Around 1901, the CGW wanted to extend these tracks south and west to Omaha, Nebraska. To do this, they built to Mason City, a distance of 12 miles in 1901. The new route was to be built by the Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway.
Between 1901 and 1903, they built towards Omaha, going through major cities such as Fort Dodge.
The line to Omaha was completed November 1903, and put into service the first day of 1904.
One of the landmarks of this line was the massive half-mile long bridge over the Des Moines River in downtown Fort Dodge.
The CGW became ill fated, becoming part of the Chicago & Northwestern in 1968, which in turn became part of the Union Pacific in 1995.
Since then, major abandondmends have occured. The line is completely gone from the Twin Cities to Manley, and in addition from Mason City south to Belmond.
The line continues to suffer, competing with the Jewell Sub, the Boone and Clinton Subs other local lines for service.
06/26/21
Located in the town of Thornton, this deck girder bridge crosses Bailey Creek.
Built in 1913, the bridge features a single deck girder span. This span is set onto concrete substructures.
Currently, the bridge is abandoned. It is scheduled to become part of the Prairie Lands Trail in the future.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in excellent condition.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.