This line would be completed in 1857, and by 1858 the Iowa Southern Junction Railroad began construction on an extension into Fort Madison. This would be completed in 1859 by the Iowa Southern Railroad.
These two railroads would become a part of the Keokuk and St. Paul Railway in 1866. By 1867, the line would be extended to Burlington, Iowa where it would meet a mainline. The line would be completed in late 1869.
Far south of Iowa, a railroad known as the Clarksville and Western Railroad begun construction of a 54 mile line stretching from St. Peters, Missouri to Louisiana, Missouri.
Similarly, the Mississippi Valley and Western Railway completed a 34 mile segment from West Quincy, Missouri to Buena Vista, Iowa in 1872. This segment was started by the Mississippi and Missouri River Air Line Railroad in 1868.
In 1873, the Clarksville and Western Railroad was purchased by the Mississippi Valley and Western Railway in 1873. This railroad would complete segments from West Quincy to Hannibal, Missouri and from Lousiana to Clarksville.
In 1875, the railroad would become part of the St. Louis, Keokuk and North Western Railway. This railroad would complete the line between Buena Vista, Iowa and St. Peters Missouri in 1879.
Finally, in 1881; the railroad built a portion from Buena Vista to Keokuk. This created a continuous line between St. Peters and Burlington.
After a rename in 1887, the St. Louis, Keokuk and North Western Railroad built a final 49 miles from Cuivre Junction (at Old Monroe) to St. Louis in 1892. The entire line was considered critical to the development of industry along the Mississippi River.
Both the Keokuk and St. Paul Railway, as well as the St. Louis, Keokuk and North Western Railroad were purchased by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway in 1901. The CB&Q had been constructing a significant amount of track throughout the midwest.
In 1907, the 10 mile spur to St. Peters would be abandoned, considered unnecessary.
The remainder of the line remained critical to the CB&Q, which would eventually merge with the Northern Pacific and Great Northern to form Burlington Northern in 1970.
By 1996, the thriving BN decided to merge with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of the line. It currently sees a solid traffic base, and is operated as the Hannibal Subdivision.
06/26/21
This large through truss bridge once crossed the Cuivre River in Old Monroe, parallel to the old MO-79 Bridge.
The massive Through Truss bridge contained 3 spans. The end spans were each 5 panels, while the middle span was 7 panels. All spans contained pinned connections. In addition, the bridge was set exclusively on concrete substructures.
Erected by American Bridge Company in 1901, the design follows the likeness of many other similar structures along the line. These designs were simple, economical and commonly used by the CB&Q. Today, vast numbers of them survive on former CB&Q mainlines; although BNSF has been moving rapidly in the last decade to replace such structures.
Overall, the bridge appeared to be in fair condition when documented in June 2016. Additional heel bracing was added in the portals within the in the late 2000s to help strengthen the bridge.
The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the large scale erection of the structure. The bridge was also older than similar structures, and features a much more unique combination of spans.
The photo above is an overview. Unfortunately, this bridge is another example of railroad trusses being replaced.
As of 2019, the bridge is being replaced by a new structure. It was finally removed in early June 2020, when the new bridge opened to traffic.
A link showing the removal pictures can be found below: