Burlington and Northwestern Railway

The Burlington and Northwestern Railway (B&NW) was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad system in Iowa that operated during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It connected Burlington, Iowa with branches to Washington and Oskaloosa, Iowa. Incorporated in 1875 as the Burlington and Northwestern Narrow Gauge Railway Company, it began carrying traffic in 1876, when it also dropped 'narrow gauge' from its corporate name. The line reached Washington in 1880, operating over 52.5 miles (84.5 km) of track. In 1881, the Burlington and Western Railway Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) was formed to connect the line to Oskaloosa, completed in 1883. For two decades, both lines were operated as a single system, until on June 20, 1902, the system was widened to standard gauge and the B&NW was adsorbed by the B&W. Later that year, the system was leased to the CB&Q, and in 1903, the entire system was deeded to the CB&Q.[1][2][3]

Burlington and Northwestern Railway
Overview
HeadquartersBurlington, Iowa
LocaleIowa
Dates of operation1876–1903
SuccessorChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Technical
Track gauge3 ft (914 mm)
Length123.6 miles (198.9 km)

The B&NW-B&W system was one of only two narrow-gauge lines in Iowa to survive into the 20th Century. Only the Bellevue and Cascade lasted longer.[4]

Route

Burlington and Northwestern

The Burlington and Northwestern owned 38.77 miles (62.39 km) of main-line track, in addition to operating rights over 14.13 miles (22.74 km) of Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern (BCR&N) track. The line was built with 30 pound rail, and it had 38 wooden trestles with an aggregate length of 2,790 feet (850 m).[5] By 1892, the number of trestles had been reduced to 22 with an aggregate length of 2,096 feet (639 m). The longest trestle was 500 feet (150 m) long. One 80 foot (24 m) bridge was installed, but the remainder of the reduction in trestles must have been the result of adding fill.[6]

The B&NW tracks ran north along Front Street in Burlington, Iowa, starting at the corner of Market and Front Streets, paralleling the BCR&N tracks to a yard, turntable and roundhouse just north of Burlington. The B&NW initially had a small storefront on Front Street, very near the south end of the line, but later used the BCR&N depot. This was a double storefront on the corner of Jefferson and Front Streets, directly across Front Street from the Diamond Jo Line offices and steamboat docks.[7][8] Later, the B&NW tracks were apparently extended south into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy yard to that line's freight house.[9]

The B&NW used the BCR&N tracks for 14 miles (23 km) north of their Burlington yards. Since the latter was a standard-gauge line, 3-rail dual-gauge track was used.[10] The line served the BCR&N stations at Sperry and Mediapolis along this stretch. The climb from the Mississippi River at Burlington up to Sperry involved a long 1.15 percent grade following Dry Branch Creek; this appears to have been the ruling grade for the entire system.[11]

Just north of Mediapolis, the B&NW turned west on its own right-of-way, passing through Yarmouth, on the way to Winfield. The route continued through Crawfordsville before reaching Washington, where tracks entered town street running north on 2nd St. (renamed 6th Ave. by 1902).[12] The line ended at a Wye just south of the Rock Island depot. The B&NW Washington depot was inside the south end of the wye.[13][14]

Burlington and Western

The Burlington and Western main-line was 70.7 miles (113.8 km) long, in addition to operating rights over 33.8 miles (54.4 km) of Burlington and Northwestern and Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern track into Burlington. The line was built with 35 pound rail. It had 2 iron bridges with an aggregate length of 244 feet (74 m) and 51 wooden trestles with an aggregate length of 7,110 feet (2,170 m). [15] By 1892, there were still just 2 iron bridges, one 120 feet (37 m) long, one 376 feet (115 m) long. The number of trestles had been reduced to 39 with an aggregate length of 7,158 feet (2,182 m); the longest single trestle was 640 feet (200 m).[16]

The B&W line was constructed west from Winfield at the same time that the Iowa Central Railway was being built. The Iowa Central crossed the Burlington and Northwestern at Winfield, and the lines paralleled each other, crossing three times on the way to Oskaloosa. Battles for right-of-way between these two lines included confrontations where crews from both lines vandalized the work of their competitors.[4][11]

The B&W route passed through Noble and Coppock on the way to Brighton, where it crossed the Iowa Central. Crooked Creek flows into the Skunk River just south of Coppock; both the B&W and the Iowa Central had to build substantial bridges over both of these to reach the village. The bridge over the Skunk River, between Coppock and Brighton, was the site of some of the most intense battles between the B&NW and Iowa Central. The two lines crossed again at Brighton.

