BN waycar 11462 brings up the rear of the Irish Mail as it passes through Batavia, IL, on its way from Eola to West Chicago. This piece of railroad was the great granddaddy of the CB&Q, the one-time Aurora Branch Railroad. Constructed in 1849, its importance rapidly diminished with the completion in 1864 of the direct line between Aurora and Chicago which is now sometimes dubbed "The Racetrack". Most or all of the boxcars in the "Mail" were destined to the big General Mills factory in West Chicago.
