- 1854: 36 miles completed from Elgin, Illinois to Genoa City, Wisconsin by the Fox River Valley Railroad
- 1860: FRVR sold to Elgin and State Line Railroad Company
- 1871: 9 miles completed from Genoa City to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by the State Line and Union Railroad Company
- 1880: SL&UR acquired by the Elgin and State Line Railroad Company
- 1883: E&SL acquired by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1884: Second track completed from Mayfair to Des Plaines
- 1888: 6 miles completed from Lake Geneva to Williams Bay, Wisconsin by the Lake Geneva and State Line Railway
- 1889: LG&SL purchased by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1966: Lake Geneva to Williams Bay segment abandoned
- 1982: Ringwood to Lake Geneva segment abandoned
- 1983: Elgin to Crystan Lake segment abandoned
- 1995: Chicago & North Western purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1980s-Present: Elgin to Crystal Lake segment part of the Fox River Trail
- 1980s-Present: Ringwood to State Line segment part of the Prairie Trail
- 1984-Present: Metra operates the Union Pacific Northwest Line between Crystal Lake and McHenry
- 1995-Present: Union Pacific operates the McHenry Subdivision from Crystal Lake to Ringwood
02/06/22
Located over the Fox River Trail near US-20 in Elgin, this large through girder span has been abandoned many years.
Built in 1902, the bridge features a single through plate girder span, set onto stone substructures. The bridge was originally built to cross the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railway.
Small girders like this were commonly used in many applications, due to the ease of construction and the durability of the structures. While abandoned, this bridge is still owned by Union Pacific.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.