From Brighton, the line passed through Packwood and Pekin; between these two, it crossed the Milwaukee Road. From Pekin, it continued through Martinsburg to Hedrik where it crossed another branch of the Milwaukee. There were crossings of the Iowa Central both east and west of Hedrick.[12]

The line continued from Hedrick through Fremont and Cedar before entering Oskaloosa from the southeast. The Chicago and Northwestern branch to Muchakinock, Iowa, completed in 1884, crossed the line between Cedar and Oskaloosa.[17] Initially, there was no station at this crossing, but in late 1886, citizens of the area petitioned for a station house, noting that as many as 30 passengers a day were transferring there, and a building was erected at the crossing.[18] Timetables list the new station as Stark. The B&W crossed the Iowa Central again just inside the Oskaloosa city limits.[19] The Oskaloosa depot was a block east of the Iowa Central depot. To get there, the B&W had to cross the Rock Island tracks twice.[20]

Traffic

Despite the fact that both ends of the Burlington and Northwestern were well served by standard-gauge railroads, it was reasonably profitable at first. For the fiscal year ending 1880, the balance sheet shows a profit of $13,394.44 and a return on investment of 6%. Passenger traffic earned $9,345.36, almost all local, with only 12 passengers ticketed onward to connecting lines. Local freight earned $24,554,61 and through freight, originating or ending on other lines, earned $11,966.84. By tonnage, 56% of the freight was grain, 16 percent was livestock, and 13 percent was lumber. No other category made up more than 4% of the freight.[21] Between 1883 and 1889, however, the line paid no dividends and managed to eke out a profit of under $13,000, from which it paid the property taxes of the Burlington and Western, which ran at a net loss during that period.[22] By 1893, the line had returned to a modestly profitable condition.[23]

The Burlington and Western with a route that closely paralleled by the Iowa Central, was not initially profitable. Passenger earnings for 1894 were 11,016.58, and freight earnings were $38,860.80.[24] Over the first 6 years of operation, it ran up a deficit of just over $43,000.[22]

The B&NW and B&W both owned railway post office cars. Post office reports indicated that these cars made 6 trips a week out and back. In 1884, the B&W carried an average of 78 pounds of mail daily at an average speed of 12.75 MPH, including station stops along the route.[25][26]

Just about every station on both lines had a local grain elevator for outgoing grain, but the Harrison Elevator in Burlington, Iowa handled all grain destined beyond the system. This elevator handled 4,000,000 bushels in 1882.[27] The Elevator was a frame building located on the corner of Front and Court streets and had a capacity of 150,000 bushels, powered by a 60 horse-power steam engine.[28] The elevator had a pair of bridges across the tracks evidently used for loading and unloading grain.[29]

After 1890, Coal was a major commodity handled by the Burlington and Western. Oskaloosa was a major coal producer in the late 19th century, and the Burlington and Western served at least two mines in the area. Thomas Long & Brothers opened a shaft 90 feet (27 m) deep in 1890 on the Iowa Central tracks near the west city limits of Oskaloosa. 10 to 20 miners could produce 100 tons per day. To reach this mine, the B&W built a track west along 7th avenue in Oskaloosa, just south of the Rock Island tracks, crossing the Iowa Central wye and then paralleling the Iowa Central tracks to the mine.[30][31][32] The Long Brothers mine closed in 1899.[33]

Lost Creek Fuel Company shaft number 1 in 1896.

