RI E. Branch West Nishnabotna River Bridge

In 1880, the Avoca, Macedonia & South Western Railroad (AM&SW) constructed an 18-mile railroad line, extending from Avoca, Iowa to Carson, Iowa.  Prior to completion, the AM&SW was consolidated into the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway (Rock Island).  At Avoca, the line connected to the existing Rock Island mainline.  The Rock Island was a large railroad, which had constructed and acquired a large railroad network throughout the central United States.  This line served as a short branch line, serving industries in Hancock, Oakland and Carson. 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. In 1953, the Rock Island realigned their existing mainline to intersect this route at Hancock.  The same year, a section of line between Oakland and Carson was abandoned.

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.  Several sections of this line had fallen into serious disrepair, hampering the Rock Islands ability to maintain efficient operations.  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.  The segment of this line between Hancock and Avoca was abandoned in December 1979.  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.  In November 1981, the Iowa Railroad Company (IARR) began operations over the former Rock Island mainline in western Iowa.  In June 1982, the IARR entered into a two-year lease for the entire Rock Island mainline between Bureau, Illinois and Council Bluffs, Iowa; including a portion of this line from Hancock to Oakland.  In 1983, concerns had grown over the ability of the IARR to provide reliable service to shippers along the line, and several industries came together to form Heartland Rail Corporation, which purchased the line between Bureau and Council Bluffs and the branch lines from the Rock Island trustees.  Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) was chosen to operate the line, and began operations in late 1984.  IAIS abandoned a segment near Oakland in 2013.  Today, IAIS continues to operate a short segment of this line in Hancock to serve a grain elevator.  The remainder of the line has largely reverted to adjacent property owners and has been converted to farm fields.