CIC Old Willow Creek Bridge

In 1877, the Chicago, Clinton & Western Rail Road Company (CC&W) completed 9 miles of new railroad, extending from Elmira, Iowa on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railway (BCR&M) to Iowa City, Iowa. At the same time, the CC&W completed 18 miles from Clinton, Iowa westward to an existing railroad between Long Grove, Iowa and DeWitt, Iowa at a junction known as Noels, Iowa.  The CC&W became part of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway (BCR&N) as part of a consolidation with the BCR&M.  In 1880, the Iowa City & Western Railway (IC&W) constructed an additional 11 miles to Iowa Junction, Iowa; located on an existing BCR&N line. Between 1883 and 1884, the Cedar Rapids and Clinton Railway (CR&C) constructed an additional 46 miles of railroad, connecting Noels to the existing BCR&N line at Elmira.  In addition, a short spur was constructed to Cedar Valley, Iowa to serve the Elmer J.C. Bealer Quarry, a supplier of high quality limestone which became instrumental in building bridges and buildings for the BCR&N, other railroads and local institutions.  It is believed that the IC&W and CR&C were leased by the BCR&N sometime soon after the initial construction of the lines.  During the late 19th Century, this railroad served as a secondary route, providing the BCR&N with several industrial connections.

By the turn of the 20th Century, the BCR&N operated over 1,000 miles of track throughout Iowa, connecting both small towns and large cities.  In 1902, the BCR&N acquired the IC&W and CR&C.  In June 1903, the BCR&N was acquired by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway (Rock Island), which operated a large railroad network through the midwestern United States.  Much of this line directly paralleled an existing Rock Island mainline, which ran between Davenport, Iowa and Iowa City, Iowa.  The first segment of this line to be abandoned came in 1918, when the Cedar Valley Spur was abandoned.  In 1928 and 1929, the Rock Island abandoned the line between Elmira and Iowa City.  Further abandonments came in 1940, when the Rock Island abandoned segments between Clinton and Bennett, Iowa; as well as between Tipton, Iowa and Elmira.  The segment between Bennett and Tipton would be abandoned in 1943.  

The Rock Island struggled financially throughout much of its history, experiencing repeated bankruptcies and chronic instability.  After World War II, the Rock Island struggled to survive, proposing mergers and deferring maintenance on their routes. The railroad reorganized as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad in 1948.  By the mid-1970s, the railroad was in serious decline.  The railroad secured loans to eliminate slow orders, acquired new equipment, and attempted to restore profitability.  In 1978, the railroad came close to profit, but creditors were lobbying for a complete shutdown of the Rock Island.  The segment between Hills, Iowa and Iowa Junction was abandoned during that year.  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.  Profitable sections of railroad were prepared for sale, and the remaining segment between Iowa City and Hills was sold to the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway (CIC).  Today, the CIC operates the remaining portion of this line as the Hills Branch, while the remainder of the line has been abandoned.