The line would be extended to Pequot in 1876. By 1881, the railroad would become part of the Chicago, St. Louis and Western Railroad.
By 1885, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway would purchase the C&StL as part of a project to connect Kansas City to Chicago.
It would be merged into the subsidiary Chicago, Santa Fe and California Railway.
The line would be extended to Chicago by 1885, using the B&O Depot.
In 1888, the line would be extended from Ancona to Fort Madison, Iowa. This also included a new crossing of the Mississippi River at Fort Madison; and crossing of the Illinois River at Chillicothe.
In 1900, the subsidiary was fully merged into the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. The ATSF system expanded to the west and southwest United States.
Between 1905 and 1911, the line would be double tracked from Chicago heading westward. The new line was important for freight heading from Iowa and Missouri to Chicago.
While the line provided a solid freight base, ATSF began to struggle. Through the era of mergers, there were a few attempted mergers.
Finally, the line merged with Burlington Northern Railway to form BNSF Railway in 1996. Today, this line is owned by BNSF and known as the Chillicothe Subdivision.
06/26/21
This massive truss bridge crosses the Illinois & Michigan Canal at it's confluence point with the Des Plaines River.
Built in 1935 to replace an 1887 truss, the bridge is a giant 5 panel, riveted and heavily skewed Baltimore Through Truss, set onto concrete substructures.
Trusses this massive are rather uncommon, as multi span girder bridges were the preferred option. However, the heavy skew of this location made a truss bridge ideal.
The bridge rests on concrete abutments, and can be seen from both Ruby Street and Bluff Street.
In addition, the Historic American Engineering Record documented this bridge at one point, and those photos can be seen in the series above.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in excellent condition, as it is well maintained.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design.
The photo above is an overview from an overlook along Bluff Street.
| Upstream | CN I&M Canal Bridge |
| Downstream | Joliet Lift Bridge |