:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/AW4SN6TMHIY55BGNH2MBB7Z6G4.jpg)
Built as a division point for the Burlington Northern Railroad, Creston’s railroad heritage has always been a point of pride for residents of the city. However, there is more to Creston’s railroad past some may be unaware of.
“Around the turn of the (20th) century, when new railroads were considered necessary and good investments for the community, there was an initiative to establish a better connection from Des Moines to points southwest,” said David Hargrove, Gibson Memorial Library director. “The idea was to go directly from Des Moines to Creston and incorporate the Macksburg, Zion and Spaulding areas that were not otherwise served.”
Hargrove said the Chicago-Great Western Railroad traveled south from Des Moines to what was called “Afton Junction” and then over to Creston.
“But, that left the north of Union County and the southwest portion of Madison County out of the picture.”
Crazy Willy and Dandy Molly
Two steam locomotives – nicknamed Crazy Willy and Dandy Molly – ran the route from 1909 to 1919 between Creston and Macksburg.
“Just think, for the people of Macksburg and Zion, this is the first time that they’re seeing trains on a regular basis,” said Hargrove. “The two locomotives owned by this rail line had already seen a lot of use and their reliability may have been questionable. At the very least, they had their very own personalities. (People) tended to humanize these mechanical subjects.”
Planning and construction
Planning for the railroad began in 1905 and was initially intended to be an electric line, but by 1908, the electric line had been abandoned for a conventional steam line.
The idea of having a railroad generated a lot of excitement for the townships along the proposed line. Boosters for the proposed railroad began selling stock subscriptions in the line to the townships and by 1909 had the money they needed to proceed with construction.
Construction of the line was generally uneventful until crews reached the Grand River Valley.
“Building the Grand River crossing, building the 15 miles across to Macksburg was a really big deal and to complete that project by Dec. 31, 1909, which was what their stock subscriptions required, took a Herculean effort,” said Hargrove. “It was a 24/7 effort on the part of several gangs of a few hundred laborers.”
End of the line
The line never did connect with Winterset and Des Moines as it was intended, however, the 21-miles of track between Creston and Macksburg were completed at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 31, 1909. The train transported passengers and goods between Creston and Macksburg for nearly 10 years despite one bankruptcy in 1915 that almost ended it. A second bankruptcy in 1919 finally brought an end to the Creston-Macksburg connection.
“This is one of a few railroad projects in Iowa and throughout the Midwest that failed to thrive in the era of a transportation revolution that was taking place,” said Hargrove. “That is from railroads to internal combustion engines – automobiles and trucks. This was really a product of civic boosterism at the peak of the rail transportation culture, and there was so much enthusiasm. I think there was a lot of naivete at work here too, because I don’t think they quite grasped the significance of automobiles.”
Hargrove will present “Crazy Willy and Dandy Molly” – a short history of the Creston-Winterset-Des Moines Railroad – 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Gibson Memorial Library.