Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad (36" ga.)

History

By Kendall H. Osier

    In April of 1866, the Iowa & Minnesota Railroad Company was founded, with intentions of building north from Des Moines to a point on the Chicago & North-Western mainline, Ames eventually being the target. By late 1868, a large portion of the roadbed had been graded [1].

    In November of 1869, a group of Des Moines businessmen purchased the Iowa & Minnesota and formed the Des Moines & Minnesota [1]. By February of 1873, the newly formed DM&M was considering building as a narrow gauge railroad [3].

    Not much happened until September of 1873, when grading began on East 4th Street in Des Moines. Grading also began near Polk City, and rail was ordered [1]. In March of 1874, the first locomotive, a National 0-6-0, was delivered. It was quickly put to use [2]. Rails reached Polk City in June of 1874, with Ames following just under two months later. It can be noted that the DM&M was able to build relatively quickly when compared to most other Iowa narrow gauge railroads, as the Iowa & Minnesota completed a great deal of the grade and bridgework [1].

    By spring of 1877, it was decided to build north of Ames. In July of the same year, the company was renamed “Des Moines & Minneapolis Railroad Company”. By October, 9 miles had been graded for the extension, and the rail was on order. Callanan, a town that was near present-day Jewell, was reached in January of 1878. This would be as far as the narrow gauge would reach [1].

    While the DM&M managed to be a profitable road for quite some time, that changed soon after the north extension. In July of 1879, DM&M defaulted on the interest from their bonds. One month later, control of DM&M would be in the hands of the Chicago & North-Western. By 1880, C&NW would own DM&M entirely. C&NW began widening the gauge to standard, and by July of 1880, Des Moines to Ames was standard gauge. However, it would take two additional years to widen and reroute the road north of Ames [1].

Corporate Timeline

April 12, 1866 - The Iowa & Minnesota Railroad Company [1]

November 16, 1869 - Des Moines & Minnesota Railroad Company [1]

July 31, 1877 - Des Moines & Minneapolis Railroad Company [1]

May 31, 1880 - Chicago & North-Western [1]

Equipment

• Engine No. 1 “Granger”; built by National in 1873; 0-6-0

• Engine No. 2 “Diamond Jo”; built by Grant in 1872; 2-6-0 (bought second-hand)

• Engine No. 3 “James Callanan”; built by Danforth in 1875; 2-6-0

• Coach No. 1; built by Jackson & Sharp in 1872 (bought second-hand)

• Caboose/Combine No. 8; built by DM&M 1875-1876

Maps & Timetables

References

[1] The North-Western’s Narrow Gauge Connection by Ron Sims

[2] The Iowa State Register; March 17, 1874; Page 4

[3] The Iowa State Register; February 13, 1873; Page 4

Updated April 7, 2025