Wabash Mosquito Creek Bridge

In 1869, the Chillocthe and Omaha Railroad (C&O) began working on a 42-mile railroad line, extending from Chillicothe, Missouri to Pattonsburg, Missouri.  In 1870, the Chillicothe and Brunswick Railroad (C&B) began construction on a 37-mile railroad line, connecting Bruncwick, Missouri to Chillicothe.  In 1870, the C&O was purchased by the St. Louis, Council Bluffs and Omaha Railroad (StLCB&O); and both lines were completed in 1871.  In 1873, the C&B was reorganized as the Brunswick and Chillicothe Railroad (B&C).  Between 1878 and 1879, the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern Railway (StLKC&N) constructed an additional 100 miles of new railroad, extending from Pattonsburg to the Missouri/Iowa State Line.  At the same time, the Council Bluffs and St. Louis Railway completed an additional 66 miles from the State Line to Council Bluffs, Iowa.  The StlKC&N, B&C and StLCB&O were consolidated into the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway (WStL&P) in 1879. In 1886, the WStL&P was foreclosed upon and broken up into sections.  The Omaha & St. Louis Railway (O&StL) was sold the Pattonsburg to Council Bluffs segment; while the Wabash Western Railway (WW) was given control of the Brunswick to Pattonsburg segments, which were returned to the original owners (B&C and StLCB&O) and remained under WW (and later Wabash Railroad) control.  The O&StL was consolidated into the Wabash Railroad Company in 1901.  The Wabash was reorganized as the Wabash Railway in 1915, and the B&C and StLCB&O were fully merged into the system in 1924.

The Wabash would become a respected railroad network in the Midwest, with a principal mainline connecting Detroit with Kansas City.  While the Wabash was a smaller railroad, it also operated a number of branch lines to serve other railroad hubs in the Midwest. The Wabash was controlled by the Pennsylvania from 1931 through the early 1960s.  In 1964, the railroad was acquired by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W), which operated a sizable network of railroads in the eastern United States.  In 1982, the N&W was merged with the Southern Railway to form Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).  In 1983, N&W filed to abandon the line.  A segment between Blanchard, Iowa and Council Bluffs was purchased by the Iowa Southern Railroad. A segment from Brunswick to Chillicothe was sold to the Northern Missouri Railroad (NMR) in 1984.  The railroad was reorganized as the Chillicothe–Brunswick Rail Maintenance Authority (CBRMA) in 1986.  In 1988, the ISR abandoned the entire line between Blanchard and Council Bluffs.  After different operators tried and failed to operate the Brunswick to Chillicothe line, it was abandoned in 2007 and sold to the city of Chillicothe in 2008.  Today, much of the line has been abandoned and reverted to adjacent landowers.  The Wabash Trace Nature Trail uses the line between Blanchard and Council Bluffs, while the segment between Brunswick and Chillicothe may become part of a trail in the future.