The Lost Creek Fuel Company had several mines about 10 miles (16 km) south of Oskaloosa. These mines were served by both the B&W and the Iowa Central.[34][35] Lost Creek Shaft No. 1 operated from 1895 to 1901. Shaft 2 opened in 1901.[36] Shaft 3 opened in 1904.[37] The siding serving these mines was built in 1895 and chartered as the Lost Creek Railway in 1896. It left the B&W and Chicago and Northwestern mainlines at Stark where they crossed, and also connected with the Iowa Central before running 4 miles (6.4 km) south and 2 miles (3.2 km) west.[38] The line is not listed as owning any locomotives or rolling stock.[39] The 1896 photograph of the pit head and tipple clearly shows at least 4 lines of dual-gauge track at the tipple, suggesting that the entire short line was dual gauge. Lost Creek Shaft number two was the site of Iowa's worst mine disaster in 1902.[40][41] Around 1900, the Chicago and North Western began operating over the north half of the Lost Creek Railway as they began constructing their branch to Buxton, Iowa, opened in 1901; it is unknown whether dual-gauge operations continued after this point.[42][43]

In Burlington, the BCR&N and the B&NW both had connections to what must have been a dual-gauge siding that went up to the foot of the bluff behind the BCR&N Freight House to deliver coal to fuel the massive pumps of the Burlington Water Company and the coal bins of the adjacent gas works.[44]

Equipment

The Burlington and North Western had a small roster. Mixed trains were the rule; in 1881, the average train had 7 freight cars and 2 passenger cars.[10] As of 1880, the B&NW owned 3 locomotives (one newly purchased), 3 passenger cars, 2 mail/baggage combines, 39 boxcars and 11 flatcars.[21] The heaviest locomotive weighed only 20.35 tons, and the heaviest passenger car weighed 10.25 tons. By 1884, the count of boxcars (including stock cars) had increased to 52 and the number of flatcars (including coal cars) had increased to 21. The line also had 2 cabooses, a necessity because none of the equipment was equipped with automatic brakes. All passenger equipment was equipped with Miller Platforms and couplers.[5] By 1892, the line had 2 passenger, 2 freight, and 1 switch engine, 3 first-class passenger cars, 3 combines, 1 baggage/express car, 101 box cars, 6 stock cars, and 8 flat cars. Link and pin coupleres were still in use, but air brakes were in use.[6]

The Burlington and Western's roster was equally modest. In 1884, it had 3 locomotives, the heaviest weighing 22 tons, 2 passenger cars, 2 baggage cars (including mail cars), 70 boxcars, 20 stock cars, 15 flatcars and 15 coal cars. As with the B&NW, no automatic brakes were in use, and passenger equipment used Miller Platforms.[15] By 1892, the line had 2 passenger and 2 freight locomotives, 2 first-class passenger cars, 2 combines, 2 baggage/express cars, 115 boxcars, 22 stock cars, 74 flat cars and 55 coal cars. Coupling and braking systems matched those of the B&NW.[16]

In February 1885, the B&NW engine house burned, destroying engine number 1. The B&NW purchased a replacement from the Denver, Utah and Pacific, a 2-8-6T Mason Bogie built in 1882. This became the new number 1 on the line, renumbered 11 in 1889.[45][11] This was the largest locomotive used on these lines.

A northbound B&W train crossing Dry Branch Creek on the BCR&N mainline circa 1898. Two standard-gauge cars riding on narrow-gauge trucks head the train.

The problem of interchanging freight across the break of gauge to standard gauge lines was eventually solved by truck exchange. Incoming standard gauge cars were lifted off of their trucks using hydraulic jacks so that narrow gauge trucks could be rolled in. The reverse procedure was used for outgoing freight, so long as it was on cars that were compatible with standard gauge requirements.[4][46] Truck exchange was not confined to freight cars; for example, the general manager's business car was transferred to standard gauge trucks for his return home after the gauge was widened.[47]

Gauge Widening

The possibility of widening the B&NW/B&W system to standard gauge was investigated as early as 1884, but serious examination of the problem only began in 1894, and work began in 1900. Preliminary work, done over two summers, involved replacing all of the 30 and 35 pound rail with 48 pound rail (on the B&NW) and 65 pound rail (on the B&W) and replacing over 85,000 railroad ties with ties long enough for standard gauge track.[11]

Another preliminary job involved planing seats in the ties spaced for standard gauge rails. This was done with a custom-made steam-powered planer mounted on a flatcar, essentially a pair of dado sets mounted on a shaft so that one dado set cut a new rail seat on each side of the tie. The final preparatory step was to drive all of the outside spikes needed to hold the standard-gauge rail and to pull as many inside spikes as was safe.[12] The railroad encouraged press coverage of these preparations.[48]

