BNSF Short Creek Bridge (Iatan)

In 1859, the Council Bluffs and St. Joseph Railroad Company (CB&StJ) began construction on 51 miles of new railroad, extending from Council Bluffs, Iowa to the Missouri State Line near Hamburg, Iowa.  At the same time, the Platte County Railroad (PCR) began construction on 35 miles of new railroad, extending from St. Joseph, Missouri to Weston, Missouri.  Work on this section was completed in 1861.  In 1863, the Missouri Valley Railroad (MVR) began construction on an additional 25 miles of railroad, extending from North Kansas City to Winthrop, completing this segment in 1867.   The same year, the MVR acquired the Platte County Railroad, and the CB&StJ began construction on an additional 81 miles of railroad, extending from the State Line to St. Joseph, Missouri.   Work on the first section of the CB&StJ would be completed in 1868, and work on the second section would be completed in 1869.  The MVR and CB&StJ consolidated to form the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad (KCStJ&CB) in 1870. 

By 1901, railroads throughout the United States were consolidating.  The KCStJ&CB would be acquired by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) in 1901.  The CB&Q had acquired and constructed a large railroad network throughout the Midwest, and this route provided a direct connection between Kansas City and Council Bluffs/Omaha.  Double tracking of the Napier to Kansas City segment of the line began in 1908, including segments from Kansas City to Waldron, Weston to Armour, St. Joseph to Nodaway and Curzions to Napier.  Further double tracking would be completed in the 1910s and 1920s, including segments from Nodaway to Forbes in 1913, Forbes to Curzions in 1917, Waldron to Beverly in 1920, Beverly to Weston in 1922, and Iatan to  St. Joseph segment at an unknown date.  Much of the second track was removed in the late 1950s, after this segment of line became of reduced importance after the CB&Q constructed a new cutoff line from Brookfield to Kansas City.  CB&Q merged with Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) in 1970.  In 1996, BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of this line.  The North Kansas City to Napier segment forms the southern half of the St. Joseph Subdivision, and the Napier to Pacific Junction, Iowa segment forms the Napier Subdivision.  The Pacific Junction to Council Bluffs segment of this line is part of the Council Bluffs Subdivision.