Iowa Northern Railway will take over a UP Brancline in order to attract customers onto the line, as well as bring back customers such as the Winnebago Plants.This new Grain Line will be a great boost for the shortline. the line is being connected by trackage rights on the CP.
It seems somehow appropriate that the IANR should acquire another piece of the old BCR&N. This line is a remnant of the track that originally branched off the BCR&N main at Vinton, before branching again at Dows. Depending on where UP draws the line, the sale might also include a small piece of the old CGW that bypasses Belmond. On the northern end, this purchase includes a piece of the old M&StL in Forest City.
Considering that IANR doesn’t get to own the ex-CRIP land underneath, they have to work harder to make the branch pay for itself. (Not UP’s fault, CNW and the State of Iowa would need to better explain the thinkin’ here that allowed operating rights to be separated from the real estate ownership during the Rock Sale of several Iowa lines…)