The Waterloo and Cedar Falls Rapid Transit was organized in 1895 to build an 8-mile line from Waterloo to nearby Cedar Falls, Iowa, which it completed in 1897. In 1904 the company renamed itself Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railway and began expanding outward, completing a 22-mile line from Waterloo north to Waverly in 1910 and a 60-mile line south to Cedar Rapids, where connection was made with the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City interurban, in 1914. In the 1920s it operated eight passenger trains per weekday to Cedar Rapids, four to Waverly, and every half hour from Waterloo to Cedar Falls. It also operated a belt line for freight trains around Waterloo, as well as local streetcar service in Waterloo (1896-1939) and Cedar Falls (1898-1941). Passenger service to Waverly ended in 1955, to Cedar Rapids in 1956, and to Cedar Falls in 1958, making it the last interurban west of Chicago and east of California.
