| Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad SW1 9140 at West Chicago, Illinois on February 28, 1965, Ektachrome by Chuck Zeiler. This locomotive was the power for the Irish Mail, which traced the steps of the original route of the Chicago & Aurora Railroad. At its inception (chartered on February 12, 1849) the C&A was nothing more than about 12 miles of track built between Aurora and West Chicago. The C&A's connection to Chicago was on trackage rights on the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, later the C&NW. Eventually, the C&A built its own right-of-way into Chicago, then becoming the CB&Q, and the first track built became relegated to branch line service from then on. The major interest of the CB&Q in West Chicago was the General Mills plant Note the Mars light mounted on the handrail. |