The line in Iowa was completed at a majority by 1885. The route crossed the Mississippi River from Savanna to Sabula, Iowa on a large swing bridge between the two towns.
The line quickly turned south, paralleled the Mississippi River through Clinton, Davenport and Muscatine. Then the line turned southwest, crossing the Cedar and Iowa rivers near Conesville before arriving in Washington, where it crossed a Rock Island line towards Des Moines.
From here, it continued southwest, crossing the Skunk River before arriving in Ottumwa, where it would cross the Des Moines River, and a pair of rail lines.
Continuing on the same southwest trajectory, the line would cross a Rock Island line near Moravia. The line became increasingly hilly and curvy as it approached the Missouri border near Sewal.
By 1887, the Milwaukee Road reached Kansas City; crossing through Missouri and towns such as Chillicothe.
The CM&StP became the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific in 1912 with newly completed Pacific Extension. By 1931, the Rock Island Railroad requested trackage rights along this line between Polo and Lawson, Missouri; as well as from Mosby to Kansas City.
The 1887 Choteau Bridge over the Missouri River was replaced in 1945 by the present Harry S. Truman Bridge.
The line was considered a mainline, connecting to Kansas City to Davenport and Chicago. Few changes were ever seen on the line, although the major one was in 1981. The Milwaukee Road purchased the former Rock Island alignment between Muscatine and Washington and scrapped their own. The Rock Island had fallen the year before.
In 1985, the Milwaukee Road was purchased by Soo Line, who operated the line until 1997 when they sold it to I&M Rail Link. The line then changed hands again in 2002 when Iowa, Chicago & Eastern purchased it, and IC&E was purchased by Canadian Pacific along with Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern in 2008.
Canadian Pacific currently operates this line, although they have continued to explore potential buyers. The line still connects Chicago to Kansas City.
06/26/21
This large truss bridge is the former Milwaukee Road crossing of the Grand River at Chillicothe, Missouri.
The bridge features a trio of 8-panel, riveted warren pony trusses of which several were designed for the Milwaukee Road mainlines to replace older bridges.
These trusses contain little lacing and are some of the heaviest and most modern trusses along the former Milwaukee Road system.
In addition, a pair of large deck girder spans and ten shorter deck girder spans approach on the north side. These two larger girders appear to have also been built in 1927; while the smaller spans are likely older.
The bridge rests primarily on concrete substructures, with the exception of the main spans. These rest on stone piers which likely date to the 1880s.
A previous span here was likely replaced by these large truss spans. However, the author does not know what kind of bridge this was, or if it was reused in another location.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant due to the modern design and rather common overall design. However, the bridge does remain in good condition.
To the north of this structure, a bridge crosses Taylor Slough on a much more significant bridge.
The photo above is an overview of the structure. The author intends to return to this location soon for new photos.
| Upstream | BN Grand River Bridge (Chillicothe) |
| Downstream | BNSF Grand River Bridge (Sumner) |