The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) bridge crossing of the Ohio River at Metropolis, IL holds many numerous outstanding facts not the least of which is that the first Train rumbled across it's mile long length on December 15, 1917.
This picture, taken from the Kentucky shore, shows the yet unfinished bridge
So what lead up to Metropolis being the site of such an enormous undertaking?
The CB&Q Railroad was based out of Chicago, IL. Quincy Railroad aquired a line in 1876 from Chicago to East St. Louis. In 1901 James J. Hill acquired control of the Burlington and wanted easy access to Southern Illinois Coal. So, in 1904 Burlington acquired a 122 mile line from Concord, IL to Centralia, IL. In 1905 the CB&Q began pushing towards Metropolis to link up with the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad (NC&StL) in Paducah. CB&Q reached Metropolis in 1910. The Paducah & Illinois Railroad (P&I) was formed of a partnership between CB&Q and NC&StL to build a mile long bridge over the Ohio and 15 miles of track to connect the 2 Railroads.
Continue to part 2
Thanks for the research on not only the bridge, but why and how CB&Q was in Southern Illinois.
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