CPKC Wilson Road Bridge

In 1868, the Louisiana & Mississippi River Railroad (L&MR) began construction on a 51 mile route, extending from the Mississippi River at Louisiana, Missouri to Mexico, Missouri.  Simultaneously, the St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago Railroad (StLJ&C) was constructing 38 miles of new railroad, extending from Roodhouse, Illinois to Louisiana.  The route would be completed in 1873 with the completion of the Mississippi River bridge, and would form an extension of the Chicago & Alton Railroad (C&A) system.  The C&A constructed and financed the route, in agreement to lease the newly completed railroad.  In 1878, construction began on an additional 157 miles to Bridge Junction in Kansas City, Missouri.  The extension was constructed by the Kansas City, St. Louis & Chicago Railroad (KCStL&C) under the same agreement as the remainder of the line.  The C&A had constructed a modest network of lines throughout Illinois, and this route provided a western extension to Kansas City.  The StlJ&C was sold to the C&A in 1899.  Throughout the years, the C&A would be affiliated with several larger railroads, and the railroad primarily operated as a bridge route.  The C&A was reorganized in 1901, and until 1906 was owned by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway.  A portion from Rock Creek to Bridge Junction in Kansas City was sold to the Kansas City Terminal Railway in 1916.  In 1931, the C&A would be reorganized as the Alton Railroad (A), a subsidiary of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.  The Alton was sold to the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) in 1949, and the various subsidiaries consolidated at that time.  The GM&O merged with the Illinois Central Railroad to form Illinois Central Gulf (ICG) in 1972.  This line was excess for the ICG, and the route would be sold to the Chicago, Missouri & Western Railway (CM&W) in 1987.  The CM&W was reorganized as the Gateway Western Railway in 1990, which became a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) in 1997.  In 2023, the KCS was merged with Canadian Pacific Railway to form CPKC, the current owner of this line.  Today, the line serves as a secondary mainline for CPKC.