Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway
logo_filename=Logo of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway.pnglogo_size=
old_gauge=
marks=CIC
locale=Iowa
start_year=1904
end_year=present
hq_city=Cedar Rapids, IowaThe Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Reporting mark|CIC, also known as the Crandic is a Class III railroad operating in the US state of Iowa.

History

The Crandic began operations in 1904, providing interurban service between Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Iowa City, Iowa. In 1914, a line extending to Lisbon, Iowa, was completed, but abandoned in 1928. In 1939, the Crandic purchased six high-speed interurban cars, leading to the popular saying "Swing and Sway the Crandic Way.", referring to the motion caused by the high-speed running. In 1953, the railroad ran its last passenger train, a charter by railfans.

While freight was important to the Crandic in the early years, it was better known for its passenger interurban operations. After passenger operations were discontinued in 1953, freight became the primary source of traffic for the Crandic. At the same time, the electric-powered locomotives were replaced with diesel-electric models. The customer base in Cedar Rapids continued to expand with the population in the area. In 1980, with the demise of the Milwaukee Road, Crandic purchased the Cedar Rapids to Homestead, Iowa, portion of the Milwaukee. Also in that year, an Iowa City to Hills, Iowa portion of the former Rock Island Railroad was acquired by the Crandic. In 1996, a large new locomotive and car shop was built in the southwest side of Cedar Rapids as a replacement for the original Rockford Road facility.

In late 2004, the Crandic chose to concentrate on its major focus, switching customers along its rail lines. A daily road freight between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City previously operated by the Crandic was turned over to the Iowa Interstate Railroad in August 2004. In 2005, "Railway Age" magazine named the Crandic its Short Line Railroad of the Year. Also in 2005, Crandic opened its third shop complex. The newest shops are located on the site of the original Crandic shops. The previous shops complex was sold to Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) for use as a railcar cleaning and repair shop for ADM's large fleet of rolling stock.

The Crandic currently operates convert|60|mi|km of main line and 40+ miles of yard trackage in four east central Iowa counties. The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway employs 90 individuals. 90,000 car loads of traffic are handled each year on the Crandic. The largest customers include Alliant Energy, Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Weyerhaeuser's Cedar River Paper, and Penford Products.

Accidents

On February 27, 2008, A Crandic train carrying salt, derailed south of Iowa City. The two engines and one other car went off the tracks. A broken rail punctured one of the fuel tanks on the front engine, spilling fuel into the snow covered ground. The accident is still under investigation.

On June 12, 2008, severe flooding caused a Cedar Rapids and Iowa City bridge over the Cedar River to collapse.

References

* Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Co. " [http://www.crandic.com/ CRANDIC - The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway] ". Retrieved September 21 2005.
* AAR Railfan Club (2005), " [http://www.railfanclub.org/archives/newsletters/March05/Shortlines.htm Railway Age Names Shortline, Regional Railroads of the Year] ". Retrieved March 10 2005.
* Iowa Department of Transportation, Office of Rail Transportation (May 1999), " [http://www.iowarail.com/industry/profiles.asp Railroad Profiles] ". Retrieved March 10 2005.