At the same time, the railroad continued to build southwest, towards Jacksonville.
In addition, the Jacksonville, Alton and St. Louis Railroad began building 60 more miles from Jacksonville to Godfrey, a point near Alton.
In 1862, the St. Louis, Jacksonville and Chicago Railroad took hold of both railroad companies, and completed the line.
This railroad became part of the Chicago & Alton Railroad by 1899. It served as a branch line, connecting to the mainline on both ends.
With a failing traffic base, the Chicago & Alton was purchased by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1931. It was reorganized as the Alton Railroad.
By 1947, the railroad was failing again and was purchased by the Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad, which renamed the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad.
This continued to operate until 1972, when it was merged with Illinois Central Railroad, to form Illinois Central Gulf.
By 1978, the line began to fall. Interstate Highway 55 replaced the general routing, and the route was removed from Jacksonville to Bloomington by 1980.
By 1987, the ICG was purging excess lines; and sold the remaining portion to the Chicago, Missouri & Western Railway.
This railroad failed in 1989, becoming part of the Gateway Western Railway. By 1997 became a part of the Kansas City Southern, the current owners of this line.
06/26/21
Located west of Hopesdale, this beautiful stone arch structure crosses Townhall Road and Indian Creek.
Built in 1889, the bridge features a pair of stone arch spans. These spans have been reinforced with a corrugated metal pipe.
It is unknown when the lining was added, although it has begun to fail. Fortunately, the actual stone arch structure remains in good condition.
Also interestingly, a 1979 track profile for this line refers to the creek as Brennemann Creek.
Today, the bridge is abandoned and privately owned. However, it appears to be a local landmark. Fortunately, it appears to be in good condition.
The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the old age and large size.
The photo above is an overview.