Waukon is only about 16 miles from Waukon Junction, on the Mississippi River, but the rail line between these two points was 33 miles long, climbing 600 feet through some of the roughest terrain in Iowa. The Waukon and Mississippi Railroad, which opened in 1877, was originally built as a narrow gauge line. The line was originally controlled by the Chicago and Northwestern but was quickly acquired by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. The line was widened to standard gauge after purchase by the Milwaukee Road. Its only marginal traffic through its existence led to the road's abandonment in the late 1960s.