- 1885: 129 miles completed from St. Paul, Minnesota to Manly Junction, Iowa by the Minnesota and Northwestern Railway
- 1887: M&NW merges with the Chicago, St. Paul and Kansas City Railway Company
- 1893: CStP&KC sold to the Chicago Great Western Railway
- 1901: 9 miles completed from Manly to Mason City by the Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway
- 1901: Chicago Great Western leases the Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway
- 1902: Hayfield, Minnesota to Manly segment sold to the MC&FD
- 1909: Chicago Great Western Railway reorganized as the Chicago Great Western Railroad
- 1968: Chicago Great Western purchased by the Chicago & North Western Railway. Line becomes redundant due to parallel Minneapolis & St. Louis route
- 1977: Hayfield to Austin segment abandoned
- 1981: Austin to Manly segment abandoned
- 1982: Randolph to Hayfield segment abandoned
- 1984: Roseport to Randolph segment abandoned
- 1995: C&NW purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the Manly to Mason City and St. Paul to Roseport segments as the Albert Lea Subdivision
06/26/21
Located west of Carpenter, this steel stringer bridge is located in the Deer Creek Wildlife Management Area and once carried the Chicago Great Western over Deer Creek.
Little is known about the history of this bridge. It appears that it replaced an older steel or wooden truss bridge, which sat on stone abutments. Probably built around 1910, the current bridge is a four span steel stringer bridge, set onto concrete and stone substructures. The three southern spans are built of six beams, arranged in two rows of three. The northern span is built of four beams, arranged in two rows of two.
Unfortunately, no plaques or dates could be found on this bridge. Like many CGW bridges, the records may exist, but will be difficult to find. The author hopes to do more research on it soon.
Worse yet, the bridge is in critical condition, and appears to be in danger of imminent failure. The center pier is heavily leaning, and the south abutment is very scoured. This has pushed the bridge severely out of alignment, and is a major cause for concern.
While the author advocates for preservation wherever possible, this bridge is too far gone to save. As a result, the author recommends that this bridge be taken down as soon as possible, as it is a hazard.
Overall, the bridge is in extremely poor condition, and immediate danger of complete failure.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview. Despite being listed in Carpenter, this bridge is actually in Worth County.