The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-02-08
The Des Moines Valley Railroad.
Great Work Of Kilbourne= & Leighton
Financial and Physical Struggles During Which the Lin
Was Constructed and Placed in Operation From
Keokuk to Des Moines

n for the Burlington Post by Jasper
point take view in perspective OF
the necessary material for the WORN
and the perfecting of this pioneer iron
trail up the valley. The rails were
(, light and frail affairs, when compared
! to first class road OF today. I re
member making notice of them in my
! earlier days, and recall that many OF
! the rails were only twenty feet In
length, and some places they were not
! joined by plates and bolted together
1 1 would estimate that their weight
were forty to fifty pounds per yaro
BY actual measurement of one of the
rails in use in 1866, recently ascer
taineO that the rails used on the main
/ line were about two-f1fths in size and
weight of the best rails in use today
Rail braces and other safety appn
ances were little in use, and the road
bed itself was actually OF the plain
| soil through which the right OF way
+, progressed. The stills or cross ties
were well qualified for the light
weight and traffic of the road in those
years, although In an emergency
wood Of brief duration existence was
used The fact should be kept In
view that the manufacturing of rail
way material was in its early and
crude stages in the United States fifty
/ AND sixty years ago. Rails were com
mon iron and were largely imported
from England, by way Of New Or
| leans Locomotives came long dis.
tances and were sometimes transport
ed in sections by water And 1t Is a
pleasant fancy at this day to reflect
upon the appearance OF the locomo-
tive of 1870 and some years later, and
see their balloon smoke stack, ano
their smaller sizes. The writer en-.
joyed reporting in early 1871 that the
', weight of locomotive Number One on
the Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska rail
road was of .thirty-two tons. Every
affair has its own proper time and
was therefore in order.
From keokuk to euena Vista.
The right OF way from the eastern
terminus of the road and out OF the
city was along the base of the i'm
mense bluffs of rock west to the little
village of Buena Vista where a com.
mon highway was in use, and ferry
admitted travel from Missouri. A
stage line gave easy and quick com
munication with Warsaw and Alex
andria to travel. and business advanc.
ed with the progress of the railroad
| The line west of Buena Vista follows
to the north OF the high prominence
called the Prouty Hill. Here the great
limestone formations slope off and
down to great depths. year or So
ago I made an examination In the
Des Moines at the west end Of the
Prouty hill. and found the rock eroded
of, to a severe decline. From the
Prouty hill to near Vincennes the in
durated rock stratas are deeply I'M
bedded.
From the Prouty hill the D. V. rail-
road moved gently to the northwest
across the elevated flood plain of the
river. Along here ! recently made q
walking excursion. and passed along
Va section of the old canal and farther
west over the original route which
continued In use until the year 1875
Leaving food plain territory, eastern
bluffs OF Sugar Creek were the first
real distractions encountered. A long
and heavy grade often delayed trains
and was a perpetual hindrance to
freight trains going west. The fire
blast Of the locomotives In the
struggle to pass over that incline
sounded their blases far over into
Missouri where the recorder now re-
sides.
Difficultics Under Which the Enter
prise Labored.
When We consider the difficulties
that large public enterprise were
subjected to in the formative years
prior to the civil war. We behold op
position in serried ranks of vast mum
bers. There was the unstable condi'
ton OF the money system. What q
fragmentary affair it was. Do you
remember the state banks and their
notes? I have a fine collection OF
them and enjoy q study Of them and
OF what frail value they we're. Well
this system had an Injurious influence
on labor and trade, and prices were
always uncertain and severely de-
pressed. Silver and gold were hon.
ored anywhere, but State bank notes
were deprecated and accepted with a
degree of small faith.
Everything by Hand Labor.
The road-bed BUILDING was one OF
crude labor Of shovels, spades. pick
and hand barrows all in action by
muscular energy. In advance were
plows and scrapers and a force OF
workmen to make bridges. These
were usually OF piling and trestle'
with rock approaches. Construction
was slow. Out of the Sugar Creek
hills the advance was easier. as a
Main of sand extends for miles and
tho river valley was chosen for the
line Towns of importance were await.
ing the coming OF the conquering hero
and the valley was made to bloom
with confidence and renewed energies
among the rapidly increasing popula'
tion Certainly the iron avenue was
a rough, homemade kind OF an enter
orise. vet It was wonderful advance
ment in transportation and served
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