The was a
Class I Railroad that linked
Chicago to southern
Illinois ,
St. Louis , and
Evansville . Founded in
1877 it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the
Great Depression and two World Wars before being purchased by the '''
Missouri Pacific Railroad ''' (MP, or MoPac) and the '''
Louisville And Nashville Railroad ''' (L&N). MoPac merged the C&EI corporate entity in
1976 .
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was organized in 1877 as a consolidation of three others -- the
Chicago, Danville And Vincennes Railroad (Chicago-Danville, November 1871), the
Evansville, Terre Haute And Chicago Railroad (Danville-Terre Haute, October 1871) and the
Evansville And Terre Haute (Terre Haute-Evansville, November 1854). Intended to merge or purchase railroads that had built lines between the southern suburbs of Chicago and
Terre Haute, Indiana through
Danville, Illinois , the C&EI constructed a new line from Chicago to a
Mississippi River connection in extreme southern Illinois at
Thebes .
The management of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois and the
Chicago And Indiana Coal Railway ("the Coal Road" or C&IC) became intertwined and eventually a connection was built between the two railroads between Goodland, Indiana (on the C&IC) and Momence (on the C&EI). By 1894 the Eastern had merged the C&IC. The C&EI continued this vigorous growth into the next decade.
In
1902 , the
Frisco purchased a controlling interest in the Chicago and Eastern Illinois and continued building; first a connection between the two railroads at
Pana, Illinois , next extending the line in Indiana to
Evansville and a connection with the
Ohio River . However, in
1913 financial problems led to the collapse of the Frisco, and the Eastern was once again on its own by
1920 . The C&EI spun off a variety of their lines, including the "Coal Road" (which became the
Chicago, Attica And Southern Railroad ). The C&EI did not survive the Great Depression intact, entering
Bankruptcy in
1933 , re-emerging just before
World War II in
1940 . The railroad continued its brisk growth once again, gaining access to
St. Louis, Missouri in
1954 .
The Missouri Pacific and the Louisville and Nashville began carving up the Chicago and Eastern Illinois between them starting in
1961 . The line directly south of Chicago to near Danville was actually purchased by both railroads (and to this day continues to be owned and operated jointly by MoPac and L&N's successors,
Union Pacific Railway and
CSX Transportation respectively), but Missouri Pacific eventually merged the Eastern in
1976 .
- [http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr1473.htm Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad photos
- [http://www.scripophily.net/chandeailrac.html A Brief History of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
