Located on the Missouri River, Chamberlain had been the western terminus of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road) since 1881. With a new expansion, a pontoon bridge was built across the Missouri River, and the race to Rapid City was on.
In 1906, the railroad was further extended to Murdo, and reached Rapid City by 1907. By 1910, the Milwaukee Road fully engulfed the WRV.
This route became one of only two routes crossing the entire State of South Dakota. From Rapid City, plans were made to continue west, but these never materialized.
With the route dead ending at Rapid City, the route was a major cash hole to the railroad. Still reeling from a Pacific expansion made at the same time, the railroad was reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railway in 1913.
Traffic on the route was highly competitive, as the Chicago & North Western ran a main line just to the north, which roughly paralleled this route between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Rapid City.
Since this line became such a major expense, it was identified for abandonment in 1980, as the Milwaukee Road reorganized to avoid bankruptcy.
Fortunately, the State of South Dakota stepped in and bought the entire route between Sheldon, Iowa and Rapid City. However, no operator would be found until 1987, when the Dakota Southern Railway began operations on the route between Mitchell and Rapid City.
In 1998, the route was discontinued between Kadoka and Rapid City. However, all critical infrastructure is still in place, waiting for a train that may never come again.
Proposals have been made to recycle this segment as a trail, as it directly goes through the famous Badlands of South Dakota.
In 2021, the State of South Dakota sold the Mitchell-Rapid City line to Ringneck & Western Railroad; a subsidiary of Watco. The line is in service to Vivian, and the route to Rapid City may again see service in the future.
10/24/21
This bridge is a moderate sized through girder bridge over Medicine Creek on the west side of Presho.
Originally built in 1907 as part of a bridge at Mosquito Creek, just east of Neola, Iowa; that bridge was filled in during early 1923, and the spans were freed up for reuse elsewhere on the Milwaukee Road system. It is unknown what other spans, if any, were at this location. However, it is believed at least one other girder or truss came from that location.
In late April 1923, it was decided that the original trestle at this location needed to be replaced by a permanent bridge, and the division engineer requested a steel span similar to W-88, on the east side of Presho, which had been replaced with a steel span the previous fall. Work on this bridge began September 23rd 1923, and was finished by September 27th. The work included installing a secondhand "C3" girder from Bridge #Z-1524; Neola, Iowa.
Currently constructed of a single through girder span, the bridge is approached by trestle spans. The entire structure is set onto wooden substructures.
Overall, the bridge remains in good condition. Work had been done to rehabilitate the bridge during the 2010s.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge is easily accessible from Presho.