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The Iowa Chicago and Eastern RailroadThe Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad is a Class II railroad which is part of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern system, both of which are held under the holding company Cedar American Rail Holdings. Currently, the IC&E operates a system stretching six states; Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Minnesota with connections to the DM&E in southern Minnesota. While the railroads will, for the time being, continue to operate independently it is likely only a matter of time before they become fallen flags as both were purchased by Canadian Pacific in September of 2007.
The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern came into existence in 1986 when the Chicago & North Western (the C&NW) decided to abandon a large chunk of its railroad in South Dakota in 1985, which at the time was quite unprofitable as nearly all of the granger railroads during that period were having a very tough time earning a profit on a region which was not only overpopulated with railroads but also losing traffic. What actually led to the DM&E’s creation was in part due to US Senator Larry Pressler who fought against the C&NW’s proposed abandonment of the South Dakota lines and won (which then led to DM&E being created to serve the routes). When the DM&E came into existence in 1986 it was actually a quite large railroad gaining some 826 miles of railroad with another 139 miles of trackage rights, which also included other capital such as buildings, locomotives, vehicles, etc.; all from the C&NW. The rest of the DM&E’s current system comes from its purchase of the Union Pacific Railroad's Colony Line.
In all, today the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern operates a railroad of some 1,103 miles of track, with nearly 195 miles of that trackage rights. Along with operating a 1,000+-mile rail system, the DM&E also owns some 200 locomotives and 8,000 rail cars. What’s interesting about the DM&E is the fact that its IC&E subsidiary is actually larger than it is, with some 1,400 miles of track. The IC&E operates east of its parent connecting cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. Perhaps what the DM&E is most notable for is its recent attempt to access the lucrative Wyoming Power River Coal Basin. The process has taken a decade and construction has yet to begin. Worse for the railroad is the fact that recently its requested federal loan of some $2.3 billion to fund the project was denied by the FRA. The DM&E has stated that it has private backers to fund the project so it shall be interesting to see what the next move will be by the railroad, particularly with the CP now involved.
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