The Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s of

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 the ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. Built as a connection from

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, Iowa to the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

at Fremont, Nebraska, it became part of the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

system in the 1880s, and is now a main line of the Union Pacific (UP). The east–west portion from Fremont to Missouri Valley, Iowa, is the Blair Subdivision, carrying mainly westbound UP trains (most eastbounds use the

Omaha Subdivision Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

), and the line from California Junction, Iowa north to Sioux City is the Sioux City Subdivision.''

Trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

'', Trackside Guide No. 4: Omaha-Council Bluffs, September 2003

History

The

Pacific Railway Act of 1862 The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of ...

defined a network of branches that would begin at the Missouri River and join the main line of the

in or near Nebraska. The UP was required to build the branch from Sioux City, but an 1864 amendment released the UP from this obligation, allowing any railroad arriving at Sioux City from the east, or any newly incorporated railroad, to construct the line and gain the associated

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s. The Sioux City and Pacific Railroad was organized for this purpose in August 1864, and soon came under common ownership with the

Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad The Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad was a railroad chartered to run from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Council Bluffs, Iowa on the Missouri River. It was the first railroad to reach Council Bluffs, Iowa, the eastern terminus of the First tran ...

, a land-grant company, leased by the

, that completed its road across Iowa to

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is lo ...

in April 1867. To build the portion in Nebraska, the Northern Nebraska Air Line Railroad was incorporated in June 1867 and merged into the Sioux City and Pacific in September 1868.

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

, 137 I.C.C. 1 (1928): Chicago and North Western Railway Company

Yesterday and To-day: A History
1905, pp. 27-31 In August 1867 the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River opened a branch from Missouri Valley Junction west to California Junction (sold to the Sioux City and Pacific in July 1871), where the Sioux City and Pacific, funded by the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River, began constructing its line north through the

Missouri River Valley The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long th ...

, reaching

in February 1868. The line from California Junction west to

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city and county seat of Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 census. Fremont is the home of Midland University. History From the 1830 ...

was completed in early 1869, initially crossing the Missouri River via a car ferry. From 1870 until July 1884, the Sioux City and Pacific operated the

Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (FE&MV), sometimes called "the Elkhorn," was a railroad established in 1869 in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. About The company constructed several lines in Nebraska, inclu ...

, which continued northwest from Fremont into northwestern Nebraska. (The

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

subsidiary

Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, 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: Wiscon ...

opened the first eastern connection to Sioux City in October 1870.Report of the Department of the Interior for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1885, Volume I
p. 630) The Blair Bridge opened in late 1883, replacing the car ferry across the Missouri River. In 1884, the Chicago and North Western acquired control of the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River and the connecting Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad, which had jointly purchased the Sioux City and Pacific in 1880. Operations remained separate until August 1901, when the C&NW leased and soon merged the company into itself. (During the previous month, the Sioux City and Pacific had bought the incomplete roadbed of the

Moville Extension Railway Moville (; ) is a coastal town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland, close to the northern tip of the island of Ireland. It is the first coastal town of the Wild Atlantic Way when starting on the northern end. Location ...

, which the C&NW completed that year, branching off the main line at

Sergeant Bluff Sergeant Bluff is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA– NE– SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,015 at the time of the 2020 census. History The city was named in honor o ...

and connecting to an existing C&NW line at Moville.) The line became more important in the 1960s, when the point where the UP and C&NW interchanged transcontinental traffic was moved from

to Fremont, allowing for a shorter route via Blair. After the UP acquired control of the C&NW in 1995, it implemented

directional running A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

in late 1996, taking eastbound trains (including

Powder River Basin The Powder River Basin is a geologic structural basin in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its extensive coal reserves. The former hunting grounds of the Oglala Lakota, the area is very s ...

coal) over the longer but flatter

through Council Bluffs. However, high-priority "Z" intermodal trains use the Blair Subdivision in both directions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sioux City Pacific Railroad Defunct Iowa railroads Defunct Nebraska railroads Predecessors of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company Railway companies established in 1864 Railway companies disestablished in 1901 Rail lines receiving land grants

History

See also

References