Now that I’ve posted a Peoria Rail Gallery (January 3), I will compare and contrast other cities’ railroads in the region. The first will be the Quad Cities, consisting of Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois. Major suburbs are Barstow, Colona, East Moline, Milan and Silvis in Illinois and Buffalo, Eldridge, Mount Joy and Riverdale in Iowa. The Quad Cities Area is served by three railroads – BNSF Railway, Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railway and the Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd.
To understand what railroad operates where, refer to the map. The map shows track ownership by railroad, but there is much shared trackage. Between East Moline and Rock Island, all three railroads serving the Quad Cities use BNSF’s “Quad Cities Industrial Track.” BNSF uses a section of the Iowa Interstate mainline between Colona and Silvis. Also, Iowa Interstate uses BNSF trackage to reach its “Milan Branch” (shown in red on west side of Rock Island). On the Iowa side, BNSF and DM&E share track between Davenport and Clinton.
BNSF’s “Barstow Local” rolls through downtown Moline on July 8, 2006.
BNSF Railway serves the Quad Cities via a branchline off its mainline at Barstow, where a small yard is maintained to support local train operations. It runs west through Silvis, East Moline, Moline and Rock Island before crossing the Mississippi River on the Crescent Bridge. BNSF exercises trackage rights on the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railway to reach customers in Bettendorf and also Clinton, Iowa.
Customers served by BNSF in the Quad Cities area include Atlas Roofing (East Moline), National Railway Equipment (Silvis), Deere & Company – Harvester Works* (East Moline), Illinois Oil Products (Rock Island), Dohrn Transfer (Rock Island), Alter Trading (Bettendorf), Barton Solvents* (Bettendorf), ALCOA* (Riverdale), Mid-American Energy* (Riverdale), Captive Plastics* (Bettendorf), Olympic Steel* (Pleasant Valley) and Americold Logistics* (Pleasant Valley). In outlying stations, BNSF serves Tyson Fresh Meats (Joslin) and Darling International (Lynn Center).
*denotes customers accessible to both BNSF and DM&E on joint track, served by one or the other.
BNSF handles the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus train for the annual Labor Day weekend show at the i Wireless Center in Moline. The train above is shown outside Galesburg on September 3, 2001, waiting for a crew change. The train left Moline before sunrise.
An Iowa Chicago & Eastern train from Cordova nears the I-74 overpass in Moline on July 8, 2006.
The Dakota Minnesota & Eastern recently entered the Quad Cities when parent Canadian Pacific merged its recently acquired (October 30, 2008) subsidiaries Dakota Minnesota & Eastern and Iowa Chicago & Eastern into one entity, with the former’s name surviving. The Quad Cities are served on the carrier’s Chicago – Kansas City mainline. DM&E maintains its main yard facilities in Davenport.
Customers served by the DM&E in the Quad Cities area include: CF Industries at Ceffco (northern end of the “Nitrin Branch”); 3M Chemicals, Plains Marketing, Westway Trading and once in a blue moon, Exelon Generation Co.’s nuclear power plant in Cordova; Deere & Company – Harvester Works* at East Moline; National Railway Equipment at Silvis; Americold Logistics* and Olympic Steel* at Pleasant Valley; ALCOA*, Barton Solvents*, Captive Plastics* and Mid-American Energy* at Bettendorf/Riverdale; on the “Eldridge Spur,” Precision Strip, Deere & Company – Davenport Works, Leiner Davis Gelatin and ProBuild are served. In Davenport proper, Warren Packaging Co., Nestle-Purina Pet Care (dog food plant), Rich Metals, Ossian Inc., Alter Scrap Processing, Murray’s Transfer & Storage, Marco, City Carton Co., Solar Plastics, Catch-Up Logistics, Nestle-Purina Pet Care (warehouse) and Nichols Aluminum are served. At Linwood, immediately southwest of Davenport, DM&E serves Cenex Harvest States’ elevators, Koch Materials, Tex Par LLC, Linwood Mining & Minerals and La Farge Corp. At Buffalo, Cargill Salt and a Cargill grain elevator and bulk transfer facility are served. Further west at Montpelier, the large SSAB Iowa, Inc. (former IPSCO) steel mill is served.
*denotes customers accessible to both BNSF and DM&E on joint track, served by one or the other.
BNSF and IC&E trains meet on joint track at Bettendorf on September 30, 2006. Both carriers have access to customers located on this line, but one carrier is contracted to serve them. (Who said bike trails couldn’t be built so close to active rail lines, especially without protective fencing?)
