Illinois Central Railroad
The wages were $1.25 a day to build the railroad
It was completed September 27, 1856, taking five years to construct
705 mile railroad
Connected the northern, southern and central parts of the State
The city of Centralia was named after the Illinois Central Railroad
Later, four additional railroads were built east to west
It expanded the social, political, and economic climate of the State
The 1836 legislature granted a charter to build a railroad from Cairo to Galena
$3.5 million was set aside from the State for the building of a central railroad
The work was halted by the financial panic of 1837
The concept was kept alive by Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas
The 1850 Douglas Act was signed by President Fillmore
The bill called for Illinois to receive Federal land to build a central railroad
4000+ miles were made available
The State granted the charter to the Illinois Central Railroad Company
2.5 million acres were transferred to the company
The railroad would have to pay 7% shipping tax
The groundbreaking was at Cairo, IL on 12/23/1851
By 1852 funds were raised via bond sales in England to build the railroad
The chief Construction Engineer was Col. Roswell Mason
Hundreds of German and Irish immigrants were recruited from Europe to work on the railroad
Iron rails at $45 per ton were floated from England via New Orleans and Chicago
The line crossed the Great Western Railroad
The state hired Andrew Carnegie’s company to build a bridge across the Mississippi River
The state of Illinois’ population grew 2.5 million from 1850-1880
Illinois Central’s income in 1861 was $4 million, and in 1865 it was $8 million
Illinois Central hauled 291 million tons of goods in 1870, and 1,302 million tons in 1890
In 1877, Illinois Central bought the Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Line
Illinois Central purchased the Havana, Rantoul and Eastern Railroad and the Iowa Line in 1887
In 1888, Illinois Central built a line from Chicago to Freeport
Illinois Central built a huge bridge at Cairo over the Ohio River; it was completed in 1889
The Illinois Central headquarters was in Chicago, IL
Illinois Central installed telegraph lines, and the telegraph operators could signal station masters up and down the line
Illinois Central built the first sleeping cars, three years before Pullman
They were the first railroad to establish Post Office cars
Illinois Central was the first railroad to develop refrigerated freight cars
They were one of the five largest railroads in the U. S. by 1900
By 1926 the suburban line trains converted from steam to electricity
Source: “Historic Illinois”, Vol. 29, No. 4, December 2006, Pages 3 – 7, Rockford Public Library’s Local History Collection
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