This route immediately became a part of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. Connecting to St. Paul, Minnesota on the north and Kansas City to the south; the route was known as the Rock Island Spine Line.
Despite the great routing of the line, the Rock Island oftentimes faced financial issues, which led to deferred maintenance of this route.
By the time a judge ordered liquidation of the Rock Island assets, the route was in poor condition. The Chicago & North Western Railway and Soo Line Railroad entered a bidding war to win the Spine Line and its connections to Kansas City.
After the C&NW came out victorious, over a year was spent rebuilding the line to get it back into operating condition. The route opened in 1983, and provided the C&NW with a direct connection to Kansas City.
At Nevada, Iowa; a connection was built to the Clinton Subdivision to allow a connection between major routes. This connection opened up in 1983.
In 1995, the C&NW was purchased by Union Pacific. Today, Union Pacific continues to operate this line as the Mason City Subdivision.
06/26/21
This simple beam bridge crosses over Iowa Highway 175 east of Radcliffe.
The bridge was built in approximately 1983 to replace a trestle and I-Beam bridge. During 1983, the Chicago & North Western Railway worked extensively to restore this route to operational.
During this reconstruction, the current bridge was built as a three span I-Beam, resting on concrete and pile piers. It consists of a ballasted deck.
The author has ranked this bridge as being minimally significant, due to the common design and newer age.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge can be accessed from the road below.