CPKC Walnut Creek Bridge (Rathbun, West)

Rathbun, Appanoose County, Iowa

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Name	CPKC Walnut Creek Bridge (Rathbun, West) Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Bridge #I-504
Built By	Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad
Currently Owned By	Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited
Superstructure Contractor	Bethlehem Steel Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (Main Span) Unknown (West Approach)
Length	110 Feet Total, 75 Foot Main Span
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	15 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Through Plate Girder and Deck Plate Girder
Substructure Design	Steel Pile
Date Built	1939; Reconstructed c. 2000 Using a Span Fabricated c. 1910
Original Location (West Approach)	Unknown
Traffic Count	10 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Bridge Number	I-504
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	10/8/2017

In 1882, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road) began construction on a new railroad line, extending from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Ottumwa, Iowa. The 40-mile line would be completed in 1884. By 1885, work was authorized to begin towards Kansas City, Missouri; a critical railroad hub in the Midwest. The extension opened in 1887, giving the Milwaukee Road a direct route between Chicago and Kansas City. The Milwaukee Road acquired and constructed a large amount of track throughout the Midwest during the 1870s and 1880s. At the Cedar Rapids suburb of Marion, the route connected to the Milwaukee Road mainline across Iowa. By the early 1900s, a direct connection to the Mississippi River town of Davenport was desired, and in 1901, the Rutledge Cutoff was completed. The cutoff extended from Rutledge, Iowa to Muscatine, Iowa, and allowed for a quicker way to access the Milwaukee Road facilities at Davenport, as well as shortened the travel time and distance from Chicago to Kansas City. Between Davenport and Muscatine, the railroad jointly owned a line with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island).

The Milwaukee Road operated this route as a principal mainline, and the line served as a primary connection between the two largest railroad hubs in the United States. The Milwaukee Road was often in financial trouble, especially after the costly Pacific Extension was completed in 1909. In 1925, the company declared bankruptcy, and reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1928. Significant upgrades were made to the line in the 1930s and 1940s, although the line remained single tracked. In 1930-1931, the Milwaukee Road and Rock Island reconstructed their lines from Polo, Missouri to Kansas City, abandoning much of the original line. A new bridge into Kansas City was completed in 1945, further improving operations. In 1980, the Rock Island went bankrupt, and the Milwaukee Road purchased the Davenport to Washington, Iowa line; abandoning their own line between Washington and Muscatine. By 1985, a suitor for the Milwaukee Road was being sought, and the Soo Line Railroad, controlled by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) purchased the Milwaukee Road in 1986. In 1997, CP sold this line to I&M Rail Link, which later sold it to Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (IC&E), a subsidiary of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E). In 2008, DM&E and IC&E were purchased by CP. CP merged with Kansas City Southern Railway in 2023 to form CPKC, the current owner of this route. The CPKC operates the Ottumwa Subdivision between Davenport and Ottumwa, the Laredo Subdivision between Ottumwa and Laredo, Missouri; as well as the Kansas City Subdivision between Laredo and Kansas City. The route between Polo and Kansas City is shared with Union Pacific Railroad, which eventually acquired the former Rock Island line. This route now forms the principal mainline of the CPKC system, and traffic is expected to increase significantly over the coming years.

Located near County Road J29, this through plate girder bridge is the western crossing of Walnut Creek along the former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) mainline in Rathbun. The first bridge at this location was likely a timber truss bridge, constructed when the line was first built. In the mid-1890s, the Milwaukee Road made significant improvements to this line, replacing the first generation of bridges with new steel structures. In 1895, the original bridge was replaced with a 75-foot through plate girder span, fabricated by the Lassig Bridge & Iron Works of Chicago, Illinois. As trains became heavier in the 20th Century, the Milwaukee Road undertook another improvement project along this line through the 1930s, replacing many of the 1890s bridges with heavier structures of a similar design. In 1939, a new through plate girder span was installed on new concrete abutments. It is likely that the 1895-era span was reused at another location, possibly on a branch line. In approximately 2000, the bridge was again reconstructed with a secondhand approach span and new substructures, giving the bridge its present configuration. It is unclear if this reconstruction was due to flooding or other damage. Currently, the bridge consists of a 75-foot type "C4" through plate girder span, approached by a 35-foot type "E" deck plate girder span on the west end. The entire bridge is set onto steel pile substructures, with the original abutments reused to retain the approach embankments.

The main span follows a standard design, with two heavy plate girders, square girder ends and a standard floor. Type "C4" girder spans were a standard Milwaukee Road design, and differed from type "C3" spans in the use of two heavier stringers instead of the four lighter stringers seen on "C3" spans. The approach span also follows a standard design, with four heavily riveted shallow girders. It is believed this span was fabricated in approximately 1910 for use at an unknown location. It is possible that the span was reused from elsewhere on this line. The substructures follow a standard design for the era, with steel piles and concrete caps. Bethlehem Steel Company fabricated the main span, while an unknown contractor fabricated the approach spans. It is unclear if the substructures were constructed by railroad company forces or by an unknown contractor. Girder spans were popular for railroad use, as they were durable and easy to construct. Railroads often reused steel and iron spans, as it provided a cost effective way to build bridges without requiring large amounts of new material. I&M Rail Link extensively used secondhand spans in the late 1990s and early 2000s, likely due to financial constraints of the railroad. Since the c. 2000 reconstruction, the bridge has seen no significant alterations, and remains in regular use. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.

Citations

Build date and builder (main span superstructure)	Bethlehem Steel Company plaque
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele