The line would be extended in 1877 to Holland, 25 miles past Traer.
In 1880, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Falls & Northwestern Railway began building from Holland to Iowa Falls, another 26 miles.
They continued and reached Clarion the same year.
1881 saw the 58 mile expansion from Clarion to Emmetsburg, and 1882 an additional 50 miles from Emmetsburg to Lake Park, via Estherville.
Lake Park was the terminus of this line, although other branches extended, including one towards Watertown, South Dakota.
The Cedar Rapids, Iowa Falls & Northern would be sold to the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern in 1902.
The BCR&N would in turn be sold to the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (Rock Island) in 1903.
The Rock Island was one of the main railroads in Iowa, and their empire nearly doubled after the acquisition of the BCR&N.
However, the Rock Island became a poor railroad by the 1970s. By 1980, the Rock Island would be forced to abandoned their entire empire in Iowa, and liquidate as part of their bankruptcy deal.
This line became chopped up significantly. The Sibley to Lake Park to Estherville segment was purchased by Iowa Northwestern Railway, which would eventually abandoned in 2005.
The Chicago & North Western Railway purchased 3 segments:
Estherville to Goldfield
Clarion to Dows
and Iowa Falls to Alden
The Iowa Northern Railway, who purchased the entire mainline from Cedar Rapids to Manly also purchased the Vinton to Dysart segment, which would be abandoned in 2003.
The C&NW was purchased by Union Pacific in 1995, who now owns the remaining three segments as their Dows and Alden Industrial Leads, as well as their Estherville Subdivision. Portions of the route in Grundy County are known as the Pioneer Trail.
06/26/21
Crossing the West Des Moines River at Estherville, this bridge is one of the more interesting structures along the river.
Built in 1894, the bridge was originally constructed with a lightweight 8-panel pin connected Pratt Deck Truss span, as well as a number of girder viaduct spans on either side. The bridge rests on stone, steel and concrete substructures.
By the first decade of the 20th century, the bridge was no longer capable of holding heavy loads. As a result, a third truss line was added to the structure. It is unknown where this truss line came from, or when it was built. At the same time, the approaches were generally upgraded and the piers repaired.
The large deck girder on the east side is also an unusual structure. It certainly is too heavy by 1890s standards, and may have replaced a second truss span.
On the west approach, the original 1894 girders still exist. Creating a spindly look, these structures showcase a significantly more lightweight construction than the east approach.
Overall, the bridge is in good but light condition. An ethanol plant in nearby Superior supplies this bridge with a steady stream of traffic.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design. As the history becomes less clouded, this ranking could increase.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | Jackson Black Bridge |
| Downstream | Estherville Rail Bridge (South) |