Illinois Central Gulf

Thanks to a land grant from then President Millard Fillmore, the Illinois Central was chartered in 1851 to build a line from Cairo, Ill., to Galena, Ill. And during its long history, IC made its mark on the nation as a vital transportation route through the heartland of America – the “Main Line of Mid-America.” By 1870, the network reached Sioux City and, in 1878, it reached the Gulf of Mexico. On Aug. 10, 1972, the Illinois Central merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, creating the Illinois Central Gulf. In 1999 IC merged with CN, becoming the only