I posted this on the Archealogy forum with limited success.
Anybody interested in this line which ran across the southern portion of Iowa and became a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy? The line was completed in 1869, only months after completion of the transcontinental, and connected with the Union Pacific line in Omaha. It is now the main route of the Burlington Northern Sante Fe.
Between 1902 and 1904, the railraod made numerous adjustments along the route which shortened the distrance across Iowa by seven miles and reduced the grade from 70 feet to 35 feet. Sadly, this move made ghost towns out of former railroad towns that were bypassed by the new line. Some of the old ROWs can still be seen although in at least two counties (Mills and Union) the old ROW was turned into a highway.
Anybody interested in this line which ran across the southern portion of Iowa and became a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy? The line was completed in 1869, only months after completion of the transcontinental, and connected with the Union Pacific line in Omaha. It is now the main route of the Burlington Northern Sante Fe.
Between 1902 and 1904, the railraod made numerous adjustments along the route which shortened the distrance across Iowa by seven miles and reduced the grade from 70 feet to 35 feet. Sadly, this move made ghost towns out of former railroad towns that were bypassed by the new line. Some of the old ROWs can still be seen although in at least two counties (Mills and Union) the old ROW was turned into a highway.
