The railroad would be acquired by the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railway in 1901.
At the same time, the St. Louis and Memphis Railway would construct 12 miles further north to Blythesdale. In addition, the St. Louis, Caruthersville and Memphis Railroad would construct another 27 mies north to Caruthersville, Missouri.
In addition, the Memphis and St. Louis Railroad built between Caruthersville and Portageville, Missouri. This would connect to a line built between Lilbourn and Portageville in 1898 by the St. Louis and Memphis Railroad.
All three of these lines would be merged into the St. Louis and Memphis Railway. The St. Louis and Memphis Railroad would inevitably be purchased by the St. Louis, Memphis and Southeastern Railroad in 1902.
The StLM&SE began construction again by constructing an extension from Lilbourn to Cape Girardeau in 1903, and then further north to St. Louis, reaching the major city by 1904.
In 1907, the StLM&SE would be merged into the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad, commonly known as the Frisco. The Frisco used this as a mainline to connect Memphis and St. Louis.
After years of prosperity, the Frisco was purchased by the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1980.
The BN eventually would merge with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in 1996 to form BNSF Railway.
BNSF is the current operators of this line. It is a critical mainline to them, connecting the south to the north. It is currently known as the River Subdivision.
09/20/21
Located across the Meramec River at Hollywood Beach, this large through truss is original to this line.
Built in 1903, the bridge features three identical 6-panel pin connected Pratt Through Truss spans. These spans are considerably lighter than other spans along this river.
In addition, the bridge is approached by numerous steel stringer spans, which were added sometime in the 1940s. The north end is approached by modular concrete spans, added to replace a wooden trestle in approximately 1910. The entire bridge sits on concrete substructures.
Unfortunately, no plaques on the bridge were visible, although the design of these spans is identical to other confirmed 1903 spans along this route.
Fortunately, this bridge appears to be well maintained and still in good condition. The author hopes the structure will survive for years to come.
The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the large scale size and numerous truss spans.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | Valley Park Rail Bridge |
| Downstream | Wickes Rail Bridge |