On May 10th, 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad joined the eastern and western states of the union. For nearly 100 years thereafter the United States enjoyed a "golden age" of rail as thousands of miles of railway bound the nation together. But after World War II, President Eisenhower's massive interstate highway program marked the beginning of the end for much of the railway system that served the US heartland. Although the rails were removed much of those old roadbeds and trestles remain. Today's hiking-biking trail systems in many states are using some of the miles of abandoned right of way. In the case of the Wapsi - Great Western Line Trail, since the railway had run along and through the headwaters of the Wapsipinicon River, the trail's historic values preserve a bygone era along with the lovely natural beauty of the river's headwaters. In 1990 the trail began from its trailhead in Riceville, Iowa, a small rural city on Iowa Hwy 9, just west of US Hwy 63 that connects Rochester MN and Waterloo, IA. This northeastern Iowa trail grew gradually with a screened limestone surface for several years. By 1999 it extended about 18 miles nearly to the Iowa-Minnesota state line . Since then, much of it has been paved with more paving to come. In addition, new connections are also being developed southward from Riceville toward trails that link with Elma and someday on to Cedar Falls, Dubuque and Davenport. Just 4 miles beyond the planned northern end of the trail at the IA-MN state line, Minnesota's Shooting Star Trail passes nearby crossing the abandoned roadbed of the Chicago Great Western at Taopi MN. Supporters of that trail hope to add a branch down to connect with the WGWL Trail at the state line to link with its current 14 paved miles between LeRoy, Lake Louise State Park and Adams with 7 more miles of finished surface to Rose Creek and hopes to connect a few more miles into Ausin, MN. The dream is for these two trails to be an interconnect between the networks of state trails of Iowa and Minnesota. | 
