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<p>Between 1871 and 1875, the Albia, Knoxville and Des Moines Railroad (AK&DN) completed 33 miles of new railroad line, extending from Albia, Iowa to Knoxville, Iowa. The project was funded by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), and the AK&DM was operated under lease of the CB&Q from the time of completion. In 1880, the Des Moines & Knoxville Railway (DM&K) completed an additional 35 miles of new railroad, extending from Knoxville to Des Moines, Iowa. Similar to the AK&DM, the DM&K was also operated under lease by the CB&Q from the date of completion. At Albia, the line connected to an existing CB&Q mainline; and at Des Moines the line connected to several other railroads and terminals. In 1901, the CB&Q formally purchased the two railroads as part of a larger consolidation of CB&Q-controlled railroads. By the early 20th Century, the CB&Q had become a large Midwestern railroad, operating several main and branch lines throughout the area. This line served as a secondary line, providing the CB&Q with a second connection between the mainline across southern Iowa and Des Moines. </p><p>Between Albia and Harvey, Iowa; the CB&Q line paralleled a Wabash Railway line that served the same endpoints. In 1934, the CB&Q and Wabash agreed to share trackage between Albia and Tracy, Iowa. The original CB&Q was removed between Hamilton, Iowa and Tracy in 1935; and the CB&Q and Wabash shared the CB&Q tracks between Albia and Hamilton. During the early 1960s, Iowa began work on Lake Red Rock, a large dam and lake to improve flooding concerns on the Des Moines River. As part of the work, the CB&Q was forced to consolidate operations and relocate between Runnells and the southeast side of Des Moines. The CB&Q and Wabash agreed to jointly use the CB&Q tracks between Harvey and Swan, Iowa; and Wabash tracks between Runnells and Des Moines. In 1964, a new connection and bridge across the Des Moines River was completed between Swan and Runnells. In 1970, CB&Q merged with Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). In 1996, BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of this line. Today, BNSF operates the line as the Des Moines Subdivision. Norfolk Southern Railway (NS, successor of the Wabash) also operates over the line. The abandoned segments have largely reverted to adjacent landowners and have been converted to farmfields.</p><p><br></p>
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