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.
08/25/21
Located in the town of Wilmington, this large deck girder bridge once crossed the Kankakee River.
Built in 1944, the bridge replaced a large truss bridge. Featuring five deck girder spans, the bridge reused stone piers from 1881, as well as using concrete piers.
Large deck girder bridges are common to cross larger rivers, especially due to the durability and ease of construction.
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 condition.
Historic photo of the bridge
The author has ranked this bridge as being minimally significant, due to the common designs.
| Upstream | Custer Park Trail BRidge |
| Downstream | Lorenzo Rail Bridge (E) |