The line was completed in 1914. Features of this line included massive concrete arch structures, two over the Cedar River (Both destroyed by floods in 2008) and a good passenger service.
From Waverly, it would head south until Cedar Falls where it would enter residential areas until leaving Waterloo.
From here it would go through Gilbertville, Brandon, Urbana, Center Point and Hiawatha before finally arriving in Cedar Rapids.
The northern connections included Chicago Great Western (Des Moines-Oelwein), Illinois Central (Omaha-Chicago), and Chicago Rock Island & Pacific (Twin Cities-Burlington).
Southern connections included the same Rock Island and a branch of the Illinois Central Line, a Rock Island line to Oelwein,
the Chicago & Northwestern and Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific mainlines from Chicago to Omaha, and the Cedar Rapids Iowa City Railroad, another electric shortline.
Passenger services lasted well into the 1950s, and freight was competitive.
For the Illinois Central and Rock Island, the line was a bonus. Both their lines were filled up, so in 1958 the IC and RI teamed up to purchase the WCF&N and renamed it the Waterloo Railroad.
Rock Island sold its portion to IC in 1968, and in 1985 almost all of the tracks were abandoned, with the exception of a small industrial lead in Cedar Falls.
Today, the IC is owned by Canadian National, and the branch line serves only a handful of industries. The remainder of the line is part of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail.
07/17/21
Located on the east side of Waverly, this historic concrete arch is one of the few remains of the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railway.
Built in 1909-1910, the bridge consists of a single concrete arch span, constructed by Gould Construction. Several bridges constructed by Gould existed along the WCF&N, although few are left.
Since it was abandoned, the arch has been left untouched. It currently sits along Iowa Highway 3, and crosses a small drainage stream.
The arch is rather large, approximately 25 feet in length. The entire length, including the parapet abutments is somewhere around 100 feet. Due to the immense tree cover, accurate measurements of the bridge cannot be made.
It is believed that Thomas Edsall Rust worked on this bridge as one of his first projects with the WCF&N.
This is one of four arches along the WCF&N that is still standing. Two large arches were replaced in 2011/2012 due to flooding issues.
Overall, the bridge is in fair to poor condition. The south face of the arch has begun to severely deteriorate, and the arch line has begun to pull away from the rest of the structure.
The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the status as a remaining WCF&N arch.
The photo above is an overview.