View source for Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway

{{Short description|Shortline railroad in Iowa}}
{{More footnotes|date=February 2010}}
{{Infobox rail
| railroad_name=Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway
| logo_filename=Logo of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway.png
| logo_size=
| image=Crandic engine.jpg
| image_caption=CIC #108, an [[EMD SW14]], in [[Iowa City, Iowa]]
| electrification = abandoned about 1953
| gauge = {{track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| old_gauge=
| marks=CIC
| locale=[[Iowa]]
| start_year=1904
| hq_city=[[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]]
}}
The '''Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway''' {{Reporting mark|CIC}}, also known as the '''CRANDIC''', is a [[Class III railroad]] operating in the [[United States|US]] state of [[Iowa]].
The CRANDIC currently operates {{convert|60|mi|km}} of main line and more than {{convert|40|mi|km}} of yard trackage in four east central Iowa counties.  The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway employs 90 individuals.  100,000 car loads of traffic are handled each year on the CRANDIC.  The largest customers include [[Alliant Energy]], [[Archer Daniels Midland]], [[Cargill]], [[International Paper]]'s Cedar River mill, and [[Ingredion|Ingredion Products]].
==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 was abandoned in 1928.  In 1939, the CRANDIC purchased six high-speed light weight interurban cars ([[Red Devil (interurban)|Red Devils]]) from the recently abandoned [[Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad]] [[interurban]], leading to the popular saying "Swing and Sway the CRANDIC Way", referring to the motion caused by high-speed running on the CRANDIC's uneven track.  For similar reasons, it was also known as the "Vomit Comet". In 1953, the railroad ran its last [[passenger train]], a charter by [[railfan]]s.
While freight was important to the CRANDIC in the early years, it was better known for its passenger interurban operations. In 1952, the line operated 12 trains in each direction per day (8 on Sundays), & the journey took 47–58 minutes. Operating hours were from 5am (8/9am Sundays) to 12/1am (1/2am Monday mornings).<ref>https://timetableworld.com/image_viewer.php?id=3&section_id=251 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>  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 transmission|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 [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad]] was acquired by the CRANDIC.  In 1996, a large 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]].
In 2013, CRANDIC took delivery of 8 new L4-1500XD-M switcher locomotives built by [[RELCO]] in Albia, Iowa. Each locomotive was mated to a [[Slug (railroad)|slug unit]]; due to the railroad's tight curves, constructed when the railroad was still an [[interurban]], six-axle locomotives cannot be employed. The locomotives were numbered 201-208 and the slugs were numbered 301-308.<ref>{{Cite magazine |first=Drayton |last=Blackgrove |date=2023-08-24 |title=Slug units: A historical overview |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/history/slug-units-a-historical-overview/ |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=Trains |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Proposed passenger service ===
{{Main article|Proposed Iowa City-North Liberty Commuter Rail}}
Plans to reintroduce [[Commuter rail|passenger rail]] service along an 8.2 miles (13.2 km) segment of the CRANDIC corridor between [[North Liberty, Iowa|North Liberty]], [[Coralville, Iowa|Coralville]], and the [[University of Iowa]] campus in [[Iowa City, Iowa|Iowa City]] emerged in the early 2010s. The preferred alternative called for a "Pop-Up Metro" pilot service that would utilize [[British Rail Class 230]] [[Battery electric multiple unit|battery-electric multiple units]] (BEMUs) repurposed from former [[London Underground D78 Stock]]. If funded, pilot service would begin in 2026.<ref>[https://rrdc.com/uploads/pop-up-metro-info-sheet-dec-2022-58.pdf "Pop-Up Metro Information Sheet"] (PDF).</ref> The proposal was canceled in January 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=says |first=John Rice |date=2025-02-05 |title=Proposal for Iowa City commuter rail service stalls |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/proposal-for-iowa-city-commuter-rail-service-stalls/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=Trains |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category}}
{{Portal|Railways}}
* 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), ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20051122124343/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.
* Cedar Rapids and Iowa City 111, Preserved at the [[Western Railway Museum]] ''[https://www.wrm.org/visit/car-roster/passenger-cars/interurban/item/36-cedar-rapids-and-iowa-city-111]''
{{s-start}}
{{succession box| before=[[Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad]]| title=[[Short Line Railroad of the Year]]| years=2005| after=[[Georgia Midland Railroad]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Iowa railroads}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cedar Rapids Iowa City  Railway}}
[[Category:Iowa railroads]]
[[Category:Interurban railways in Iowa]]
[[Category:Transportation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa]]
[[Category:1904 establishments in Iowa]]