The Cedar Rapids Union Station served different railroads' passenger operations for six decades. The structure at 4th Street and 4th Avenue SE,

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

, was opened with fanfare in 1897 with a gala for Cedar Rapids' charities. The station was 600 feet long with gargoyles. The interior of the main building was 40 by 400 feet and 27 feet high. The station served the

Chicago and North Western Railroad The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

and the

Rock Island Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

, as such, it was a hub for trains from Minneapolis, Chicago, Omaha, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Portland and the Oakland/San Francisco market. Additionally,

Railway Post Office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service and used specifically for staff to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO w ...

rail cars were handled at the station. Cedar Rapids was accompanied by another railroad station, the Milwaukee Depot on 1st Avenue SE, serving trains of the

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

and the

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lak ...

. In its later years service declined. In 1955, the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

changed its partner for the eastern leg of West Coast – Chicago trips from Chicago and North Western to the Milwaukee Road. As such, several trains were shifted over to the Milwaukee Road's

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

, a town on the northeastern periphery of Cedar Rapids. In 1957, two executives from the Chicago & North Western Railroad visited the station, decided that it was obsolete and moved to have it replaced. It was demolished in 1961 and replaced by a smaller structure.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

took over intercity rail in the United States in 1971 and Cedar Rapids has not been served since. Major named trains at mid-twentieth century were: *Chicago & North Western: All these trains routed out of Des Moines in 1955, as these routes were switched to Milwaukee Road, to Marion on the outskirts of the city. **'' Challenger Streamliner''* – Chicago –

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

**'' City of Denver''* – Chicago –

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

**''

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

''* – Chicago – Los Angeles **'' City of Portland''* – Chicago –

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

**'' City of San Francisco''* – Chicago – San Francisco **'' Gold Coast'' – Chicago – San Francisco **''L.A. Challenger'' – Chicago – Los Angeles **''

Overland Limited Overland Limited may refer to: Trains * Overland Limited (ATSF train), 1901–1915 * Overland Limited (UP train), 1895–1931 Films * The Overland Limited (1925 film), ''The Overland Limited'' (1925) * Several short films made in 1899 and 1901: ** ...

'' – Chicago – San Francisco **''

Pacific Limited The ''Pacific Limited'' was an American named passenger train which from 1913 to 1947 was jointly operated by three railroads on the Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route between Portland, Oregon, Oakland, California, Los Angel ...

'' – Chicago – San Francisco **''

San Francisco Challenger The ''San Francisco Challenger'' was a train operated by Southern Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad and Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Starting in 1936, it ran from Oakland, California to Chicago Chicago is the List of municip ...

'' – Chicago – San Francisco The above trains marked * persisted as Milwaukee Rd trains to 1971, albeit to Marion. *Rock Island: **'' Zephyr Rocket'' –

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

–

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

This was last named Rock Island train, serving Cedar Rapids until 1967. In the last years of service an unnamed train making the same route & local trains from Cedar Rapids to various parts of the state.''

Official Guide of the Railways The ''Official Railway Guide'', originally the ''Official Guide of the Railways'', was a quarterly magazine that published travel information. Originally produced by National Railway Publication Company of New York City from 1868, the guide was ...

,'' June 1961, 'Rock Island' section

References

{{reflist Railway stations in the United States opened in 1897 Former railway stations in Iowa

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

Former Chicago and North Western Railway stations Former Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway stations Former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States closed in 1967