Illinois Central Railroad

Overview

Illinois Central Railroad was a major railroad that operated in the central United States from 1851 until its acquisition by the Canadian National Railway in 1998.

Its principal routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, linking the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico. The railroad also operated lines to Sioux City, Iowa, with branches serving Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Omaha, Nebraska. Passenger trains also reached Miami, Florida, over the tracks of connecting railroads.

The Illinois Central was one of the first railroads in the United States to be financed through a federal land grant, establishing a model later used to support construction of other transcontinental and regional railroads. In 1998, the Canadian National Railway acquired the railroad through its Grand Trunk Corporation subsidiary and integrated operations the following year. The Illinois Central Railroad continues to exist as a non-operating corporate subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway.