At Roodhouse, it connected to another StLJ&C mainline.
Three years prior, the Louisiana and Missouri River Railroad constructed a line between Mexico, Missouri and the Mississippi River at Louisiana, Missouri.
The two railroads would finally connect in 1873, when a bridge would be constructed over the Mississippi River.
An additional 163 miles to Kansas City would be built westward from Mexico in 1878, finally seeing completion in 1879. This line was constructed by the Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago Railroad.
Both the railroads in Missouri would be under control of the Chicago & Alton Railroad from completion. In Illinois, the St. Louis, Jacksonville and Chicago Railroad would become fully absorbed by the Chicago & Alton in 1899.
The Chicago & Alton operated this route as a backbone type route, connecting Kansas City to the Mississippi River.
In 1931, the Chicago & Alton would be renamed the Alton Railroad, and be operated as a subsidiary of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. This lasted until 1947, when it became part of the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad.
The GMO operated this line until 1972, when they merged with Illinois Central to form Illinois Central Gulf; who operated this line until 1987.
By 1987, the line had deteriorated significantly. The line was sold to the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway. This railroad failed very quickly, and by 1990 the line was spun off to Gateway Western Railroad.
From 1990 to 1997, Gateway Western was an affiliate of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. After ATSF merged to form BNSF, GWWR became a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern.
Kansas City Southern fully dissolved the GWWR in 2001, and continues to operate this line.
06/26/21
This unique through truss bridge crosses the Little Blue River near the former town of Selsa.
Now located in Independence, the bridge consists of an 8-panel riveted Warren Through Truss.
Normally riveted warren through trusses aren't anything overly special. However, this bridge is a prime example of the advancements Lassig Bridge & Iron Works made to the engineering community.
Pin connected spans (and normally of a Pratt configuration) are normally seen on many railroad trusses prior to 1905. However, this truss was an early structure to have riveted connections.
In addition, the bridge rests on stone abutments built in 1878, the southern of which was encased in concrete in 1923.
The 1900 date is common along this line. It appears that the Chicago & Alton did a huge amount of upgrades during this time frame, including the Missouri River Bridge located at Glasgow.
Overall, the bridge is a very good example of early riveted connections. Because of this, the author has ranked it as being regionally significant.
Fortunately, with the development of this area, a trail network has been built under the north side of the bridge. The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | Abandoned Little Blue River Bridge |
| Downstream | UP Little Blue River Bridge (Raytown) |