One of the lesser railroads in the Illinois Valley was the Illinois Central.  It was known as the main line of mid America.  This train stopped en route to either Cairo in southern Illinois or Dubuque, Iowa.
     In 1850, President Millard Fillmore signed a land grant to build the railroad.  This was the first land grant railroad in the United States.  The Illinois Central Railroad was chartered by the Illinois State Assembly in 1851.   An investment of 27 million dollars from European investors was needed to begin construction.  The line between Cairo and Galena was completed in 1856.
A branch line between Centralia and Chicago was completed in 1855.  In 1867, lines were extended into Iowa.  In the 1860’s and 1870’s, the Illinois Central acquired and expanded into the south.  It’s coverage went to New Orleans in the south and Louisville in the east.  In 1880’s, northern lines were built to Dodgeville, Wisconsin; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Omaha, Nebraska.
     In 1972,  the IC merged with the GMO to form the Illinois Central Gulf.  In the 1980’s, the combined line operated 13,532 miles of track.  Later in the 1980’s, the railroad spun off most of its EW lines and many of its redundant North South Lines.
     In 1988, it’s name was changed back to the Illinois Central Railroad.  In February, 1998, the Illinois Central was purchased by the Canadian National Railroad.
     The major passenger lines were: Chicago to New Orleans; Chicago to St.Louis; and Chicago to Omaha.