Burlington Northern operated a former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy branch line from Sterling to Earlville, Illinois, known as the 10th Subdivision Branch Line of the Chicago Division. In June 1984, trackage of the branch was deteriorating and with traffic dwindling over many years, the end was inevitable. A few miles east of Rock Falls, Illinois, a BN local can be heard in the distance clattering over the diamond of C&NW’s Peoria line running out of Nelson. The semaphore located here is to signal the approach to the C&NW crossing located at mile 41.1. Soon, trains would not be running on this 46.8-mile long branch, and it would be torn up in 1985.
