The Waukon & Mississippi Railroad

The Waukon & Mississippi Railroad connected Waukon, IA with the Milwaukee Road at Waukon Junction on the Mississippi River. Originally a narrow-gauge railway, it would later be re-gauged when operations were assumed by the Milwaukee Road. It first opened in 1875, after construction was completed along the very difficult and rough terrain, which included a climb of over 600 feet throughout the route, with construction being completed in 1877. (Right of Way)

From IAGenWeb, "The "Narrow" Comes In - Above is a photo of the "Union Prairie," first train to enter Waukon on the narrow gauge. This event took place on Oct. 27, 1877, and hundreds of Waukon people were at the station to meet it. The "narrow gauge" railroad is still in operation, running from Waukon to Marquette, its train carrying passengers as well as every kind of freight. (Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, IA, July 2, 1944)"

"The Waukon narrow gauge railroad was built for both political and commercial reasons. Waukon, as the county seat was being threatened by Lansing. Lansing wanted a vote on moving the county seat from Waukon, saying Lansing had the advantage of being located on the Mississippi River, and was served by a branch of the Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque & Minnesota Railroad. Waukon unfortunately had attracted no early railroad development due to its geographic location, the terrain between Waukon and the Mississippi River being the steepest of any along the Iowa bank of the river. For this reason, Waukon businessmen envisioned that a narrow gauge railroad could be built." (IAGenWeb)

In Waukon, the railway was the only connection for the independent Mississippi Valley Iron Company Railroad to connect to the rest of the US railroad network. 

"Mississippi Valley Iron Co. Waukon, IA, X2496" (could be 12496). This was an iron ore beneficiation mill built in 1913 by the Missouri Iron Company just north of Waukon, Iowa to process limonite ore. Another photo of the same plant is given in the Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report for 1914, page 85, along with a description of the mine and mill, and the 1930's USDA orthophotos show the mill buildings shortly before their demolition. (Wikipedia Commons)

Lansing still fought to become the county seat, to no avail. In 1880, the Milwaukee Road purchased the right of way, with the Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque & Minnesota Railway operating the route for a short time in between. Due to the rough terrain the road was built on, freight rates were slightly higher on this line than the typical part of the Milwaukee system. Nonetheless, in spite of the challenges, the line survived longer than many other short lines, finally ending service in 1960, and fully abandoned ten years later.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Underwater Water Slide: Fly Over at Durinrell TikiBad

Image
Have you ever wished to experience being transferred from one pool of liquid to another via a pipe? Had you visited the Dutch water park known as Durinrell , also known as Tikibad before 2010, you would have had the chance. Half water slide, half war crime, this was a unique water slide that was filled to the brim with water, leaving riders completely submerged throughout the journey. Image:  XtremeRidesNL Known as the Fly Over was an underwater water slide, which is exactly how it sounds, and transported riders from one pool to another using the water as propulsion. Built in 1994, riders dove underwater to access the slide, using gravity to transport them upwards via the Communicating Vessels Principle . Riders would be completely underwater for about 15-20 seconds. This is how I imagine those 15-20 seconds felt like while riding the slide. The slide was built to drain water in five seconds or less in case a rider got stuck in the slide or had a medical emergency, but the threat tha
Read more

Railroad Vocabulary: A List of Words and Phrases Used in the Industry - Updated February 2024

Image
As somebody who enjoyed watching trains, but was not an employee of the railroad industry ( at least growing up ), when I would interact with railfans and historians, there was often a lot of technical jargon that applied only to the railroad industry thrown back and forth that made it difficult for a newcomer to understand what they were talking about. For example, what is a dinky? It's actually a passenger train. This non-inclusive language seems to keep the loop closed to members of the community, and to uncouple (no pun intended) that technical jargon and help make it easier for people to communicate with people in the industry, I am creating a list of railroad vocabulary that I'm hoping will make the industry more transparent.  BNSF 2361 . Image: Matt Flores While I ultimately believe that such technical jargon has no place outside of perhaps technical communications between employees, I know quite well that I alone am not going to stop people from communicating in a non-i
Read more

The Abandoned Route 66 in McCook, IL

Image
Route 66, the iconic "Main Street of America," weaves through the heart of the United States, connecting communities and embodying the spirit of adventure. However, not all sections of this historic highway have stood the test of time. While much of the former US 66 is drivable in one way or another, especially in Illinois, there are some parts are not.  One of the first such roadblocks for would-be travelers heading from Chicago to Los Angeles via the Mother Road, now known as Joliet Road, comes just outside of Chicago in McCook, IL, where the former highway is closed between 55th St and East Ave, and has been for over two decades. (Link to the location on our Ghost Towns Map ) Image: Google Maps at 55th and Joliet Rd in McCook, IL The land that the quarry would eventually take over was part of Stinson Airport in the early days of Route 66, dating back to before 1930. ( Abandoned Airports map ). 1938 USGS Aerial Imagery The quarrying on the south side of the road would
Read more