- 1879: 41 miles completed from Waverly to Hampton, Iowa by the Dubuque & Dakota Railroad
- 1887: Dubuque & Dakota Railroad becomes part of the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway
- 1893: CStP&KC becomes part of the Chicago Great Western Railway
- 1902: Waverly to Hampton route sold to the CGW controlled Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway and rehabilitated
- 1902: 27 miles completed from Hampton to Clarion, Iowa by the Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway
- 1904: 29 miles completed from Waverly to Oelwein, Iowa by the Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway
- 1905: Mason City & Fort Dodge Railway changes name to the Mason City & Fort Dodge Railroad
- 1909: Chicago Great Western Railway reorganized as the Chicago Great Western Railroad
- 1940: MC&FD formally merged into the Chicago Great Western Railroad
- 1968: Chicago Great Western purchased by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1980: Clarion to Coulter segment abandoned
- 1986: Oelwein to Shell Rock segment abandoned
- 1988: Shell Rock to Clarksville segment abandoned
- 1995: C&NW purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1998: Clarksville to Allison segment abandoned
- 2003: Allison to Coulter segment abandoned
- 1998-Present: Rolling Prairie Trail being developed between Hampton and Waverly
10/24/21
This large deck girder bridges crosses the Shell Rock River, just west of Clarksville.
Built in 1900, it currently carries the Rolling Prairie Trail, a popular trail in north central Iowa.
Built of four deck girder spans, these spans sit on stone substructures. The stonework has been repaired since the original construction.
Every other pier is a much larger structure, meaning the original bridge was a truss of some sort.
However, it appears the bridge has some structural issues. Small spots of corrosion have eaten away at some bracing inside the girders. Unchecked, this could become a problem.
Historic photo of the bridge. Credit to PhotoLibrarian on Flickr, used with Creative Commons permission.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant due to the large size and common design.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | IANR Shell Rock River Bridge |
| Downstream | Clarksville Rail Bridge |