The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad

The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. . , In 1885 board members of The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad approved the extension of their line from Ottumwa, Iowa, to Kansas City. The entry of the "Milwaukee Road," as the railroad was later called, into Missouri occurred during its great expansive years under the presidency of Alexander Mitchell who headed the railroad from 1866 until his death in 1887. This Missouri connection was to be the Milwaukee Road's first and only line in the state. In order to provide funds for the new line, the Milwaukee Road resolved to issue income bonds totaling $5,000,000. The sale of these bonds, in addition to the existing Chicago and Pacific Western Division bonds, made the Missouri connection a reality. The rail line was completed to Kansas City in December 1887, carrying both passenger and freight traffic. Extending from Chicago to Minneapolis, Omaha and Kansas City, the Milwaukee Road became "one of the most prosperous, progressive and enterprising railroads in the United States." After several bankruptcies and a reorganization in 1928 as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, the Milwaukee Road regained its strength through the 1960s. However, over the ensuing decades, the company lost revenue and curtailed its trackage west of Miles City, Montana. Finally in 1985, the Canadian Pacific subsidiary Soo Line purchased the historic Milwaukee Road, merging its operations in 1986. , Along with the 22nd Street Freight House, the Milwaukee Road built the Grand Avenue Station, situated between Grand and McGee at 22nd Street (later demolished), after moving its initial offices from the Kansas City Journal building at Sixth and Delaware. The historic line was also responsible for the nationally significant Chouteau Bridge, a three-span Whipple truss stretching across the Missouri River at the Chouteau Trafficway. The Milwaukee Road remained at the Freight House until 1942., Cydney E. Millstein