The next year, the line would be continued to Thayer, Kansas. By 1871, the line reached Cherryvale, in far southern Kansas.
In 1872, the line reached its southern terminus in Independence. The line would later be continued to Tulsa and further into Oklahoma.
The final segment of the railroad was constructed by the Southern Kansas Railroad.
By 1879, the LL&G became a part of the Kansas City, Lawrence & South Kansas Railroad; which was in turn bought by the Southern Kansas Railroad in 1883.
In 1888, all of these lines became a part of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. The ATSF had constructed a lot of track in the region.
Despite being a mainline for the ATSF for over a century, it would be removed from the system in 1990. From Ottawa to Iola, the railroad was abandoned; and later became the Prairie Spirit Rail Trail.
South of Iola, the line was sold to the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL). In 2017, SKOL continues to operate this section, which connects several other lines.
However, a small segment from Iola to Humboldt was abandoned and later converted to the Southwind Rail Trail.
06/26/21
Of the many unique bridges in Kansas, this is one of the most notable.
The bridge is an extremely unique design. The main truss is an 8-panel pin connected Pratt Through Truss.
This span was built in 1890, and is identical to a bridge in nearby Melvern.
It is believed that this is likely a standard span design for the time period.
The approach spans were built in 1900, and added to the north end of the truss. The truss was double-trussed in 1919. This process added an additional line of trusses to the structure. This additional line appears to be identical to the inside trusses.
These trusses were salvaged from Bridge #533A over the Purgatoire River near Las Animas, Colorado when that structure was replaced with a through girder.
The bridge also is set onto stone substructures. The south abutment has since been encased in concrete. This was likely done at one of two times. If the span was relocated to the current location in Ca. 1909, it could have been encased then.
An alternative and more likely theory states that the abutment was encased during the 1919 strengthening.
Because of the extremely unique history and the double trussed design of the bridge, the author has ranked this bridge as being highly significant. The bridge remains in good condition, serving the Southwind Rail Trail.
The photo above is looking north across the bridge. The bridge is easily accessible from State Street.