Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway

The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in turn, the result of merging several predecessor lines, the construction of which began in 1869. The corporate headquarters were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it had operations in Iowa and in Minnesota. It was succeeded by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.

The original mainline ran from Burlington, Iowa via Cedar Rapids north to Albert Lea, Minnesota, with a perpetual lease of the 'Minneapolis Road' from there to Minneapolis. By 1882, branch lines had been built to Traer, Postville, Muscatine, Iowa City, and the coal mines of the What Cheer region, all in Iowa. Through passenger service was offered from Minneapolis to St. Louis in conjunction with the St. Louis, Keokuk and Northwestern Railroad (later part of the CB&Q).

In 1880, the Burlington Cedar Rapids and Northern granted running rights to the Burlington and Northwestern Railway from Burlington, Iowa north to Mediapolis, a distance of 13.77 miles. Since the latter line used three foot gauge until regauged in the 20th century, a third rail was put down on this stretch of mainline, converting it to dual gauge.

The last run of the Zephyr Rocket between St. Louis and Minneapolis over the former BCR&N mainline was in the spring of 1967. Freight service on the line from Burlington to Cedar Rapids ceased with the bankruptcy of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in March 1980. In the early 1990s, the Hoover Nature Trail began acquiring the Burlington to Cedar Rapids right of way for conversion to a recreational trail.

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