With these preliminary jobs done, the actual gauge change was done on Sunday, June 29, 1902. Traffic was suspended for just 9 hours, with the last narrow-gauge trains used to drop off work crews and the first standard-gauge trains picking up the crews. 28 crews of 16 men each did the work of pulling the last spikes on the inside of each rail, shifting both rails outward, and driving new spikes. Several crews managed to work at sustained rates of one mile per hour when there were no complications, despite the heavy rains that fell that day.[49][50] Coffee and barrels of water were set out along the line for the crews, and each worker was provided with 15 sandwiches and a dozen hard-boiled eggs to fuel the day's work.[12][51]

Legacy

The former B&W line to Oskaloosa was abandoned in 1934, with segments sold to the Minneapolis and St. Louis (M&StL), the successor of the Iowa Central. In effect, the M&StL was finally able to undo awkward route choices that had been forced on the Iowa Central when these lines were built.[52]

The last train on the line to Washington was in 1979, and the line was abandoned after a wreck destroyed one of the bridges north of Burlington. The Rock Island, successor of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern owned that bridge and could not afford to repair it.[11] The only remaining segment of the line is the trackage up Front Street in Burlington to the industrial area just south of Flint Creek, now the Burlington Junction Railway.

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References
  1. W. W. Baldwin, The Burlington and Western Railway Company, Corporate History of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company and Affiliated Companies Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, 1921; pages 203-207.
  2. Willard I. Toussaint, Charles Mason and the Burlington-Northwestern Narrow Gauge Railroad, The Annals of Iowa, vol. 38, no. 3 (Winter 1966); pages 186-203.
  3. J. P. Crittenden and Chas. B. Helffrich, Burlington and Northwestern Rw. Co., New York Securities, A Descriptive and Statistical Manual of the Corporations of New York City and Brooklyn, and the Railroads of the United States, New York Securities, 1893; pages 257-258.
  4. Ben H. Wilson, Iowa and the Narrow Guage, The Palimpsest, vol. 13, no. 4 (1932); pages 141-153, discussion of the B&NW starts on page 151.
  5. Report of the Burlington & Northwestern Railway Company for the year ending June 30, 1884, Board of Railroad Commissioners Annual Report, 1884; pages 454-464.
  6. Report of the Burlington & Northwestern Railway Company for the year ending June 30, 1892, Board of Railroad Commissioners Annual Report, 1892; pages 673-686.
  7. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa, Sanborn Map Company, 1888; see map pages 4, 2, 10 (listed South to North).
  8. Henry Wellge, 1889 perspective map of the city of Burlington, Ia., American Publishing Co., Milwaukee, 1889; Library of Congress Map. Collection. Note: the label O marking the depot is on the wrong building.
  9. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa, Sanborn Map Company, 1900; see map pages 10, 4, 3, 40, 47, 48, 54, 58 (listed South to North). Note: The track layouts on maps 10 and 4 do not reconcile, so the evidence to track to the CB&Q freight house is not solid.
  10. Burlington and North-western, Railway World, vol. 7, no. 29 (July 16, 1881); page 689.
  11. David Lotz and Charles Franzen, Rails to a County Seat, The Print Shop, Washington Iowa, 1989; pages 39-41 discuss the "Brighton Railroad Wars," page 43 discusses the Mason Bogie.
  12. Ben H. Wilson, Widening the Narrow Guage, The Palimpsest, vol. 13, no. 4 (1932); pages 154-165, see map, page 158.
  13. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Washington, Washington County, Iowa, 1892; see detail map, page 2.
  14. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Washington, Washington County, Iowa, 1902; see map pages 7 and 6.
  15. Report of the Burlington & Western Railway Company for the year ending June 30, 1884, Board of Railroad Commissioners Annual Report, 1884; pages 465-464.
  16. Report of the Burlington & Western Railway Company for the year ending June 30, 1892, Board of Railroad Commissioners Annual Report, 1892; pages 687-699.
  17. Annual Report of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company for the Twenty-Sixth Fiscal Year Ending May 31, 1885
  18. Citizens of Harrison Tp. v. Chicago & Northwestern and Burlington & Western, Ninth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, State of Iowa, Geo. Roberts, Des Moines, 1886; pages 607-608.
