Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

make the initial trip over the new road. A new
passenger car was brought in and the train pulled out of
Anamosa about seven o'clock in the evening of
December 20. 1904, with J.F. Reed at the throttle;
Charles Corwin as fireman; Joesph Ryan as conductor.
The trip of 14 miles was made in an hour and six
minutes, and the smoothness of the track was a
surprise to everyone.
The line of the old Davenport. Iowa 8: Dakota Railway
was followed substantially except that the bluff region
at Fremont was pierced to save the long route around it.
There was about a mile of heavy rock work done in the
bluff region at Fremont at a cost of $20,000. John Foley
and Son handled their 20-mile contract to Coggon in
the most satisfactory manner, using in the rock cuts
40.000 pounds of powder and 25,000 pounds of
dynamite. Mr. Foley also lost 35 head of mules building
the two miles of roadbed at Fremont.
When the train arrived at Prairieburg half a dozen
sleds were waiting to take the pasengers up town. (The
depot was located at the south edge of town because.
with the town located on a hill, it would have needed
too steep a grade for trains to ascend.) It was a lovely
moonlit night and not too cold. The celebration was
held in the school house. Thomas Abey was the master
of ceremonies. Other speakers were Judge H.M.
Remley. R.W. Stewart, Mr. Glasser, N.J. Benson.
Mr.Gillilan, and E.R. Moore. Near midnight, Kiene
shouted. "All aboard for Anamosa." three cheers were
given, and the teams with their big sleds took on their
loads for the train.
On January 9. 1905. the laying of the rails was
completed to Coggon, and the contractors and their
men took a much needed rest, having worked day and
night a good part of the season.
At the Anamosa end of the line, the piling at
Anderson's mill was rapidly progressing and the short
stretch of grading between the mill and Anamosa was
nearly completed. The depot was to be erected not far
from the Lehman place (where the Roland Browns live
now) just southwest ofthe reformatory.
On January 24. 1905, General Manager John
Wunderlich. Chief Engineer J.F.Lacock, Attorney J .E.
Remley, and a half dozen others, left Anamosa for
Coggon. It was a bitter cold day and this side of
Prairieburg, the snow drifts brought everthing to a
standstill: they could go no further, nor could they
return. All hands were obliged to shovel snow into the
tender to keep up a supply of water, and the night was
passed under the hospitable roof of Mr. Neely. The
intention of this trip was to give attention to the
installation of a switch at Prairieburg and to return with
six carloads of livestock from Coggon and Prairieburg.
In the latter part of April 1905, C.L. Niles sold his
stock in the C.A.& N. Ry. to Henry I-(iene, of Dubuque.
This gave Kiene complete control of the enterprise. On
Sunday. June 4 1905, the "CAN"ran excursion trains
as follows: They left Anamosa at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4
p.m.; and left Coggon at 10:50 a.m., 2:20 p.m. and 5:35
p.m. Fares were 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for
children. This fare applied from any station to any
other station on the line and return. Trains in Anamosa
departed from the Chicago Northwestern depot. Stops
were made at the picturesque rock cuts at Fremont as
well as the picnic grounds at Jackson. Anderson, and
McQueen's Grove. In August of 1905, the "CAN"
railway completed their connection with the Milwaukee
Road and started using the Milwaukee depot in
Anamosa instead of the Chicago Northwestem depot.
The C.A.& N. was completed to Quasqueton. but they
never got a bridge built across the Wapsipinicon River
at Quasqueton, so they could continue the railroad to
Waterloo. The towns and stations served by the
railroad were: Anamosa. Fremont, Jackson, Anderson,
Prairieburg, Coggon, Robinson, Kiene, and
Quasqueton.
President Kiene managed to keep the “CAN "
operating until 1917, when the United States entered
World War I; but the war is what ended the little 20-
mile railroad. It was not needed to handle war goods
and was, therefore, not a priority. In a short time
thereafter, the equipment was sold and the rails and
steel bridges were taken up and went for scrap or for
use on other railroads to help the war effort.
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