The ('''IC&E''') is a
Class II Railroad operating in the north central
United States . The IC&E is jointly owned with the
Dakota, Minnesota And Eastern Railroad by
Cedar American Rail Holdings , making the combined system the largest class II railroad in the US. Created by the purchase of I&M Rail Link LLC, IC&E commenced operations on
July 30 2002 . The line, based in
Davenport, Iowa , serves the states of
Illinois ,
Iowa ,
Missouri ,
Minnesota and
Wisconsin . Principal commodities include chemicals,
Coal ,
Steel ,
Automobile s, and agricultural products. Train dispatching is performed at a joint DM&E/IC&E facility in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota .
, on
May 29 ,
2005 .]]
The ICE was formed by the parent company to take over the operations of the
I&M Rail Link (IMRL). The Illinois and northern Iowa portions of the ICE was in earlier times a part of the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul And Pacific Railroad (the Milwaukee Road). IC&E began operations on
July 30 2002 .
The line that ran from the
Quad Cities through
Ottumwa, Iowa ,
Chillicothe, Missouri , and
Kansas City, Missouri was also part of the Milwaukee Road until the
Soo Line bought it and began operations on it in
1986 . In
1997 , I&M Rail Link purchased the line, though it's time as a railroad was short-lived. In 2002, ICE acquired the line and still uses it today.
Members of the
Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers And Trainmen (BLET), a division of the
Teamsters , gained a contract with the railroad on
January 24 2005 . Railroad employees first organized under the labor union on
December 17 2003 .
1
On
September 4 ,
2007 ,
Canadian Pacific Railway announced its intention to purchase the
Dakota, Minnesota And Eastern Railroad in a transaction that would include the IC&E and other affiliated companies.
23
Motive power consists of mostly ex-
UP SD40-2 s rebuilt by General Electric and ex-
SP GP40-2s rebuilt by
NRE in
Silvis, Illinois . Four DM&E
GP38 s along with several ex-IMRL engines round out the roster. The SD40-2s and GP40-2s are painted in a DM&E inspired blue and yellow scheme with the name of the railroad spelled out on the sides of the locomotive. Starting in 2005 many of the "new" engines carry names of the towns that IC&E serves, a practice utilized on the DM&E.
