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ohh...where to start. i'm not really sure why CSX (on some maps it's shown as B&O)owns the line to west to Bureau, but it seems to me they do some pretty good business on it. i believe the bulk of the traffic is in the form of silica sand from U.S. Silica in ottawa. there is a yard there with a handful of engines from GP15's to -9's usually and the last i remember there's a daily train (at night) to and fro chicago, loads up empties back. there are various other industries on the way east, a GE plastic plant in marseilles etc. i live east of Bureau a few miles and i usually hear the nightly IAIS train heading west, although lately i've been hearing more than one at night. i've heard from a couple people that the iowa interstate portion of the ex-RI is in much better shape with a sizable portion in continous rail. if i remember right they received millions of dollars via the feds to do work to the line last year. the Illinois Railnet line (ex-BNSF) from montgomery, IL to streator is fairly***ty from ottawa south. i'm going to guess the BIG red flag in that is the bridge over the IL river, a rickety old lift bridge which i read was possibly the reason BNSF sold the line. its old, narrow, low clearance for trains, on a slight bend in the river, coast guard wants it removed. ideally...to avoid metra (and chicago altogether) or the Illinois Railnet and still get east...IAIS to depue, IL and if the bridge over the river hadn't been rammed by a barge and burned years ago, i'd hang a right over the river and onto the NS in hennepin, IL and onto Indiana. but that would make for an awful busy crossing in streator, although another rochelle for those of us who like to watch. if i wanted a pretty neat railroad i'd do it that way. the traffic that could avoid chicago to points east i'd send across the river at Depue, IL and east on NS and have my racetrack on into chicago for the rest. at any rate, i will agree with you ed, the ex-RI today looks like a nice piece of under-utilized railway that might come in handy in the near future.
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