In Streator, the line would connect to a number of railroads heading towards Chicago. In Montgomery, it met with a Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Line, which made a connection to its namesake cities.
The OO&FRV became part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1898. The CB&Q was a major powerhouse through Illinois and Iowa.
This line was used as a branch to connect Streator to Chicago. Streator also had two more CB&Q lines, heading east and west.
In Ottawa, this line would interchange with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. It would also cross the Illinois River at Ottawa.
In addition, it crossed the Fox River two times: at Sheridan and at Montgomery.
By 1970, the CB&Q was merged with the Northern Pacific Railroad and Great Northen Railroad to form Burlington Northern, one of the largest railroads in America at the time.
The BN Operated this line, and in 1996 was merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF.
BNSF trimmed extra branch lines soon after the merger. This line was sold to shortline Illinois Railway in December of 1997.
IR Currently operates this line as their Ottawa Branch, connecting to the BNSF Mendota Subdivision at Montgomery.
06/26/21
This large bridge crosses the Fox River between Montgomery and Oswego.
The bridge is a simply composed structure, comprised of 4 Deck Girder spans, an I-Beam span over IL-25, trestle on the north approach and concrete approach on the south side.
In 1903, the four main spans were constructed. By 1938, American Bridge Company would add the south approach.
The concrete slab approach is a modular design, added in the early 2000s, to replace wooden trestle.
The structure is best accessed from the east end, along IL-25. The bridge features stone and concrete substructures, signifying this was a former truss bridge.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with no major deterioration noted.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | Aurora Trail Bridge |
| Downstream | Sheridan Rail Bridge |