An Iowa Interstate train trundles down the Milan Branch on July 8, 2006.
The Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. serves the Quad Cities on its Chicago – Council Bluffs mainline. Yard facilities are maintained at Rock Island, though a new yard is being developed to the east at Silvis, which will eventually replace the Rock Island Yard.
Quad Cities area customers served by the Iowa Interstate include Anchor Do-It Lumber and National Railway Equipment at Silvis; Midland Davis and Midland Paper & Products at Moline, the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island and on the Milan Branch, Holcim Corp, Rock Island River Terminal, Sara Lee Bakery, E & J Metal Co., RiverStone Group, Roberts & Dybdahl (two adjacent facilities), Interstate Chemical, Country Stone & Soil, Wheeler Lumber, Miller Container and Steel Warehouse Inc. In Davenport, IAIS serves Phoenix Closures. In outlying areas, customers such as Co-Op Gasoline & Oil at Geneseo, Illinois and soon Ossian Inc. (now served by DM&E) at Walcott, Iowa, are served.
Iowa Interstate Railroad CEO Henry Posner III purchased these two Chinese-built steam locomotives in 2006. Last October 18 they operated excursions to raise funds for flood relief. They’re shown getting ready to couple onto passenger cars at the 17th Street Yard in Rock Island.
Above, an Amtrak-operated special for the American Association of Private Car Owners is shown snaking its way through Moline on September 16, 2007 enroute from Chicago to a convention in Omaha, Nebraska.
Amtrak may start Chicago – Quad Cities service within two years if funding can be obtained for necessary track upgrades and the construction of a connection between BNSF and Iowa Interstate lines at Wyanet.
- David P. Jordan
7 responses so far ↓
1
Erik
// Feb 23, 2009 at 5:27 am
Although the BNSF has served Mid-American Energy’s Riverside Generating Station in the past, the current contract for coal is for the UP. UP coal trains for Riverside and Louisa (Muscatine) make their way down from the UP mainline at Clinton.
2
David P. Jordan
// Feb 23, 2009 at 6:25 am
I listed all joint customers on ex-Dri-Line track as I’m not sure anymore who serves whom, though I’m aware that DME delivers coal to Mid-American’s Riverside Station for UP.
I considered listing The George Evans Corp. (which the DM&E does on their website), but I’ve been back there and though their spur is intact, that place hasn’t use rail for a long time! While I did list Warren Packaging, I figure they haven’t done rail for a longtime either. And I’m unsure how Rich Metals loads scrap into railcars, unless they have some agreement with Alter.
3
David P. Jordan
// Feb 23, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Erik, I’ve denoted joint BNSF-DM&E customers with an * for better clarification.
4
Robert Thompson
// Feb 25, 2009 at 2:57 pm
This is a very interesting article. I travel up the Great River Road to Galena quite often. There is a town called savanna which has some real big railroad lines in it. It was a McDonalds , i believe, which has some painted boards of the railrods that go through town.
The trail up the river road is an example of how rails and trails can be built right next to each other. This just kind of kills the arguments made that rails and trails cannot survive next to each other.
5
David P. Jordan
// Feb 25, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Hi Robert,
I was surprised to see the trail nestled between the railroad and the Mississippi River with not even a fence in sight!
6
Robert Sabbe
// Aug 26, 2009 at 7:38 pm
First, your site is very good. Was trying to find out about the circus train coming in for Labor Day. You mention BNSF handles it. would it then be coming into the Quad Cities from the Barstow and onto the industrial line into Moline? Also would you know the approx date it would be coming in? Reason I ask is I would like to get video of it for my YouTube channel Fastrains56 Thanks.
7
David P. Jordan
// Aug 26, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Hi Robert,
I can only speculate but here it goes: the previous show is at Lexington, Kentucky so I expect the routing to be CSXT McCook (IL) BNSF. The train should depart Lexington early Monday morning, August 31. Assuming no problems enroute, it should be delivered to BNSF at McCook sometime during the wee hours of Tuesday, September 1. If the above scenario is used, then that would put the train on the Chillicothe Subdivision during the morning hours, perhaps early. Then, the train would take the Cameron Connection to reach the Ottumwa Sub and then the Passenger Main where a crew change would take place (and perhaps the animals fed and watered as well). A fast run up the Barstow Sub would put the train into the QC Area in the afternoon. If I find out more, I’ll provide an update here.
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