The railroad would reach Mason City by 1869, creating a vital link from Central Iowa to the Mississippi River.
In 1869, the McGregor & Missouri River Railway Company continued building the mainline from Mason City, heading west. They reached Algona by the end of the year, and halted construction.
The McGregor & Missouri River Railway was purchased by the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway in 1870, which was in turn absorbed into the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway in 1874.
The line continued west in 1878, and reached Canton, South Dakota by 1880. The line met at the junction of another north-south line here.
The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway was spun into the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railway in 1913, after the pacific expansion.
The line was vital to the Northern Iowa economy, crossing a wide variety of other lines. In Sheldon and Algona, it crossed Chicago & North Western lines, while at Emmetsburg it crossed a Rock Island Line.
Eventually, the route fell into disrepair west of Sheldon, and the Milwaukee Road hit bankruptcy. During the mass abandonments, 791 Miles in Iowa were abandoned. From Sheldon, west to Canton was part of these.
When the Soo Line purchased the Milwaukee Road in 1985, the line from Marquette to Sheldon was sold to I&M Rail Link in 1997, during a mass selloff of Milwaukee Road lines.
The I&M Rail Link became part of the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railway in 2002, which was purchased by the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railway the same year.
In October of 2008, the DM&E was purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway, who is the current owners of this line, but DM&E operates as a dependant subsidiary.
06/24/23
Located near Charles City, this unique pony truss bridge crosses the Cedar River.
Reportedly built in 1897, this large bridge consists of two different sized trusses, a 123' span and a 102'6" span.
While the smaller span has been confirmed as being original to this location, the larger span appears to have a missing Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company plaque. Railroad records indicate both spans were built by J.G. Wagner & Company, possibly indicating that the larger span was later replaced with another span, possibly from another location. It is also possible that the missing plaque is a J.G. Wagner plaque, although no examples of this companies plaques have been seen.
Currently, the bridge consists of a pair of distinctly different 6-panel pin connected Pratt Pony Trusses. These trusses follow a similar design, and were standard for the Milwaukee Road.
These two trusses sit on concrete and stone substructures. A section of concrete parapet extends behind the east abutment.
Overall, the bridges appear to be in good condition. However, there were some defects noted.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the distinct truss design.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | DM&E Cedar River Bridge (Otranto) |
| Downstream | Charley Western Trail Bridge |