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Charter Line Centralia to Freeport by Gayl Wyss Railroad Station Historical Soc
The Charter Line Centralia to Freeport by Gayl Wyss Railroad Station Historical Society The Bulletin 1992 33 pages. Approx 50 photos, some drawings sowing the interior layouts, map.
The Illinois Central Railroad was chartered on February 10, 1851. It was Y-shaped with East Dubuque and Chicago at the top, Centralia at the junction and Cairo at the bottom. The railroad opened in 1855 as the longest railroad in the world.
The railroad was built through virgin prairie and timber with a town to be started every six to twelve miles. Within fifty years a string of cities, towns and farms revolved around the railroad. Corn, wheat, cattle, sheep and hogs all moved out by train, with most towns supporting one or more grain elevators and a stockyard. Salesmen, new equipment and all kinds of supplies moved in by rail with several passenger and freight trains each day. To service all this busines, the railroad had passenger depots, freight depots, engine houses, water towers, coal chutes, yards, plus housing for many of its station agents. Hotels and railway express agencies were there too.
In 1939 the last passenger train ran down the Charter Line and by 1984 most of the freight was gone too. The Chicago branch became the main line and most of the original main line or Charter Line was torn up.
Still, one hundred thirty-seven years later, traces of that world that revolved around the rail can be found. On the Charter Line from Centralia to Freeport most depots had a similar progression through history. Depots were built when the line was first built and they were kept as long as they were adequate. Towns that grew received more substantial buildings that befitted the community. Fires and other accidents also caused changes. The end of passenger service brought more changes. Many of the depots were old and less space was needed, so depots were replaced with standard A, B, C and D type Illinois Central depots. From the 1960's on, even these depots were not needed and they were destroyed or abandoned. Bits and pieces of all this history can still be found.
Until recently, Centralia had a very large brick depot. The building had a two story center section which contained the waiting room and ticket office. One story wings to the north and south made the whole structure almost a block long. Centralia tried, but failed to preserve this handsome building that attested to the importance of the Illinois Central Railroad in its history. Amtrak now uses a storefront for a depot.
North of Centralia the Charter Line branches off the present mainline to Chicago. The track is apparently used as a siding for an asphalt plant. Three quarters of a mile off the mainline at the south edge of Junction City the line ends. The Junction City depot is gone.
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