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Images of Rail Chicago And The Illinois Central Railroad by Clifford Downey SC
Images of Rail
Chicago And The Illinois Central Railroad By Clifford J. Downey
127 pages
Soft cover.
Copyright 2007
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction6
7
1.Early Years11
2.Central Station25
3.Passenger Service35
4.Suburban Service57
5.Freight Service65
6.Western Lines91
7.Shop Facilities99
8.The Railroad Runs on People Power111
9.Two Decades of Change121
INTRODUCTION
Since the late 1800s, Chicago has been regarded as the railroad capital of the United States. Chicago had more railroads and more miles of track than any other city. It was nearly impossible to go more than a half dozen city blocks without running into a set of railroad tracks.
One of the most important railroads operating into Chicago was the Illinois Central Railroad. The Illinois Central operated two routes out of Chicago. The busiest of these routes was the Main Line. Beginning at South Water Street, on the banks of the Chicago River, this line ran south through suburbs such as Hyde Park, Kensington, and Mateson. Once out of the metropolitan area, this route passed through Kankakee, Champaign, Carbondale, and Centralia, and continued onward to Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans.
Illinois Central's second route in Chicago was the Western Lines. This route also began at South Water Street and passed through Berwyn, Broadview, and Cicero before continuing west to Iowa. In Iowa the route split several times, with branches going to cities such as Madison, Wisconsin; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Albert Lea, Minnesota; Sioux City, Iowa; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The main tnink of the Western Lines terminated in Omaha, Nebraska. A wide variety of meat, agricultural, and manufactured products flowed into Chicago over the Western Lines.
Planning for the Illinois Central began back in the 1840s, when the railroad industry was in its infancy. There was a great desire to develop the interior portion of the state. But these efforts were hampered by poor transportation. A handful of rivers and canals dissected the central part of the state, but shipping rates were high. Droughts and floods also made river transportation a risky proposition.
Politicians and businessmen began pushing for a railroad. Since the new railroad was to be built north to south through the central part of Illinois, it was only natural that the railroad would be called the Illinois Central Railroad. When the railroad was first envisioned, only one route was planned. It would stretch from Cairo, at the far southern tip of Illinois, north to Freeport, and then westward to Dunleith (now known as East Dubuque). This line was oiled the Charter Line, since it was the first route proposed by company.
Several influential politicians objected to the idea of building just this one route. They felt that the railroad should also serve the growing city of Chicago, which at that time had limited rail service. As a compromise, proponents of the Illinois Central agreed to build a line to Chicago. Known as the Chicago Branch, this 250-mile line split away from the Charter Line at Centralia (founded by and named for the railroad). It then headed northeast toward Chicago.
Plans for Illinois Central were ambitious. The railroad would stretch for 705 miles, making it the longest railroad in the world at the time. Construction was estimated to cost over $16 million, an astronomical sum of money in those days. But how would it be paid for? When Illinois was admitted to the union in 1818, the United States government retained title to most land in the new state. Politicians advocated that this land could be used to build the railroad.
Part of the land would provide the right-of-way for the new railroad, while the rest would be sold to pay construction costs. After much debate, in September 1850, a bill was signed by
Pres. Millard Fillmore granting the State of Illinois more than 2.5 million acres of federal land down the central part of Illinois. Most of this land was later given to the Illinois Central, making it the first "land grant" railroad in the United States.
After many years of dreaming and planning, the Illinois Central Railroad was chartered op February 10, 1851. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held at Cairo on December 23, 1851. Another groundbreaking was held the same day near Lake Calumet (later renamed Kensington). From here, track gangs began working northward toward Chicago. Crews also began laying track a short distance eastward to the Indiana state line and a connection with the Michigan Central Railroad.
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