“A bridge across the Mississippi was necessary to connect the Chicago & Rock Island and the Mississippi & Missouri railroads.   The Mississippi had not yet been spanned, and the immediate reaction to the proposed railroad bridge was that it would be a hazard to navigation.  However, the bridge was built, and it was officially opened on April 21, 1856.  On the evening of May 76 the steamboat Effie Afton,  which usually plied the New Orleans-Louisville run, cleared the open draw span then veered aside, turned around, rammed one of the piers, and suddenly and suspiciously burst into flames.  The case of the bridge soon became one of railroad advocates versus steamboats advocates.   The latter felt that even a single bridge would set an unfortunate precedent and soon there would be bridges every 40 or 50 miles along the length of the river.   The railroad’s case, argued by Abraham Lincoln, went one way then the other in successive courts, but in 1866 the U. S. Supreme Court held for the railroad.   Several other railroads immediately applied to bridge the Mississippi at other locations.”

Credits:    Cartoon from Railfan & Railroad Magazine, March 2009,   quoted paragraph  from the: “Historical Guide to North American Railroads” by Kalmbach