  19. Herald map of Mahaska County, Iowa, The Oskaloosa Herald, 1884; Library of Congress.
  20. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa; see map pages 3, 4, 16 and 9.
  21. Report of the Burlington & Northwestern Railway Co. for the year ending June 30, 1880, Board of Railroad Commissioners Annual Report, 1880; pages 522-529.
  22. John T. Gerry, letter to W. W. Ainsworth, Twelfth Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners for the year ending June 30, 1889, State of Iowa, Ragsdale, Des Moines, 1889; page 805.
  23. Burlington and Northwestern Railway,Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1894, page 733.
  24. Burlington and Western Railroad, Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1894, page 733-734.
  25. Annual Report of the Postmaster-General of the United States for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1882, GPO, 1882; page 112, 210.
  26. Annual Report of the Postmaster-General of the United States for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1884, GPO, 1884; page 216.
  27. The Harrison Elevator, Commercial and Statistical Review of the City of Burlington Iowa, J.L. Spalding & Co., 1882; page 120.
  28. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa, Oct. 1888; see map page 10.
  29. Henry Wellge, 1889 perspective map of the city of Burlington, Ia., American Publishing Co., Milwaukee, 1889; Library of Congress Map Collection.
  30. H. Foster Bain, Geology of Mahaska County; page 357 mentions the Long Brother's Mine.
  31. Ira J. Stoddard, Springer's Outline Map of Oskaloosa iowa, 1890, William Penn University, Wilcox Library, Mahaska County Collection; note, the 1910 map shows this spur relocated, perhaps after the mine closed in 1899.
  32. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa, 1910, Library of Congress Map Collection; note, the difference from the 1890 map may reflect changes made after the mine closed in 1899.
  33. Mine Site Information, Long Brothers, Garfield Township, Mahaska County, Iowa Coal Mines, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Coal Mine GIS.
  34. Mahaska County, Second District, Report of the State Mine Inspectors, Legislative Documents, 26th General Assembly, State of Iowa, vol. III, H Murphy, Des Moines, 1896; page 50.
  35. James H. Lees, Chapter III History of Coal Mining in Iowa -- Mahaska County, in Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report, Des Moines, 1909; page 560.
  36. Mine Site Information, Lost Creek, Harrison Township, Mahaska County, Iowa Coal Mines, Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
  37. Eddyville, The Ottumwa Courrier, Sept. 6, 1904; page 7, column 4, top.
  38. Map of Mahaska County, Iowa, 1895, E. H. Gibbs, 1895; Library of Congress. The tracks are marked "Coal Road" on the map.
  39. Lost Creek Ry, Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1897, page 848.
  40. Phil Hoffmann, The Lost Creek Disaster, The Palimpsest, vol. 26, no. 1 (Jan. 1945); pages 21-27.
  41. Edward Sweeney, Accidents, Second District, Report of the State Mine Inspectors, Legislative Documents, 30th General Assembly, State of Iowa, vol. V, H Murphy, Des Moines, 1904; pages 47-50.
  42. C&NW Ry Will Soon be Histor, Pella chronicle, Dec. 17, 1936; page 4. Copy on the Chicago and North Western Historical Society web site, 2020.
  43. Harrison County, Atlas of Mahaska County, Iowa, 1905, Midland Map Co.; page 16.
  44. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa, Sanborn Map Company, 1900; see map pages 40, 47, 48.
  45. Burlington & Western, B&NW Narrow Gauge Branch Lines, Burlington Bulletin No. 30, Burlington Route Historical Society, 1994; page 6.
  46. Minnier v. Sedalia, Warsaw and Southwestern Ry. Co., Supreme Court of Missouri, Vol 167, E. W. Stephens, 1902; page 112.
  47. Law at Winfield, Ottumwa (Semi-)Weekly Courrier, July 1, 1902; Page 4, column 3, top.
  48. Will Change the Track, Marshalltown Times Republican, June 14, 1902; page 3, column 4, top.
  49. The Burlington & Western and Burlington & Northwestern, The Railway Age, vol. XXXIV, no. 1 (July 4, 1902); page 21.
  50. Converting Narrow to Broad Gauge, The Railway Magazine, Sept. 1902; page 249.
  51. Rebuild Iowa Railroad Within Very Few Hours, Ottumwa (Semi-)Weekly Courrier, July 1, 1902; Page 1, left top, continued on page 4, left top.
  52. Frank P. Donovan, The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway, Iowa Railroads, H. Roger Grant, Ed, University of Iowa Press, 2000; page 41.
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