[CBQ] Osceola-Des Moines branch?

["Eric" <eric_d_hopp@yahoo.com>]

Could anyone tell me the history of the branch line from Osceola, Iowa to Des 
Moines?

I grew up in Des Moines - 1968-1986 - and although I spent a lot of time 
exploring the CGW, the DMU, and the Rock Island I wasn't aware that the Q had 
ever had a presence Downtown.  That it once served Des Moines with a through 
'arc' which left the main at Albia and rejoined at Osceola was news to me.

Yesterday I was looking at old aerial photos and topo maps and was able to 
locate the Osceola-Des Moines route.

Who built it and when?  Was it the same company who built the branch from 
Albia?  Who built the bridge across the Racoon River at the CGW yard?  Who 
built the bridge across the Des Moines River, which was the southern-most of 
the four railroad bridges crossing the river downtown, each a block apart?

How did the Q operate the two branches?  Were they ever considered a through 
route?  Perhaps a secondary main so that passenger trains could serve the 
Capitol City?

Did either have a depot in Des Moines?

When was the Osceola-Des Moines segment taken up?  Was it at the same time as 
the Q's downtown bridge across the Des Moines River?

Does anyone have pictures or track charts?

Eric





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