At the same time, the Lafayette, Muncie and Bloomington Railroad continued building west, to Lafayette, Indiana. This completely line opened in 1872.
The two railroads became part of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. The LE&W operated into Ohio, connecting to Cleveland.
A 30 mile extension was created on the west end of the line in 1888, connecting to Peoria. This would become the western terminus of both the LE&W, and its successor.
In 1900, the railroad came under the control of the New York Central Railroad, who sold it to the Nickel Plate Road in 1922.
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate) was a railroad operating in the Great Lake States, connecting Buffalo, New York to St. Louis; but also connecting to Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
By 1964, the NKP merged with the Wabash Railroad and several other small carriers to form the Norfolk and Western Railroad.
The N&W combined with the Southern Railway in 1982 to form the Norfolk Southern, who still operates a majority of this line as the Bloomington District. However, the portion between Gibson City and Lafayette would be abandoned in 1989.
The portion between Cheneyville and Lafayette is now operated by the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad.
07/17/21
Located between Congerville and Goodfield, this small stone arch bridge crosses over Grimm Road.
Built in approximately 1890, the bridge consists of a single stone arch span. This span appears to follow a standard design.
Arches like these were commonly built to cross creeks. It is possible, but unlikely, that this was originally constructed to cross a creek. It is likely that it was originally built to cross a road.
Today, the bridge remains in service. Minor upgrades have occured to the bridge since construction, but it appears to still be in good condition.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.