The line in Iowa was completed at a majority by 1885. The route crossed the Mississippi River from Savanna to Sabula, Iowa on a large swing bridge between the two towns.
The line quickly turned south, paralleled the Mississippi River through Clinton, Davenport and Muscatine. Then the line turned southwest, crossing the Cedar and Iowa rivers near Conesville before arriving in Washington, where it crossed a Rock Island line towards Des Moines.
From here, it continued southwest, crossing the Skunk River before arriving in Ottumwa, where it would cross the Des Moines River, and a pair of rail lines.
Continuing on the same southwest trajectory, the line would cross a Rock Island line near Moravia. The line became increasingly hilly and curvy as it approached the Missouri border near Sewal.
By 1887, the Milwaukee Road reached Kansas City; crossing through Missouri and such towns as Chillicothe.
The CM&StP became the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific in 1912 with newly completed Pacific Extension. By 1931, the Rock Island Railroad requested trackage rights along this line between Polo and Lawson, Missouri; as well as from Mosby to Kansas City.
The 1887 Choteau Bridge over the Missouri River was replaced in 1945 by the present Harry S. Truman Bridge.
The line was considered a mainline, connecting to Kansas City to Davenport and Chicago. Few changes were ever seen on the line, although the major one was in 1981. The Milwaukee Road purchased the former Rock Island alignment between Muscatine and Washington and scrapped their own. The Rock Island had fallen the year before.
In 1985, the Milwaukee Road was purchased by Soo Line, who operated the line until 1997 when they sold it to I&M Rail Link. The line then changed hands again in 2002 when Iowa, Chicago & Eastern purchased it, and IC&E was purchased by Canadian Pacific along with Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern in 2008.
Canadian Pacific currently operates this line, although they have continued to explore potential buyers. The line still connects Chicago to Kansas City.
06/26/21
Located west of Washington, this large deck truss bridge crosses County Road G38 and the West Fork of Crooked Creek.
Built in 1903, the bridge is a unique combination of designs. The main span of the bridge consists of a large 5-panel riveted Warren Deck Truss. In addition, the bridge is approached by deck girders and concrete arches on either side. The entire bridge rests on concrete substructures.
Deck trusses are relatively rare in Iowa, especially for railroads. There are a handful of railroad deck trusses in Iowa, most of which date to the 1899-1905 range.
The bridge here is a unique combination of spans. Commonly seen on bridges along this route and other main lines, the concrete arch abutments were a favorite of the Milwaukee Road. It is unknown why such a large span was installed here, although due to the current geometry of the road, it is required.
In addition, this alignment used to be part of Iowa Highway 92 until 1956, when it was rerouted between Washington and West Chester.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to poor condition. The truss has portions of steel which have 100% section loss, and these plates appear to be under lower connections, where water was trapped.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the unique design.
The photo above is an overview.