This line also met up with an additional line, built 1892 that went to Lakota, IA.
In 1900, the line was extended further, going to Bricelyn, Minnesota. Here it met up with a Chicago Northwestern line that was built the year before. The CNW line went to Mason City, Iowa and Fairmont, Minnesota.
Rock Island had possetion of this line for a long time. It was finally cut in 1980, when the Rock Island was having bad financial trouble. The Chicago Northwestern came into possession of this line, along with several others in Iowa and Minnesota.
The Chicago Northwestern worked hard to fix up some of the infrastructure, including a bridge over the East Fork of the Des Moines River near Armstrong, where they replaced over half the bridge. There were also many other projects.
The Chicago Northwestern Railway was purchased by Union Pacific in 1995. The Union Pacific
continues to operate this line with hardly any trains. Maybe one every couple weeks.
06/26/21
Located west of Armstrong, this small girder bridge crosses Iowa Highway 9.
Built in 1931, the bridge consists of a single twinned deck girder span, approached by trestle. The entire bridge sits on timber substructures.
Twinning deck girders was common for both short spans, as well as rebuilding spans. It is possible that this girder is actually older, although because of poor Rock Island record keeping, further information cannot be found.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition. It appears that the timber components of this bridge have not been upgraded in some time.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.