(Lake Park)– If you listened real close through the wind Sunday, you could hear another piece of history fade into memory as what will probably the last train made its way through Lake Park, Montgomery, Spirit Lake and Orleans.
The Iowa Northwestern Railroad has been in existence since about 2000. It purchased the branch line from just west of Superior to Allendorf from the Union Pacific Railroad, which was planning to abandon it.
The line was originally constructed in the late 1800’s by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad. It would eventually become known as the Rock Island, followed by the Chicago Northwestern, then Union Pacific, and of more recent times, the Iowa Northwestern Railroad.
The Iowa Northwestern continued to operate freight trains on the line, along with a passenger train operation, which last year was leased out to the Northwest Iowa Railroad Historical Society. Freight revenue continued to decline in recent years, and the passenger train concept never seemed to catch on with the public.
So Sunday, a train consisting of two locomotives, several passenger cars and a caboose made its way through Dickinson county for a final run.
Meanwhile, the future of the rail line remains in question. Legal action is pending against the Iowa Northwestern and its owner for taking out track between Allendorf and Lake Park. Plaintiffs say the railroad didn’t go through the proper abandonment procedure prior to removing the rail. A judge has ruled that no other track on the line can be removed pending the outcome of the case.
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