The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E) was a Class II railroad operating in the north central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It has been controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway 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 The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Before its purchase, it was the largest Class II railroad in the United States, operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in ...

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, IC&E commenced operations on July 30, 2002. The line, based in Davenport, Iowa, serves the states of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Principal commodities include

chemicals A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

, steel, automobiles, and agricultural products. Train dispatching is performed at a joint DM&E/IC&E facility in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

. 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 I&M Rail Link (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 The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experience ...

(Milwaukee Road). In 1986, the Soo Line Railroad, 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 The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) is a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on 8 May 1863 as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. It was the first permanent trade organization for railroad workers in the US. A year late ...

(BLET), a division of the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...

, 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, Canadian Pacific Railway announced its intention to purchase the

in a transaction that would include the IC&E and other affiliated companies. On September 30, 2008, the United States Surface Transportation Board 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 SD40-2 The EMD SD40-2 is a C-C diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD from 1972 to 1989. The SD40-2 was introduced in January 1972 as part of EMD's '' Dash 2'' series, competing against the GE U30C and the ALCO Century 630. Although higher-horsep ...

s rebuilt by General Electric and ex- SP

EMD GP40-2 The EMD GP40-2 is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division as part of its Dash 2 line between April 1972 and December 1986. The locomotive's power is provided by an EMD 645E3 16-cylinder engine which generates ...

s rebuilt by National Rail Equipment in

Silvis, Illinois Silvis is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. It is part of a larger metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is situated across four counties in Illinois and Iowa. It is located four miles ...

. Four DM&E

EMD GP38 The EMD GP38 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and December 1971. The locomotive's prime mover was an EMD 645 16-cylinder engine that generated . The company built 70 ...

s 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