At McFarland, the line connected to a mainline, which was being constructed at the same time. This branch line connected to Manhattan, and many other cities in the Big Blue River region.
By 1891, the route became part of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway; which had acquired a massive amount of lines throughout the Midwest, extending as far as Illinois.
Despite having several desirable and highly profitable routes, the Rock Island oftentimes found itself in severe economic depression. This finally killed the Rock Island in 1980, and all operations ceased.
While several of the mainlines were reborn as other routes, this line would permanently stay closed.
In 2017, there are little remains of this branch line, other than a trail in Manhattan.
06/26/21
This Warren Through Truss bridge carries the Linear Trail over Wildcat Creek.
A common design, the bridge was built in approximately 1905. The Rock Island built numerous structures like this throughout the Midwest.
The truss is a common 124 foot long riveted Warren Through Truss, comprised of 6 panels. It is a great example of this type of bridge.
In addition to this structure, there was another bridge of the same design over the Kansas River in Manhattan.
While that structure was not preserved, the leaders of Manhattan fortunately saw some value of this structure.
The bridge rests on stone and concrete substructures.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design. Other spans share the same design, such as the nearby Paxico Rail Bridge.
The photo above is an overview. The bridge can be accessed from nearby roads, as it crosses diagonally under Seth Child Road.