By 1878, the route opened from the town of Waukee to Adel, a distance of approximately 10 miles. By December of 1879, a bridge was completed across the Raccoon River and work continued towards Panora.
In 1881, the route would reach Fonda.
Also in 1881, the DMA&W became part of the Des Moines Northwestern Railroad, which built from Waukee to Clive; and eventually into Des Moines.
At the end of 1888, the route reached Spirit Lake, in Dickinson County. By 1891, the entire route would contain standard gauge track.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway was attempting to acquire the route. The deal would be finalized in 1894.
Despite acquiring the line, the Milwaukee Road never had any critical connections for the route north of Yale. As a result, the route was classified as a branch line.
By the 1970s, major abandonments began throughout Iowa as railroads consolidated routes. On this line, the first section to be removed was from Milford to Spirit Lake in 1974.
The route was later abandoned from Spender to Milford in 1978. A mass closure of the route occurred in 1980, and included portions from Clive to Yale, Spencer to Marathon and Jefferson to Albert City.
The remaining segments, from Jefferson to Yale and from Marathon to Albert City were purchased by the Chicago & North Western Railway in 1985.
By 1990, the segment from Jefferson to Herndon was abandoned, and by 1999 the segment from Herndon to Yale would also be abandoned.
The C&NW became a part of Union Pacific Railroad in 1995. Today, they operate one sole portion of this line, from Albert City to Marathon as the Laurens Subdivision.
South of Jefferson, the route is a trail extending to Clive.
06/16/22
This small girder and trestle bridge is quite the gem hidden in Clive.
Originally built in 1889, the bridge was part of a large viaduct at Manning, Iowa. When that bridge was replaced in 1913 by the current structure, the spans were reused and one of them installed here in 1917.
The main span of this bridge is a half-through girder structure, approached by wooden trestle spans. The entire bridge rests on wooden substructures. The bridge was converted from a deck girder to a type "C3" girder in 1929.
Upon relocation, it appears that the bridge was heavily strengthened, and it was strengthened again in 1929.
Historic photo of the old Manning viaduct. This span is one of the circled spans
In 1991, the bridge was converted to pedestrian use, which it is still used for. However, the City of Clive is considering the replacement of this bridge, which has apparently been funded for project year 2022.
Overall, the bridge is in good condition. The author has ranked it as being moderately significant, due to the unusually old through girder span. This is one of the oldest railroad through girder spans known in the State of Iowa.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge can be accessed from nearby trails.