RailsWest Railroad Museum

Housed in the historic Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Depot, which was built in 1899, this museum explores all facets of the history of railroads in the region and the significance of the First Transcontinental Railroad. In 1862, Council Bluffs became the eastern terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad, a project that was completed in 1869. The railroad benefited Council Bluffs economically and accelerated the city's growth and western expansion. The RailsWest Railroad Museum explores this history and is located within the only passenger depot still standing in the city. The museum features historical exhibits and a model railroad and the grounds feature a veterans memorial plaza along with historic railcars and locomotives, including Union Pacific Locomotive 814 and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy locomotive 915. The railroad tracks adjacent to the museum are used by the Union Pacific Railroad, the Iowa Interstate Railroad, and the BNSF Railroad. The depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

In 1867, the Cedar Rapids & Missouri River Railroad became the first railroad from the east to arrive in Council Bluffs. Also in 1867, the Council Bluffs & St. Joseph Railroad built a line to St. Louis. In 1869, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) arrived. After Council Bluffs was designated the eastern terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, the city became a major freight and passenger stop. Other railroads, including the Chicago, Milwaukee, Saint Paul, and Pacific Railroad (known as the Milwaukee Road), would arrive in the coming years.

Council Bluffs was a bustling rail center by the 1890s with numerous rail yards, freight depots, roundhouses, and passenger depots. However, the passenger depots were subpar in those early decades. The city complained to the state Board of Railroad Commissioners, which, a year and a half later, ordered the railroads to build better passenger depots. The Board was particularly critical of the CRI&P, which only used a small, wood-framed building that was heated by coal stoves and lacked bathrooms. The CRI&P responded by building this Romanesque depot in 1899. It was a major upgrade and was well-received by the community.

Between the late 1930s and the 1970s, the Chicago, Milwaukee, Saint Paul, and Pacific Railroad used the depot with the CRI&P. Passenger service came to an end in 1970. The women's waiting room became offices and the men's waiting room was used for storing freight. The CRI&P stopped using the depot in 1980 and the building remained vacant until 1985 when the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County and the Greater Omaha Society fo Model Engineers leased it. It appears the museum opened around that time.

Nash, Jan R. "Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 21, 1995. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/95000856_text.

Roenfeld, Ryan. "History of Council Bluffs' Rock Island Depot." Historical Society of Pottawattamie County. Accessed February 8, 2022. https://www.thehistoricalsociety.org/h/history-of-rock-island-depot.html.