Iowa City’s Railroad Depot – Grand Central Station.

When the Mississippi and Missouri (M&M) Railroad committed to complete their first Iowa line from Davenport to Iowa City (1853), a delegation of Iowa City businessmen sweetened the deal by offering a $50,000 bonus if M&M would complete their 55-mile track before January 1st, 1856. Read more here.

In one of the most exciting stories in Johnson County history, the M&M work crew, aided by local townspeople (see pic below), accomplished the task – bringing the first M&M locomotive into Iowa City on December 31, 1855 – just as the church bells of Iowa City were ringing in the New Year! Read more here.

**Railroad Arrives – 1856** – an oil painting by Iowa City artist Mildred Pelzer (1934). Click here to read more about Mildred Pelzer’s amazing mural.

With the railroad now connecting our fair community with Chicago and the East, from 1856-1860, Iowa City became one busy place – the American railroad’s “end of the line” for pioneers looking to head westward. Below, you can see the daily train schedules in and out of Iowa City from 1856 to 1858…

In preparation for this highly-anticipated arrival of the railroad, the good people of Iowa City built a small depot at the south end of South Johnson Street – four blocks to the east of the present Rock Island station. This small facility (pictured above) faithfully served Iowa Citians between 1856 and 1898.

*On this 1854 map – the proposed location of the M&M station was just a bit west of where it was actually built in 1856.* *Read about **The Central House** – a hotel located near the first Iowa City depot.*

By 1860, the financially-challenged M&M Railroad finally opened a bridge over the Iowa River, extending their railroad line westward toward Homestead and beyond. The goal was to reach Des Moines and the Missouri River as quickly as they could, but in all honesty, the lack of funding was slowing up the process.

Iowa City historian, Irving Weber, tells us more…

*(L-0077)* **1860 Appleton’s Railway Timetable** for Chicago-Iowa City trains via Rock Island and Mississippi & Missouri Railways.

*Above is a map from 1852 laying out the M&M’s proposed route through Iowa. Sadly, that goal was never achieved, and by 1866, M&M was bought out by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad.*

In the summer of 1866, the M&M Railroad – which had been struggling with finances for years – was finally purchased by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad, which had partnered with M&M from the very beginning.

*Under the ownership of the Rock Island Railroad, westward expansion across Iowa was finally completed – with the first Rock Island locomotive reaching Council Bluffs on May 12, 1869.* *You can read more here.*

***Below: Here’s a Rock Island (CRI&P) timetable published in The Daily Press on April 9, 1874…***

In 1898, a new, state-of-the-art Rock Island Depot was built at 115 Wright Street – costing $25,000 and using a design similar in plans to other larger stations in Ottawa, IL and Council Bluffs, IA. The records from the National Register of Historical Places (NRHP) show…

Below (left) – on December 8, 1897, The Iowa City Weekly Republican offers an editorial on how the city and the CRI&P Railroad officials need to proceed in the midst of what looks to be a pretty controversial decision. Below (right) – the February 2, 1898 edition of The Weekly Republican reports that progress is being made in creating “the finest depot this side of Des Moines”…

The March 11, 1898 edition of The Iowa Citizen (above right) indicates that the City Council has given full speed ahead on the new depot. And, in the September 30, 1898 edition of The Citizen, we find the short story (below right) telling the good citizens of Johnson County, that the new CRI&P depot “formally opened last evening”…

The October 5, 1898 edition of The Iowa City Weekly Republican gives us the full story about the Thursday, September 29, 1898 dedication…

***Two days later, on October 7, 1898, The Iowa City published a similar overview (below) of the September 29th dedication event…***

*(M-0089)* ***Stan Haring Artwork: Iowa City Rock Island Depot.***

The Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad Depot in Iowa City was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1982, and is also designated and protected as a Historic Landmark in Iowa City.

***In 1982, Iowa City’s famed historian – Irving Weber – recorded an 18-minute video standing in front of the CRI&P Railroad Depot in Iowa City. Come read the full story & view the video!***

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the Rock Island Depot served as the major transportation hub for people coming in and out of Iowa City. Read more here.

*(P-0188)* (P-0383) **Iowa** *City Rock Island Depot*.

***Here’s the very first Rock Island “Rocket” – later identified as No. 17. See story below.***

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad named its post-depression passenger trains “Rockets” not just for speed, but also to honor the first Rock Island steam passenger locomotive: The Rocket – Chicago to Joliet – October 10, 1852.

*A crowd gathers at Iowa City Depot waiting for the football “Rocket” – returning the team home to the State University of Iowa – 1913*.

Above left: A map of Iowa showing the many stops of the Rock Island Railroad, Above right: A platform sign in Omaha for the Rock Island’s Corn Belt Rocket. Pic courtesy of Mark Vaughn.

Daily service in and out of Iowa City included the CRI&P’s Corn Belt Rocket and Rocky Mountain Rocket passenger lines.

View the fascinating film – Iowa City 1943 – that gives us a brief look at two men who graduated from the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in July 1943.

(M-0021) The Corn Belt Rocket started service in 1947 and connected Chicago with Omaha across Illinois and Iowa. It was a day train (no sleepers). Here is a one-way ticket from Philadelphia to Iowa City, dated September 11, 1947. This passenger would have taken the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) from Philadelphia to Chicago, and then change trains to the Corn Belt Rocket – Seat 29 in Car C.

*Here’s one of the Rock Island’s larger locomotives as it arrived in Iowa City in the 1940’s.*

**Two Iowa City Presidential Whistlestops – 1948 & 1952.** The Presidential races of 1948 and 1952 brought the campaigns of President Harry S. Truman (1948) and General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1952) right to the front door of Iowa City. Read these first-hand accounts of two unforgettable Whistlestops that drew huge crowds to the CRI&P Railroad Depot on Wright Street.

**On May 31, 1970, the last two Rock Island Rockets came into Iowa City. You can read the full story here.**

The Rock Island Railroad ceased passenger operations in the early 1970’s, although the railroad continued to maintain offices here into the ’80’s.

In 1982, the depot was acquired by two attorneys, one of which, Dale Sanderson (1950-2020), was a close family friend of our Boller family. After Dale Sanderson’s passing, the building has remained as offices, but today, plans are underway to restore the building as it was during its Rock Island Railroad heydays (1898-1970). Read more details here.

While passenger rail service in Iowa City ended years ago, recently (until 2021) the Hawkeye Express used some of the original west-side tracks to transport football fans to Kinnick Stadium – the old Rock Island line that once took passengers from Iowa City to Marengo as early as 1860!

**The Rock Island Railroad** played a big part in our Boller history. Click here to read more about that part of Our Iowa Heritage…or shall I say, Missouri?

Click here for a complete index of pages dedicated to Iowa Railroads

Click here for a M&M Railroad Timetable

On July 1, 1976, The Iowa City Press-Citizen published a special 76-page Bicentennial edition. In that edition there were articles and pictures related to stories found on this page. You can read more here.