Cedar Valley Nature Trail - Fishel Road Bridge

In the late 19th Century, electric interurban railways became popular throughout the United States, particularly in suburban and rural areas.  In rural areas, the interurban represented a reliable form of transportation, independent of the steam railroads.  In 1895, the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Rapid Transit (WCFRT) was organized to construct an 8-mile electrified railroad, extending from Waterloo, Iowa to Cedar Falls, Iowa.  A short spur would also be constructed to the northwest side of Waterloo opposite of Sans Souci Island.  The line was completed in 1898, and soon the company took over the streetcar line in Waterloo.  Between 1901 and 1903, a new line was built to Denver, Iowa; and a short spur constructed to connect to the Chicago Great Western Railway (CGW).  The company was renamed as the Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern Railway (WCF&N) in 1904.  From the beginning, the railroad built to steam railroad standards to optimize potential interchange with larger railroads. In 1910, a short extension was completed between Denver and Waverly, Iowa.  In 1912, a new line was constructed south from Waterloo, Iowa to La Porte City, Iowa.  The following year, the line was extended further to Urbana, Iowa; and by the end of 1914 the line reached Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The railroad electrified the entire system, and was well regarded for providing both passenger and freight service. A bypass of Waterloo and Cedar Falls allowed the railroad to interchange with several Class-I railroads.  

By the mid-20th Century, transportation in America was changing and the automobile took most passenger traffic from the interurbans.  Streetcar service in Waterloo was replaced by busses in 1939, followed by Cedar Falls in 1941.  The WCF&N fell into receivership and was reorganized in 1944.  By the 1950s, much of the passenger traffic had evaporated, but the railroad was still significant for serving freight traffic.  In 1956, the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island) jointly purchased the WCF&N and renamed it the Waterloo Railroad (WR).  Passenger service to Waverly had ended in 1955, passenger service to Cedar Rapids ended in 1956 and remaining passenger operations were shut down in 1958.  A large portion of the northwest Waterloo spur was abandoned inn 1958 and the line to Waverly was abandoned in 1959.  

In 1968, the Rock Island sold their share of the WR to the IC.  In 1972, the IC merged with Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad to form Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (ICG).  The segment between Gilbertville, Iowa and Cedar Rapids was abandoned in 1977, followed by the segment between Evansdale, Iowa and Gilbertville in 1981.  The remaining portions in Waterloo and Cedar Falls was sold to the Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad (CC) in 1985.  In 1996, the railroad was repurchased by IC, which was purchased by Canadian National Railway (CN) in 1998.  Today, CN operates a short segment of track around Waterloo and Cedar Falls.  The line between Evansdale and Cedar Rapids has been reused as the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, while the Waverly line has been completely abandoned.