In Streator, the line would connect to a number of railroads heading towards Chicago. In Montgomery, it met with a Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Line, which made a connection to its namesake cities.
The OO&FRV became part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1898. The CB&Q was a major powerhouse through Illinois and Iowa.
This line was used as a branch to connect Streator to Chicago. Streator also had two more CB&Q lines, heading east and west.
In Ottawa, this line would interchange with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. It would also cross the Illinois River at Ottawa.
In addition, it crossed the Fox River two times: at Sheridan and at Montgomery.
By 1970, the CB&Q was merged with the Northern Pacific Railroad and Great Northen Railroad to form Burlington Northern, one of the largest railroads in America at the time.
The BN Operated this line, and in 1996 was merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF.
BNSF trimmed extra branch lines soon after the merger. This line was sold to shortline Illinois Railway in December of 1997.
IR Currently operates this line as their Ottawa Branch, connecting to the BNSF Mendota Subdivision at Montgomery.
10/25/22
Located near Sheridan, little is known about this truss bridge.
The bridge appears in photographs from the 1960s and 1970s as a two span deck truss bridge, with trestle approaches. The bridge was originally constructed in 1878, using a Whipple Deck Truss. The Pratt Deck Truss was added in 1905.
At an unknown date, the bridge was altered, and the Whipple Deck Truss was replaced.
Currently, the bridge contains a 8-panel, pin connected and riveted Pratt Deck Truss with heavy members. It is approached by I-Beams to the north, which replaced the older truss. In addition, both ends contain trestle approach. The bridge rests on steel, stone and wood substructures.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, although the structure has been significantly altered since construction.
The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design. However, if the Whipple Truss was still extant, the bridge would be ranked higher.
The photo above is an overview, with a poor sun angle.
| Upstream | Montgomery Rail Bridge |
| Downstream | CSX Fox River Bridge |