RI Unnamed Creek Culvert (Oskaloosa)

In 1872, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island) constructed a 28-mile railroad line, extending from an existing railroad at Washington, Iowa to Signourney, Iowa.  The line was extended another 25 miles in 1875, reaching Oskaloosa, Iowa.  The following year, an additional 25 miles were constructed to Knoxville, Iowa.  In 1880, the railroad was reorganized as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway (Rock Island).  This line formed a secondary route for the Rock Island, roughly paralleling the existing mainline between Iowa City, Iowa and Des Moines, Iowa.  This line also provided access to coal fields located in south central Iowa. The Rock Island struggled financially throughout much of its history, experiencing repeated bankruptcies and chronic instability. In 1938, the segment between Oskaloosa and Knoxville was abandoned.  After World War II, the Rock Island struggled to survive, proposing mergers and deferring maintenance on their routes. The railroad reorganized as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad in 1948.

Another section of this line between Keota and Oskaloosa was abandoned in 1967.  By the mid-1970s, the railroad was in serious decline.  The railroad secured loans to eliminate slow orders, acquired new equipment, and attempted to restore profitability.  Several sections of this line had fallen into serious disrepair, hampering the Rock Islands ability to maintain efficient operations.  In 1978, the railroad came close to profit, but creditors were lobbying for a complete shutdown of the Rock Island.  During the fall of 1979, a strike crippled the railroad, and by January of 1980, the entire system was ordered to be shut down and liquidated.  Many of the lines and equipment were scrapped.  Profitable sections of railroad were prepared for sale.  In 1983, the Kewash Railroad (KWTR) purchased the remaining segment Washington to Keota, before ultimately abandoning it in 1988.  Today, much of this line is abandoned and has been converted to farm fields.  A short segment between Washington and Keota has been reused as part of the Kewash Trail.