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 west of Portland near Spruce Avenue, this small through girder bridge crosses Mason Creek.
Built in 1907 using a secondhand span, this structure features a single through plate girder span, set onto concrete substructures.
This span was originally built in 1897 at Bridge #Z-994; Ferguson, Iowa. In 1906, that bridge was replaced by a new deck girder span, and the girder was reused here.
This type of span was commonly used to cross small creeks, because of the ease of installation, cheap cost and little maintenance required.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with little deterioration. It appears some rivets have been replaced with bolts since the original construction.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.