge remains in good condition. It has been chained off to prevent people from getting hurt. The bridge has a clouded future, as it was purchased by the Ringneck & Western Railroad. Despite being back in railroad ownership, the bridge is still closed to traffic, and all rails removed.
The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the uncommon design and odd truss style.
The photo above is an overview. The photo below is a picture inside the truss.
| Upstream | Oral Rail Bridge |
| Downstream | Wasta Rail Bridge |
