The railroad ran into many obsticals, the main one being the Sangamon River at Springfield. In addition, the railroad roughly paralleled an Illinois Central route, under construction at the same time.
However, by early 1855 the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad would be completed to Joliet. Utilizing the tracks of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific from Joliet, the railroad began to reach Chicago.
Finally, in 1856 the line would open to Chicago. This new line roughly followed the route of the Des Plaines River, and eventually the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal.
The line would enter Downtown Chicago from the south. By 1865, the line connected Saint Louis to Chicago.
After numerous name changes, the railroad would settle on the name Chicago and Alton Railroad, in 1906.
Only portions of the line had been double tracked. From the Mazon River at Mazonia to Odell was double tracked in 1870, and from Odell to Bloomington was finished in 1893.
The northern section of the line crossed through primarily farmland, crossing small and medium sized rivers. Cities such as Pontiac, Dwight and Wilmington saw enormous benefit from the C&A.
Chicago and Joliet also benefited, as this was one of the earliest railroads in the cities. In the coming years, the railroad would expand outwards with numerous branches in Illinois, and extension across Missouri.
The railroad filed for bankruptcy after a deteriorated freight base in 1922, and was sold to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, who operated the C&A as a separate entity, the Alton Railroad.
In November 1942, the B&O severed ties with the Alton Railroad. The railroad was purchased by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad in late 1947.
The GM&O was merged with the Illinois Central Railroad in 1972, which became the Illinois Central Gulf.
The ICG began to purge many old, little used and oftentimes historic routes from the system. This one didn't fare better.
In 1987, the ICG sold the Joliet to St. Louis line, along with other lines to the Chicago, Missouri & Western Railroad, which fell by 1989.
The CM&W assets were split up, with the Southern Pacific Railroad attaining the St. Louis to Joliet line.
SP became a part of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1995, who began rehabilitating the line for passenger rail in the 2000s. The Joliet to Bloomington portion of the line is now known as the UP Joliet Subdivision.
From Joliet to Chicago was also upgraded, and the ICG purchased by Canadian National in 1998. The Canadian National currently operates this portion as their Joliet Subdivision.
In the coming years, the line will see significant changes. Connecting Chicago, Bloomington, Springfield and St. Louis has proven to be critical for high speed passenger rail, meaning more upgrades will be coming to this line.
06/26/21
Once located in the town of Wilmington, this deck girder bridge crossed Fork Creek near Kankakee Street.
The bridge was erected in 1930, and used some secondhand components. The southern (northbound) track spans were fabricated in 1884 by the Detroit Bridge & Iron Works. These spans featured a significantly lighter design than the other spans.
It is presently unknown if the southern spans were built elsewhere. Typically, railroads would recycle spans that were in good condition, although it would be odd for such spans to be moved to a main line. The south spans were abandoned at the time of demolition.
The middle (southbound track) spans were all fabricated in 1929, and featured a standard design. The north (spur track) spans were fabricated in 1930. Because of this, it is believed that the bridge was either expanded or completely rebuilt in 1930.
Unfortunately, the spans were replaced in 2017 as part of a mass upgrade project between Chicago and Saint Louis for high speed passenger rail. Unfortunately, this upgrade destroyed dozens of historic bridges.
At the time of replacement, the bridge was in fair to poor condition. The 1884 spans were far too light to support modern freight traffic.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the 1884 spans. These spans were highly significant examples of the earliest plate girders.