CN E. Branch Iowa River Bridge (Belmond)

In 1884, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Falls & Northwestern Railway (CRIF&NW) constructed a 41-mile branch line, extending from Dows, Iowa to Hayfield, Iowa.  In the same year, the CRIF&NW was leased by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway (BCR&N).  During the 1880s, the BCR&N constructed and operated an extensive railroad network, connecting towns and cities in southeast and northern Iowa.  In 1895, the CRIF&NW constructed an additional 9 miles of railroad, extending from Hayfield Junction to Forest City, Iowa to meet with a separate line the BCR&N had constructed in 1893.  In 1900, the Cedar Rapids, Garner & Northwestern Railway (CRG&NW) constructed an additional 19 miles, extending from Hayfield to Titonka, Iowa.  Shortly after completion, the CRG&NW was acquired by the BCR&N.  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.  The CRIF&NW was outright purchased by the BCR&N in May 1902.  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 central United States. 

This line served as a secondary line for the Rock Island, creating a second connection in northern Iowa.  In addition, the line to Titonka served as a branch line.  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.  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.  Many of the lines and equipment were scrapped.  Profitable sections of railroad were prepared for sale.  The segment between Woden, Iowa and Titonka was abandoned due to lack of business.

In 1981, the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) the line between Belmond, Iowa and Forest City.  After remaining in limbo, the line between Hayfield Junction and Woden; and the line between Dows and Belmond were abandoned in 1985.  The C&NW was purchased by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1995.  UP operated the Belmond to Forest City segment as part of the Fort Dodge Subdivision until 2009, when an intent to abandon the line was filed.  Instead of abandoning the line, the line was sold to the North Central Iowa Rail Corridor (NCIRC), which leased the line to Iowa Northern Railway (IANR) in 2011.  In 2025, IANR was purchased by Canadian National Railway (CN), which acquired the lease rights to this line.  Today, CN operates the line between Belmond and Forest City as the Garner Subdivision, while the remainder of the line has been abandoned.