The line was completed in 1870, and the railroad was sold to the St. Louis, Alton & Rock Island Railroad,and subsequently purchased by the St. Louis, Rock Island & Chicago Railroad.
In 1873, the Orion and Minersville Railroad built a line from Orion to Minersville, a distance of about 8 miles.
In 1876, the St. Louis, Rock Island & Chicago Railroad continued the line from Colona to a new line at Barstow. The Orion and Minersville was also acquired at this time.
The line continued under the StlRI&C operations until 1899, when it was consolidated into the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway.
The line had three important connections. At Colona, it connected to the Rock Island mainline. At Barstow, the CB&Q towards Chicago connected to this line, and in Galesburg, the other major CB&Q line towards Chicago met this line.
The CB&Q continued to operate this line until 1970, when a merger with the Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railroads created the Burlington Northern.
The BN revamped this line as a strong bypass of Chicago, and when they merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe in 1996, the BNSF Railway was created.
BNSF currently operates the Galesburg to Barstow section as their Barstow Subdivision. It still sees a fair amount of traffic.
07/17/21
Located in the town of Colona, this bridge crosses the Hennepin Canal and the Hennepin Canal Trail.
Built in approximately 1905, the bridge was likely built for the canal, which was constructing through the area at the time. It consists of a single through girder span, set onto concrete substructures.
Girders like these were common to cross small waterways.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with little visible deterioration.
It appears to have been built about 1905, when the Canal was nearing completion.
The author has ranked this bridge as being
The photo above is an overview.