This line, about 22 miles long, connected the C&NW line at Gladbrook with the Minneapolis & St. Louis (ex Iowa Central) mainline at Gifford. Not much of the line's history is known. According to the Iowa Office of Rail Transportation, the corridor was abandoned in segments: the line west of Conrad was abandoned between 1970 and 1979, while the line east of Conrad was abandoned between 1980 and 1989.
Towns along the line from Gladbrook are Beaman, Conrad, Whitten and Gifford.