RFRIC – The BCR&N Railroad. | Our Iowa Heritage

When Iowa joined the Union in 1846, transportation in and around the Hawkeye State was very limited. Riverboats, of course, worked well in connecting the larger communities located on the Mississippi River, but for the good people of Iowa City, traveling outside of the capital city was limited to horseback, horse-drawn carriage, and stagecoach. Back east, the railroads were becoming quite abundant (see map below), but the closest train station to Iowa City was in Chicago.

Over a period of 120 years of Iowa City history (1850-1970) there have been five railway systems (see map below) that have attempted to bring passenger rail service into our community. One of those railroads was very short-lived, while others were here nearly that entire time.

This map – courtesy of historian Tom Schulien – shows the five passenger railway systems of Iowa City. **Brown** **– Lyons-Iowa Central RR – The Calico** (1850-1854) **Green** **– M&M / Rock Island RR** (1853-1974) **Blue – Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern RR – The Plug** (1873-1924), **Black** – **CRANDIC Interurban Railway** (1904-1953) and **Red** – **Iowa City Electric Railway** (1910-1930).

On this page, let’s take a deeper dive into the third railway system of Iowa City…

The Cedar Rapids and St. Paul Railway Company was incorporated in 1865, and then consolidated into the Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Minnesota Railway Company in 1868. The mission was to have a railroad coming from the south (Burlington) via Wapello, West Branch, Cedar Rapids, Vinton, and Waterloo; and into the state of Minnesota. Plans moved forward – branches (plugs) were built along the way, including the Iowa City plug – until fall 1873, when all construction stopped due to financial panic. Bonds were defaulted and the railroad fell into receivership in May 1875 and was sold to the Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Northern Railway on June 19, 1876.

The BCR&N Branch- called The Plug Line began service between Iowa City and Elmira – approximately eight miles northeast of Iowa City – in October 1873.

*The BCR&N Plug Line depot was where the Iowa City Recreation Building stands today. The official name was the Burlington Street Depot or “Plug” Depot.* *The depot was used by the Railway Express Agency until the 1960’s.*

Above (left) is a BCR&N Time Table from January 1888. Enlarged (right) is the schedule for Iowa City arrivals and departures.

In October 1899, the BCR&N Railroad was the target of a train-wrecking scheme and Iowa City’s crack detective – L.A. Clearman – took the case. Read the details here.

The BCR&N Plug tracks came into Iowa City from the south from Hills, running parallel to Ralston Creek under the College Street bridge; then diagonally northeast across Washington Street and Iowa Avenue to Jefferson Street. On Jefferson Street, the street was shared for three blocks with horse-drawn vehicles. Then running diagonally, the tracks continued southeast across College Street and 7th Avenue, with continuation across Court Street, south of the Iowa City fairgrounds (present-day City High). The line continued east and then northeast through Scott and Graham Townships of Johnson County to Elmira.

Elmira (see above) was the junction for the branch or “plug line” into Iowa City. Elmira was never a town, only a busy railroad switching center. At Elmira, the Iowa City BCR&N plug line connected with two other lines – one east to Clinton and the other – north & south to Minneapolis and Burlington. At its peak, Elmira was made up of a hotel with a lunchroom, and also a water tower (see pic below right – taken after 1903 when the Rock Island took over the line).

Interestingly, until the CRANDIC Interurban electric railway opened for business in 1904, the only way for folks to travel from Iowa City to Cedar Rapids was to take the BCR&N Plug Line to Elmira, and then transfer to the northbound line into Cedar Rapids.

On this 1902 map you can see the Rock Island line (green) running east and west through Iowa City, and the BCR&N lines (yellow). The Iowa City Plug Line (yellow) ran from Elmira (northeast of Iowa City) to Iowa Junction (south of Hills) where it connected to the BCR&N east/west line called the Muscatine/Montezuma line. More details here.

*The Muscatine/Montezuma line was first built in the 1870’s and was owned or leased over the years by a variety of railroad companies – including the BCR&N.*

In 1903, the BCR&N Plug Line was bought out by the Rock Island Railroad and became part of their expanding freight system, with passenger service ending in 1924. In late October 1915 into the fall of 1916, a start-up company leased the southern part of the Plug Line, attempting to run a small passenger service from Iowa City south to Iowa Junction and then east into Muscatine.

The 1916 SUI MECCA Parade (below) featured a float made to look like an Iowa City/Muscatine Interurban train car. This short-lived passenger service ran on the BCR&N Muscatine/Montezuma railroad line, going under the name of the Muscatine & Iowa City Railway. By August 1916, the company folded.

By 1930, most of the BCR&N Plug Line track in and around Iowa City was removed with a very small portion remaining in use for freight purposes until the early 1960’s (see map below).

Today, the walking trail in Court Hill Park – off Friendship Street – has stone remnants from the original BCR&N Plug Line Bridge over Ralston Creek.

As for other traces of the BCR&N in Iowa City – my historian friend, Tom Schuppert, relays this story about the BCR&N 3-stall Engine Roundhouse which still stands at 408 S. Gilbert Street (above right) in downtown Iowa City…

“When I was a kid, I found this bronze journal friction bearing (above left) in Ralston Creek – right by the engine house. The building was used by the Rock Island Railroad for storage by then. This piece would have been one of three from an steam engine eccentric rod end (presumably) that fit on the journal of a drive wheel. I’m not positive on that, but I’m guessing it was replaced with a new one and this piece was tossed into the creek.”

What a great find, Tom. Thanks for sharing your BCR&N story!

Riding The Five Rails Of Iowa City – An Introduction
The Lyons-Iowa Central RR – The Calico (1850-1854)
The Mississippi & Missouri (M&M) / Rock Island (CRI&P) RR (1853-1974)
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern (BCR&N) RR – The Plug (1873-1924)
The Cedar Rapids & Iowa City (CRANDIC) Interurban Railway (1904-1953)
The CRANDIC Interurban Railway Trolley Picture Page
The Iowa City Electric Railway (1910-1930)

Gone – but never forgotten!