IAIS Hennepin Canal Bridge (Bureau Junction, East)

In 1853, the The Peoria and Bureau Valley Railroad (P&BV) began construction on a 47-mile railroad line, extending from the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad (C&RI) mainline at Bureau Junction, Illinois to Peoria, Illinois.  In 1854, the P&BV would be leased by the C&RI, and the line would be completed in 1855.  In 1866, the C&RI consolidated into the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, which was renamed the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway (Rock Island) in 1880.  The Rock Island constructed and acquired a large network of railroads, primarily in Iowa during the late 1880s.  This line served as a secondary mainline, connecting the Rock Island mainline to terminals in Peoria. 

The Rock Island was a poor railroad, facing financial trouble regularly and often in bankruptcy.  This route hosted passenger trains known as "Rockets" for many years.  After World War II, the Rock Island struggled to survive, proposing mergers and deferring maintenance on their routes.  By 1964, the Rock Island began attempts to merge with Union Pacific.  This merger was eventually denied, and Rock Island turned its last profit in 1965. In the mid-1970s, the railroad was in serious decline.  The railroad received loans to attempt to fix slow orders, received new equipment and turn a profit.  By 1978, the railroad came close to profit, but creditors were lobbying for a complete shutdown of the Rock Island.  During the fall of 1979, a strike crippled the railroad, and by January of 1980, the entire system was ordered to be shut down and liquidated.  Many of the lines and equipment were scrapped.  Profitable sections of railroad were prepared for sale.  From Bureau Junction to Henry, the line would be sold to the Chessie System, which became part of CSX Transportation in 1986.  The line from Henry to Peoria would be sold to the Lincoln & Southern Railroad (L&S), owned by BF Goodrich.  In 1987, the Iowa Interstate Railroad was granted rights to operate over the L&S; and the IAIS purchased the Bureau Junction to Peoria line in 2006.  Today, IAIS continues to operate the line as the 2nd Subdivision.