Towns such as Eldon, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Pella and Altoona were all served by this new railroad. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad leased the railroad nearly immediately, before finally merging the route in 1923.
The Rock Island operated a significant amount of trackage throughout Iowa and the central United States. This route served as a connecting route between several mainlines.
The Rock Island was a poor railroad, facing financial trouble regularly and often in bankruptcy. After World War II, the Rock Island struggled to survive, proposing mergers and deferring maintenance on their routes.
By 1964, the Rock Island began attempts to merge with Union Pacific, and restructure railroads west of the Mississippi River. This merger was eventually denied, and Rock Island turned its last profit in 1965.
In the mid-1970s, the railroad was in serious decline. The railroad received loans to attempt to fix slow orders, received new equipment and turn a profit. By 1978, the railroad came close to profit, but creditors were lobbying for a complete shutdown of the Rock Island. During the fall of 1979, a strike crippled the railroad, and by January of 1980, the entire system was ordered to be shut down and liquidated.
This line was one of the casualties of the 1980 shutdown. Unlike many other lines, there was little interest in continuing to operate this route. Significant portions of the line were scrapped and removed.
Fortunately, some small sections were retained, such as the Iowa Interstate owned Altoona-Pella segment. The Pella-Otley section was abandoned in 1998, and the Otley-Prairie City segment in 2000. The remainder is still used as car storage.
Further north, the Gay Lea Wilson trail uses segments of the old roadbed, and a trail has been proposed between Altoona and Monroe along the old route.
06/26/21
Located between Altoona and Pleasant Hill, this unique concrete arch bridge is a remain of the line towards Pella.
Built in 1896, the bridge features a small concrete arch span, crossing an unnamed tributary of Little Fourmile Creek.
Typically, railroads did not begin building concrete arches until after 1900. This appears to be an early version of a concrete arch.
Unfortunately, the arch has significant structural issues. The main arch line has entirely failed, putting a massive hole in the west wall. In addition, severe scouring will eventually cause the east wall to fail as well.
It is unknown who currently owns the bridge, but it is easily accessed from the Gay Lea Wilson Trail.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.