The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E) was a

Class II railroad In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$5 ...

operating in the north central United States. It has been controlled by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and operated as a part of its system since October 30, 2008. Formerly, the IC&E was jointly owned with the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad by Cedar American Rail Holdings (CARH), making the combined system the largest class II railroad in the United States. Created by the purchase of

I&M Rail Link The I&M Rail Link was a railroad operating in the north central portion of the United States. The company commenced operations on April 5, 1997, acquiring lines from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Soo Line Railroad. On July 31, 2002, the Io ...

, IC&E commenced operations on July 30, 2002. The line, based in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, serves the states of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Principal commodities include chemicals, coal,

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

, and agricultural products. Train dispatching is performed at a joint DM&E/IC&E facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On December 26, 2008, the IC&E was merged into parent CARH, which immediately merged into the DM&E.

History

The IC&E was formed in 2002 to take over the operations of the

(IMRL). The Illinois and the majority of the Iowa portions of the ICE were originally part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road). In 1986, the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...

, a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific, purchased the Milwaukee Road, and began operations on these lines. Canadian Pacific then assumed full ownership of the lines after absorbing the Soo. Facing operating losses, the northern Illinois and Iowa lines were offered for sale by Canadian Pacific in 1997, and the I&M Rail Link purchased the line later that year. However, the Washington Corporation stated that the I&M's operations were not as profitably sound as expected, so Washington sold the I&M to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad in 2002, which acquired the assets of the I&M, rechristening it to the IC&E. In contrast to the two previous owners, the IC&E was able to turn a profit, and after five years of growth, Canadian Pacific announced its intentions to purchase both the IC&E and its sister company the DM&E in late 2007. This effectively allowed CP to reacquire the same lines it had sold only a decade prior. CP lash at DBQ HLCX DME ICE

Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), a division of the Teamsters, gained a contract with the transportation crews on January 24, 2005. Railroad employees first organized under the labor union on December 17, 2003.

Acquisition

On September 4, 2007,

announced its intention to purchase the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad in a transaction that would include the IC&E and other affiliated companies. On September 30, 2008, the United States

Surface Transportation Board The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Intersta ...

announced its approval of Canadian Pacific's proposed purchase of the DM&E, IC&E and Cedar American Rail Holdings, with the official last day of operations for DM&E and IC&E scheduled for October 30, 2008.

Equipment

Motive power consisted of mostly ex- UP EMD SD40-2s rebuilt by General Electric and ex- SP EMD GP40-2s rebuilt by National Rail Equipment in Silvis, Illinois. Four DM&E EMD GP38s along with several ex-IMRL engines rounded out the roster. The SD40-2s and GP40-2s were painted in a DM&E inspired blue and yellow scheme with the name of the railroad spelled out on the sides of the locomotive. Starting in 2005, many of the "new" engines carried names of the towns that IC&E served, a practice utilized on the DM&E.

References

External links

IC&E Unofficial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iowa Chicago Eastern Railroad Former regional railroads in the United States Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Iowa railroads Defunct Minnesota railroads Defunct Missouri railroads Defunct Wisconsin railroads Defunct South Dakota railroads Companies based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota Defunct companies based in South Dakota Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad

History

Acquisition

Equipment

See also

References

External links