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 this view, BN EMD GP40 No. 3030 heads up street trackage at the intersection of East 2nd Street and 1st Avenue in Sterling, Illinois, on June 10, 1984. The locomotive will gather up its train at the BN’s small facility there and begin the trek eastbound toward Earlville. This 46.8-mile long branch, along with trackage rights on C&NW to Agnew and another branch to Lyndon, which last saw traffic in the mid-1970s, were abandoned in 1985.
