Illinois Central Railroad: Information from Answers.com

Illinois Central Railroad
Reporting marks	IC, ICG
Locale	central United States
Dates of operation	1851 – 1999
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois

The Illinois Central (AAR reporting marks IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa (1870). There was a significant branch to Omaha, Nebraska (1899) west of Fort Dodge, Iowa and another branch reaching Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1877) starting from Cherokee, Iowa.

History

The IC was one of the earlier Class I railroads in the US. Its roots stretch back to abortive attempts by the Illinois General Assembly to charter a railroad linking the northern and southern parts of the state of Illinois. In 1850 U.S. President Millard Fillmore signed a land grant for the construction of the railroad, making the Illinois Central the first land-grant railroad in the United States.

The Illinois Central was officially chartered by the Illinois General Assembly on February 10, 1851.^[1] Upon its completion in 1856, the IC was the longest railroad in the world. Its main line went from Cairo, Illinois, at the southern tip of the state, to Galena, in the northwest corner. A branch line went from Centralia (named for the railroad) to the rapidly growing city of Chicago. In Chicago, its tracks were laid along the shore of Lake Michigan and on an offshore causeway downtown, but landfilling and natural deposition have moved the present day shore to the east.

In 1867 the Illinois Central extended its track into Iowa. Throughout the 1870s, and 1880s the IC acquired and expanded railroads throughout the southern United States. IC lines crisscrossed the state of Mississippi and went as far as New Orleans, Louisiana to the south and Louisville, Kentucky in the east. In the 1880s, northern lines were built to Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Omaha, Nebraska. Further expansion continued into the early twentieth century.

Illinois Central Gulf Railroad: 1972-1988

On August 10, 1972 the Illinois Central Railroad merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad to form the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. On October 30 that year the Illinois Central Gulf commuter rail crash, the company's deadliest, occurred. In the 1980s, the railroad spun off most of its east-west lines and many of its redundant north-south lines, including much of the former GM&O. Most of these lines were bought by other railroads, including entirely new railroads, such as the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway and Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad. On February 29, 1988, the ICG dropped the "Gulf" from its name and again became known as the Illinois Central Railroad.

Canadian National Railway: 1998-present

On February 11, 1998 the IC was purchased by the Canadian National Railway; integration of operations began July 1, 1999, though the Illinois Central name continued to be used until after the railroad's sesquicentennial in 2001. As time passes, the IC identity is slowly fading through CN's maintenance and repainting programs, although IC locomotives repainted into the CN paint scheme retain "IC" reporting marks and lettering on the sides of the cab.

Passenger train service

The Illinois Central was a major carrier of passengers on its Chicago-New Orleans mainline and between Chicago and St. Louis. IC also ran passengers on its Chicago to Omaha line, though it was never among the top performers on this route. Illinois Central's largest passenger terminal, Central Station, stood at 12th Street east of Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Due to the railroad's north-south route from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, Illinois Central passenger trains were one means of transport during the African American Great Migration of the 1920s.

Illinois Central's most famous train was the Panama Limited, a premier all-Pullman car service between Chicago, St. Louis, Missouri, and New Orleans. In 1967, due to losses incurred by the operation of the train, the Illinois Central combined the Panama Limited with a coach-only train called the Magnolia Star. On June 1, 1971 Amtrak took over the operation of the service, but shortly afterward dropped the name in favor of the City of New Orleans, a daytime streamlined coach train that had been operated by the Illinois Central whose name was popularized by a song written by Steve Goodman and performed by Arlo Guthrie. Illinois Central ran several other trains along the main route including The Creole and The Louisiane.

The Green Diamond was the Illinois Central's premier train between Chicago, Springfield and St. Louis. Other important trains included the Hawkeye which ran daily between Chicago and Sioux City and the City of Miami eventually running every other day between Chicago and Miami via the Atlantic Coast Line, The Central of Georgia Railroad and Florida East Coast Railway.

The Illinois Central was always a major Chicago commuter line operating electrified trains from its Michigan Avenue stations to the southeast suburbs until this traffic was assumed by Metra.

After 1971 Amtrak operated the Panama Limited, later re-named City of New Orleans, over the Illinois Central mainline and the Shawnee between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. Amtrak presently runs three trains daily over this route, the City of New Orleans and the Illini and Saluki between Chicago and Carbondale. Another Illinois corridor service is planned for the former "Blackhawk" route between Chicago-Rockford and Dubuque. This service, subsidized by the State of Illinois is slated to begin in 2009.

List of Illinois Central Named Trains

• Chickasaw
• City of Miami
• City of New Orleans
• Creole
• Daylight
• Green Diamond
• Hawkeye
• Illini
• Iowan
• Land O'Corn
• Louisiane
• Miss Lou
• Night Diamond
• Northern Express
• Northwestern Limited
• Panama Limited
• Planter
• Seminole
• Southern Express
• Southwestern Limited
• Sunchaser

Company officers

Presidents of the Illinois Central Railroad have included:

• Stuyvesant Fish, 1887-1906
• James T. Harahan, 1906-1911
• Charles H. Markham, 1911-1918
• Charles A. Peabody, 1918-1919
• Charles H. Markham, 1919-1926
• Lawrence A. Downs, 1926-1938
• John L. Beven, 1938-1945
• Wayne A. Johnston, 1945-1967
• William B. Johnson, 1967-1969
• Alan Stephenson Boyd, 1969-1972^[2]
• E. Hunter Harrison, 1993-1998

Preservation

Some historic equipment owned and used by Illinois Central can be found in museums across the United States, including:

• 201, participated in the "Wheels A-Rolling" pageant at the Chicago Railroad Fair. Preserved on static display at Illinois Railway Museum.
• 790. Preserved on static display at Steamtown National Historic Site, believed to be in good condition that restoration to operations is feasible.^[1]
• 2500. Preserved on static display in the Age of Steam Memorial in Centralia, Illinois.
• 2542. Preserved on static display at McComb, Mississippi.
• A yard office and unique coal-fueling tower remain at the Illinois Central yards in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

References

See also

• David L. Gunn
• Tammany Trace Rail Trail

External links

• Illinois Central Historical Society
• Illinois Central Railroad On-Line
• Illinois Central Resource Page
• STB decision, docket number FD_33556_0 (granting CN control of the IC)

Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America
United States: AMTK, BNSF, CSXT, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, UP - Canada: CN, CP, VIA - Mexico: FXE, TFM, KCSM, FSRR See also: List of USA/Canada/Mexico Class I Railroads, List of USA/Canadian Class II Railroads, Class III railroad, Class 2 Railroads in Canada, Short-line railroad, List of United States railroads, List of Canadian railroads, List of Mexican railroads