Watch American Passenger Rail Shrivel Up

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Yep. Interesting.

In the summer, I work as a docent at the Matthew Edel Blacksmith Shop in Haverhill, IA, a historical, preserved blacksmith shop that was open from 1883 to 1940.
The shop is in a small Iowa town that was a railroad town up until the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) went bankrupt for the last time in 1980.
The tracks were almost immediately pulled up and moved elsewhere. I tell how the interstate highway system, air travel, and the post office canceling rail car postal services significantly diminished passenger rail profitability in the USA.

The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul (the Pacific came later) extended a line from Marion Iowa to Council Bluff, Iowa and reached Council Bluffs in late 1882.
By 1900 the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul was considered one of the most prosperous, progressive, and enterprising railroads in the U.S. at the time.

During the years the blacksmith shop was open there were 3 trains a day in each direction.
In 1935 the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul introduced the Hiawatha trains and from December 11, 1940 the Midwest Hiawatha went through Haverhill.
Matthew Edel, the blacksmith, had dies January 20, 1940 almost a year before the first Hiawathas came through town.
Two of Matthew Edel's sons work for the Milwaukee road before and after Matthews death at age 83.

After the final trips of the Midwest Hiawatha on October 29, 1955, the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul and Pacific Railroad took over operation of the Union Pacific's City of San Francisco, City of Los Angeles, City of Denver, City of Portland, and Challenger trains.

A local history tells how the Sunday morning westbound train always has 5 gallons of ice cream on board for the local general stores, so the stores could sell the ice cream to church goers and other area people in town after church services concluded.

Back in those days the railroads would buy enough land where they wanted to have a depot that they could plat the land and sell lots.
To attract new residents the railroads offered a good price and very low interest.

Mathew moved here in early 1883 from Iowa City having bought an entire 1/2 block of land that already had a small building on it he could use to start his blacksmith shop.
Shortly after moving to Haverhill and Matthew started his business, a family, expanded the building, built a proper house in 1891, and used the rest of the land to grow food and raise chickens.

By the way, the original depot is still here in Haverhill, but it got moved about 1/8 of a mile from it's original location, was converted into a house, and is still being lived in today.
 
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