Railroads of Dubuque

The city of Dubuque, settled on the west side of the Mississippi River in 1833, has historically been home to four major railways and numerous trolleys and passenger trains. Dubuque's railroad legacy was precipitated by local resident John Plumbe Jr., the Father of the Transcontinental Railroad, who proposed a transcontinental railroad in 1838 and promoted the idea throughout the Midwest. The Illinois Central Railroad first reached the east bank of the Mississippi in 1855, followed by the M...