The North Star Limited was the premier 1st Class passenger train on the
M&StL, which ran from St. Paul, MN to St. Louis, using Wabash trackage
rights south of Albia. It was #7 & 8.
M&StL originally arrived in Albia as the Central Railroad Co of Iowa, in
1871. The road was later renamed the Iowa Central Railway in a
reorganization in 1879. The line for a short time extended further
south, with Coatesville, on the Missouri Border south of Moravia, the
intended target. Wabash/Gould stymied any attempts to get out of Iowa
towards St. Louis thus the end of the line became Albia. As the IaC also
had their eastward connection to Peoria from Oskaloosa, when the M&StL
bought the IaC in 1912, the Peoria Gateway was introduced. Oskaloosa
became the main town in S Ia for the M&StL and the Albia line became a
branch. The Wab took over the trackage south of town (???). The Wab &
IaC/M&StL shared a depot and freight house of the SE side of Albia. The
brick Freight House still stands, and I believe the foundation for the
depot is still visible. The Wab & M&StL had a joint 4/5 track yard at
this location, which ran NE to SW on the SE side of Albia. The land is
still vacant and one can easily see where the tracks were. There are
still some Oil Jobbers on the east side of site which were once served
by the RR, and one can see the area where the roundhouse, turntable, and
stockpens once stood. Most other business was LCL and team track. A
tourist cabin camp still sits on the north side of this yard area,
between the Wab & M&StL tracks. The Wab left the yard on a curve headed
NW through town, where it paralled the CB&Q on the north side to the
west end of the CB&Q yard, and then headed NW toward Des Moines. The
M&StL followed the angle of the joint yard and headed NE to Maxon where
it crossed the CB&Q and then continued to Bridgeport/Eddyville, where it
crossed the DM river on the west edge of Eddyville. This is the line
that C&NW rebuilt south from Marshalltown when Cargil built their corn
syrup plant at Eddyville in 1984. The M&StL tracks actually ran between
the two CB&Q lines coming out of Maxon into Albia.
Don Hofsommer is close to publishing a history on the Iowa Central,
which should be out soon.
Doug Harding
Iowa Central Railroad (modeling the IaC, including Albia, in 1949 as if
the CB&Q owned it) www.cal-net.net/~dharding/
<http://www.cal-net.net/~dharding/>
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