The , 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 .
map]]
The IC was one of the earlier
Class I Railroad s 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
2006 . 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
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.
On
August 10 ,
1972 the Illinois Central Railroad merged with the
Gulf, Mobile And Ohio Railroad to form the . 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.
map]]
(red) and Illinois Central (blue) railroads in 1996.]]
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 some CN locomotives retain the IC
Reporting Marks on their cabs.
The Illinois Central was a major carrier or passengers on its Chicago-New Orleans mainline and between Chicago and St. Louis. Illinois Central's largest passenger terminal, Central Station, stood at 12th Street east of Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
Illinois Central's most famous train was the Panama Limited, a premier all-Pullman car service between Chicago, IL-St. Louis, MO-New Orleans, LA. It was operated by the Illinois Central Railroad until the advent of Amtrak in 1971. The train, which commenced service in 1908, was named in honor of the opening of Panama Canal in 1914. The Panama Limited was steamlined in 1942. In 1967, due to losses incurred by the operation of the train, the Illinois Central combined the Panama Limited with a coach-only train, which was called the Magnolia Star. The final day of operation of the Panama Limited by the Illinois Central Railroad took place on May 31, 1971. On June 1, 1971, Amtrak took over the operation of the service, but shortly afterword dropped the name in favor of The City of New Orleans, a daytime train that had been operated by the Illinois Central whose name was popularized by a song by Arlo Guthrie.
The Green Diamond was the Illinois Central's premier train between Chicago 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 .
The Illinois Central was always a major Chicago commuter line operating electrified trains from it's Michigan Avenue stations to the southeast suburbs until this traffic was assumed by METRA.
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
- Lawrence A. Downs , 1926-1938
- John L. Beven , 1938-1945
- Wayne A. Johnston , 1945-1967
- William B. Johnson , 1967-1969
- Alan S. Boyd , 1969-1972
- E. Hunter Harrison , 1993-1998
Some historic equipment owned and used by Illinois Central can be found in museums across the United States, including:
The name of the railroad was popularized in the song "
City Of New Orleans " written and performed by
Steve Goodman and covered by
Arlo Guthrie among others.
