Iowa Chicago & Eastern

Company History: The IC&E first appeared in 2002 when Washington Corp and Canadian Pacific sold the I&M Rail Link to a subsidiary of the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern. Like its predecessor, the 1,385 mile line was Y shaped with Chicago at the base, Kansas City on the southwestern leg and the Twin Cities on the northwestern leg. There were also 7 major branches, mostly on the northwestern leg in Iowa.

The 83 unit IC&E diesel fleet consisted of: 7 GP9’s 10 GP40-2’s 3 SD40-3’s 63 SD40-2’s

The official paint scheme was the same blue and yellow used on parent DM&E but with the IC&E name on the hood.

Where I&M Rail Link had earned less than stellar income from these lines, the Iowa Chicago & Eastern was quite successful. Parent DM&E began making noises about building into the Powder River Basin. This got the attention of Canadian Pacific who in 2007, offered to buy the DM&E and the IC&E. In 2008, the acquisition was approved. Later that year, with both lines now subsidiaries of Canadian Pacific, the Iowa Chicago & Eastern was merged into the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern. As you may remember, IC&E predecessor I&M Rail Link started as a spin-off of Canadian Pacific. So CP bought lines in 2008 at a premium price that it was happy to be rid of eleven years before.

Successor/Parent History: The DM&E launched in 1986 as a spin-off of Chicago & North Western. The mainline ran from Winona, Minnesota (where there are Mississippi River docks) west to Rochester, Mankato, then onto Pierre and Rapid City, South Dakota. At that point the line split with one leg headed west to Colony, Wyoming, and the other leg headed south to Crawford, Nebraska. There were also a few other branchlines. Total mileage was 965 miles (putting it between Chicago & Eastern Illinois and Montana Rail Link in relative size.)

Operations began with 39 locomotives, mostly rebuilt SD9’s of Milwaukee Road heritage. Eventually DM&E dumped these first generation engines and in later years had a fleet of 69 rebuilt SD40-2’s, GP40-2’s, GP38-2’s, and a few one-offs. They also had about 5,000 freight cars, mostly grain hoppers.

In 1997, DM&E announced their intention to build a line to the huge coal reserves in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. The project would have included rebuilding nearly the entire mainline plus building a new (and long) branch to reach the Basin. It would have been the biggest new construction since Great Northern’s Oregon Trunk in 1931. They did receive permission from the government but NIMBY opposition dragged out the start of construction for many years.

In 2008, The Dakota Minnesota & Eastern and sister road Iowa Chicago & Eastern were purchased by Canadian Pacific. After a bit of study, CPR wisely backed away from the Powder River Project.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.