Sibley Railroad Bridge. ca.1923
By 1880, the Santa Fe Railroad was making its way through Sibley. This drastically changed the landscape and brought new businesses to the area. The Railroad also had a new bridge constructed over the Missouri River for transportation to Chicago. At the same time, the Railroad had a depot constructed which gave people in the Sibley area faster means of transportation to other cities.
Rail traffic continued to increase over the years and by 1915 the Santa Fe Railroad began construction of a new bridge. The new bridge was constructed without delaying any traffic over the Missouri River. When constructed, the bridge cost the Santa Fe Railroad a million and a quarter dollars.
Portions of the original bridge were moved to areas around Sibley to be reused.
Burlington Northern purchased the Santa Fe Railroad in 1995.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad still frequently travels through Sibley and they continue to use the bridge that was constructed in 1915. While passenger traffic on the railroad is still a daily occurrence, trains no longer make stops at the Sibley Depot. However, the BNSF does have a field office in the building.