Chicago
and Eastern Illinois Railroad - (en)
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois (AAR reporting marks CEI) was a Class I
railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and
Evansville. Founded in 1877 it grew aggressively and stayed relatively
strong throughout the Great Depression and two World Wars before being
purchased by the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP, or MoPac) and the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). MoPac merged the C&EI
corporate entity in 1976.
History
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was organized in 1877 as a
consolidation of three others -- the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes
Railroad (Chicago-Danville, November 1871), the Evansville, Terre Haute
and Chicago Railroad (Danville-Terre Haute, October 1871) and the
Evansville and Terre Haute (Terre Haute-Evansville, November 1854).
Intended to merge or purchase railroads that had built lines between the
southern suburbs of Chicago and Terre Haute, Indiana through Danville,
Illinois, the C&EI constructed a new line from Chicago to a
Mississippi River connection in extreme southern Illinois at Thebes.
The management of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois and the Chicago and
Indiana Coal Railway ("the Coal Road" or C&IC) became
intertwined and eventually a connection was built between the two
railroads between Goodland, Indiana (on the C&IC) and Momence (on the
C&EI). By 1894 the Eastern had merged the C&IC. The C&EI
continued this vigorous growth into the next decade.
In 1902, the Frisco purchased a controlling interest in the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois and continued building; first a connection between the
two railroads at Pana, Illinois, next extending the line in Indiana to
Evansville and a connection with the Ohio River. However, in 1913
financial problems led to the collapse of the Frisco, and the Eastern was
once again on its own by 1920. The C&EI spun off a variety of their
lines, including the "Coal Road" (which became the Chicago,
Attica and Southern Railroad). The C&EI did not survive the Great
Depression intact, entering bankruptcy in 1933, re-emerging just before
World War II in 1940. The railroad continued its brisk growth once again,
gaining access to St. Louis, Missouri in 1954.
The Missouri Pacific and the Louisville and Nashville began carving up the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois between them starting in 1961. The line
directly south of Chicago to near Danville was actually purchased by both
railroads (and to this day continues to be owned and operated jointly by
MoPac and L&N's successors, Union Pacific Railway and CSX
Transportation respectively), but Missouri Pacific eventually merged the
Eastern in 1976.
