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Humeston and Shenandoah Railway

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22: 110:. The line's construction was contested, however, by the Burlington Route, and eventually Gould compromised and allowed the H&S Railroad to be built as a joint initiative with the Burlington. Upon completion of construction, the H&S line was leased for operation to a company owned jointly by the Wabash and the Burlington on April 1, 1881, and operated for their joint accounts. This arrangement continued until the Wabash bankruptcy of 1899, after which the line was operated by the Burlington Route under lease. 174:, during the height of the Great Depression (December 1935). Other segments abandoned were the Shenandoah to Norwich segment in April 1938; Clarinda to Merle Jct. in December 1945; and Clearfield to Humeston, also in December 1945. The last and final segment of the H&S to disappear was the trackage between Merle Jct. and 195:, and H&S suffered from a lack of industrial development along its line. The line's revenue base relied too much on coal, products of agriculture, and passenger operations for it to remain profitable once autos and trucks came to the area of southern Iowa. 190:
that had to be built and maintained. The loss of timber trestles due to fire led to many of the line segments being put up for abandonment. The southern Iowa economy has generally lagged behind much of the remainder of Iowa and the
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Corbin, Bernard G. and Joseph C Hardy, "Across Iowa On The Keokuk & Western & the Humeston and Shenadoah Railroads", 1986, Lib. of Congress Catalogue # 85-073174, Valley Printing Co., Red Oak, Iowa, 144
142:, the successor to the MI&N. The H&S had enough business and was doing well enough to be acquired outright by the Burlington Route in 1901. Primary traffic on the line in the early 1900s was 91: 238: 139: 170:
came along in the late 1920s. Freight and passenger traffic declined, and the H&S was abandoned in pieces, starting with the line segment from Norwich to
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The H&S was built across the hilly terrain of southern Iowa, and the line suffered operationally from steep ruling grades, numerous curves, and many
263: 248: 220:
Baldwin, William, "Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co., Documentary History", Chicago, Volume 3, Lines West of the Mississippi River, 1917.
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The H&S is a somewhat obscure operation today, although its abandoned right-of-way is still visible in places along public roadways or close to
258: 243: 51: 90:(earlier Humeston and Shenandoah Railroad until 1896) was part of a collection of railroad lines built as a westward extension to the 118:
Organized as an Iowa corporation on February 12, 1881, the railroad was built with 113 miles (182 km) of track. It had 18
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on its roster as it started operations, and by 1898, H&S listed 14 locomotives. Most original H&S locomotives were
127: 98:, US, in the last half of the 19th century. These lines were later exclusively operated, during the 20th century, by the 73: 44: 233: 150:
merchandise, and timber products. The railroad also had a considerable passenger business up until about 1920.
102:. The Humeston and Shenandoah were originally envisioned as part of a strategy to allow Jay Gould and his 34: 192: 38: 30: 55: 8: 147: 175: 159: 135: 99: 143: 107: 103: 204: 187: 171: 131: 227: 138:. To the east, it handed traffic off to the MI&N and, later, to the 163: 119: 167: 123: 239:
Predecessors of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
95: 166:, improved roads, public subsidies for those roads, and 146:
mined in southern Iowa, grains, cattle and livestock,
225: 43:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks 207:, which traverses the state from east to west. 264:American companies disestablished in 1901 130:. The H&S track was built connecting 74:Learn how and when to remove this message 249:Railway companies disestablished in 1901 259:American companies established in 1896 226: 158:The H&S fell on hard times as the 244:Railway companies established in 1896 92:Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska Railway 15: 153: 13: 14: 275: 20: 178:, which was abandoned in 1983. 88:Humeston and Shenandoah Railway 1: 7: 254:1896 establishments in Iowa 140:Keokuk and Western Railroad 113: 10: 280: 210: 198: 181: 128:Pittsburgh Locomotive Co 29:This article includes a 58:more precise citations. 234:Defunct Iowa railroads 162:, the advent of the 31:list of references 148:less-than-carload 84: 83: 76: 271: 176:Clearfield, Iowa 160:Great Depression 154:Great Depression 136:Shenandoah, Iowa 100:Burlington Route 94:across southern 79: 72: 68: 65: 59: 54:this article by 45:inline citations 24: 23: 16: 279: 278: 274: 273: 272: 270: 269: 268: 224: 223: 213: 201: 184: 156: 144:bituminous coal 116: 108:Omaha, Nebraska 104:Wabash Railroad 80: 69: 63: 60: 49: 35:related reading 25: 21: 12: 11: 5: 277: 267: 266: 261: 256: 251: 246: 241: 236: 222: 221: 218: 212: 209: 205:Iowa Highway 2 200: 197: 183: 180: 172:Clarinda, Iowa 155: 152: 132:Humeston, Iowa 115: 112: 82: 81: 39:external links 28: 26: 19: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 276: 265: 262: 260: 257: 255: 252: 250: 247: 245: 242: 240: 237: 235: 232: 231: 229: 219: 215: 214: 208: 206: 196: 194: 189: 179: 177: 173: 169: 165: 161: 151: 149: 145: 141: 137: 133: 129: 126:built by the 125: 121: 111: 109: 105: 101: 97: 93: 89: 78: 75: 67: 57: 53: 47: 46: 40: 36: 32: 27: 18: 17: 202: 185: 157: 134:westward to 117: 87: 85: 70: 64:October 2019 61: 50:Please help 42: 120:locomotives 56:introducing 228:Categories 164:automobile 106:to reach 188:trestles 114:Overview 211:Sources 199:Remains 193:Midwest 182:Decline 52:improve 168:trucks 124:4-4-0s 37:, or 96:Iowa 86:The 217:pp. 230:: 41:, 33:, 77:) 71:( 66:) 62:( 48:.

Index

list of references
related reading
external links
inline citations
improve
introducing
Learn how and when to remove this message
Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska Railway
Iowa
Burlington Route
Wabash Railroad
Omaha, Nebraska
locomotives
4-4-0s
Pittsburgh Locomotive Co
Humeston, Iowa
Shenandoah, Iowa
Keokuk and Western Railroad
bituminous coal
less-than-carload
Great Depression
automobile
trucks
Clarinda, Iowa
Clearfield, Iowa
trestles
Midwest
Iowa Highway 2
Categories
Defunct Iowa railroads

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