Alton Railroad
(Redirected from Chicago and Alton Railroad)
| Alton Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Image:No image.png
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| Locale | Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO and Kansas City, MO |
| Dates of operation | – |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | |
The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago, Illinois to Alton, St. Louis, Missouri and Kansas City, Missouri. The line to Alton and St. Louis is now mostly part of the Union Pacific Railroad system; the line to Kansas City is part of the Kansas City Southern Railway system. Metra's Heritage Corridor provides commuter rail service on the old main line between Chicago and Joliet, Illinois, now owned by the Canadian National Railway through its Illinois Central Railroad.
History
The earliest ancestor to the Alton Railroad is the Alton and Sangamon Railroad, chartered February 27, 1847 in Illinois to connect the Mississippi River town of Alton to the state capital at Springfield in Sangamon County. The line was finished in 1852, and extended to Bloomington in 1854 and Joliet in 1855, from which it could run to Chicago on the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Before 1855 the name was changed to the Chicago and Mississippi Railroad.
The Joliet and Chicago Railroad was chartered February 15, 1855 and opened in 1856, continuing north and northeast from Joliet to downtown Chicago. In 1857 the C&M was reorganized as the St. Louis, Alton and Chicago Railroad, and another reorganization October 10, 1862 produced the Chicago and Alton Railroad. The C&A chartered the Alton and St. Louis Railroad to extend the line to East St. Louis, opened in 1864, and leased the Joliet and Chicago Railroad January 1, 1864, giving it a line from Chicago to East St. Louis.
The first Pullman sleeping car was operated on the line between Bloomington and Chicago, starting September 1, 1859.
At first the J&C used the passenger terminal of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad (later LaSalle Street Station); it later moved to the Illinois Central Depot. On December 28, 1863 the J&C and Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway came to an agreement where the J&C would use the PFW&C's terminal at Madison Street, later becoming a tenant of the planned Union Station. That station opened in 1881, and since then the C&A and its successors have used Union Station.
| Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America |
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United States: AMTK, BNSF, CSXT, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, UP - Canada: CN, CP, VIA - Mexico: FXE, TFM |
| Former or fallen flag Class I railroads of the United States (Detailed list) |
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ACL, ACY, AD, AGS, AA, ASAB, ATSF, AWP, BAR, BLE, BM, BN, BO, BRI, BSLW, CA, CAGY, CBQ, CEI, CG, CGW, CI, CIM, CMO, CNJ, CNTP, CNW, CO, CR, CRP, CRR, CS, CV, CW, CWC, DH, DLW, DM, DMIR, DRGW, DSA, DSL, DTI, DTS, DWP, EJE, EL, ERIE, FEC, FWD, GA, GBW, GCSF, GF, GMN, GMO, GN, GSF, GTW, IC, ICG, IGN, ITC, KOG, LA, LAT, LIRR, LHR, LN, LNE, LSI, LV, MEC, MGA, MI, MILW, MKT, MON, MP, MSC, MSTL, MTR, MV, NC, NH, NKP, NNE, NOTM, NP, NW, NWP, NYC, NYCN, NYSW, OCAA, OE, OT, OW, PC, PLE, PM, PRR, PRSL, PSF, PSN, PWV, RDG, RFP, RI, RUT, SAL, SAUG, SBD, SBM, SCL, SLSF, SI, SIR, SN, SOU, SP, SPS, SSFT, SSW, STLH, TAG, TC, TM, TN, TNO, TP, TPW, UTAH, VGN, WA, WAB, WC, WLE, WM, WP, YMV |