By 1870, the line had extended across the Mississippi and all the way to Nebraska.
The line eventually came under the ownership of Illinois Central. The IC used this as a mainline, connecting to the bigger mainline to Chicago and to New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 1972, the IC purchased its main competitor, the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad, forming the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.
The ICG years were bad. The Iowa Division was dismantled, and this line, along with many others were sold to Subsidiary Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad in 1985.
The ICG changed the name back to Illinois Central in 1988, and purchased back the Iowa Division in 1996.
By then it was too late. Other railroads had been doing well, and competition became too much for the IC. They sold themselves to the Canadian National Railway in 1998, who would later purchase the Wisconsin Central in western Wisconsin and several other railroads.
The CN continues to operate this line with about 5 trains a day.
06/26/21
This little stone arch hasn't been used in over 100 years, and is falling apart.
Originally built in 1851 to cross a branch of the Leaf River, it was replaced with a trestle in 1912. It is likely that the arch was failing, which led to the new span being constructed.
Since the bypass, the structure has been subject to flooding and serious deterioration. Today, little of the original arch remains.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in exceptionally poor condition, and will not remain standing much longer.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design and poor condition.
The photo above is an overview.