Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
DUBUQUE AND IOWA FALLS RAILROAD
DUBUQUE AND IOWA FALLS RAILROAD. The DUBUQUE AND PACIFIC RAILROAD was organized in 1856 under the leadership of John T. Dyer and Platt SMITH. They raised money during the first year but by 1857 had laid no rail. The following year they laid rail west from Dubuque to Dyersville. The Panic of 1857 and the CIVIL WAR resulted in all railroad building in Iowa being stopped.
Platt Smith took over the line and renamed it the Dubuque and Iowa Falls Railroad. He promised that the rail would reach Iowa Falls by 1867. John Insley Blair developed a rival line called the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad with the intent of beating the Dubuque and Iowa Falls Railroad to Sioux City. He persuaded Smith to abandon his own railroad to join with Blair which disgusted officials of the D & I.F. Eventually Blair pushed his line to Iowa Falls and leased the track of the Dubuque and Iowa Falls line.