The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

running west from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out from Chicago.

History

The first railroad constructed out of Chicago, the Galena and Chicago Union, was chartered on January 16, 1836, to connect Chicago with the lead mines at Galena, a year before the city of Chicago was incorporated. " The Pioneer," the first locomotive on the road, arrived at Chicago on October 10, 1848, nearly thirteen years after the charter was granted. In 1850, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was completed as far as Elgin. The railroad and the Illinois and Michigan Canal were vital in the development of Chicago, and the population of the city tripled in the six years after the opening of the canal. Eventually other railroads were built and Chicago became the largest railroad center in the world. In 1862 the G&CU leased in perpetuity the

Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad The Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad was a railroad chartered to run from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Council Bluffs, Iowa on the Missouri River. It was the first railroad to reach Council Bluffs, Iowa, the eastern terminus of the First transcon ...

which was to be the first railroad to reach Council Bluffs, Iowa and the First transcontinental railroad. The 1862 map by G. Woolworth Colton shown here lays out the various lines in operation at that time. The G&CU consolidated with the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states bef ...

in 1864, which merged with the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

over a century later in 1996. Today, the G&CU's main line between Chicago and West Chicago is a busy commuter service, jointly operated by Union Pacific and

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines ...

as the Union Pacific / West Line.

Construction

The railroad was constructed starting in March 1848, and was completed to Freeport in 1853. The first westbound train out of Chicago departed on October 25, 1848, pulled by a used Baldwin-built locomotive named ''Pioneer''.Chicago Historical Society,
History Lab Collections - Riding the Rails
''. Retrieved October 25, 2005. When construction reached the Fox River at Elgin in 1850 passengers going farther west could transfer to the stagecoach lines. The railroad extended to Rockford by 1851 and ended construction at Freeport in 1853. The

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line al ...

, using the G&CU construction crew, completed the Freeport to Galena route in 1854 following the stage route already established by Frink, Walker and Company.

Depots

Stations between Chicago and Freeport included the following: *

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(1848. Depot at Kinzie and Canal Streets north of the Chicago River was converted to an employees' reading room 1853. Second depot at Kinzie and Wells Streets burned in 1871. The Merchandise Mart now occupies the site) * Garfield Park (1848. formerly Central Park) *

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated ...

(1848. formerly Oak Ridge, Cicero) * Melrose Park, Illinois (1849) formerly Melrose * Berkeley, Illinois (1849. Formerly Proviso) *

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city mostly in DuPage County and overlapping into Cook County in the U.S. state of Illinois, and a western suburb of Chicago. As of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 47,260. History Members of the Potawatomi Nativ ...

(1849. Formerly Cottage Hill) * Lombard, Illinois (1849. Babcock's Grove) * Glen Ellyn, Illinois (1849. Formerly Danby) *

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

(1849) * Winfield, Illinois (1849–1854. Hedges Station) * West Chicago, Illinois (1849. Turner Junction. Hotel and roundhouse 1853) * Wayne, Illinois (1850) * South Elgin, Illinois (1850. formerly Clintonville) *

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-larg ...

(1850) * Gilberts, Illinois (1855. Gilbert's Station) * Huntley, Illinois (1851) * Union, Illinois (1851) *

Marengo, Illinois Marengo is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States on the Kishwaukee River. It lies approximately 60 miles west northwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,568. Geography Marengo is located at . The north edge o ...

(1851) *

Garden Prairie, Illinois Garden Prairie is an unincorporated former village and census-designated place located in Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Garden Prairie was originally called Ame ...

(1853) * Belvidere, Illinois (1851) *

Cherry Valley, Illinois Cherry Valley is a village of in the Kishwaukee River valley, which lies primarily in Winnebago County. Approximately ten percent of the village is within Boone County. The village is within the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, ...

(1853) * Rockford, Illinois (1851) *

Winnebago, Illinois Winnebago is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois. It is part of the Rockford-Winnebago Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,101 at the 2010 census, up from 2,958 in 2000. History James Weber Linn (1876–1939), educator ...

(1853) * Pecatonica, Illinois (1853) *Nevada, Ridott Township, Stephenson County, Illinois (1853. Depot was moved to Ridott 10 July 1860. Nevada no longer exists) *

Ridott, Illinois Ridott is a village in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 164, up from 158 in 2000. History Originally called Cochranville, Ridott was renamed in 1863 after Ridott Township. A post offic ...

(1860) * Freeport, Illinois (1853) From West Chicago to Clinton: * La Fox, Illinois (1859) *

Elburn, Illinois Elburn is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,602 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,756 at the 2000 census. It is located at the intersection of Illinois Route 38 and Route 47. Elburn is a town situated we ...

(1854, formerly Blackberry) *

Maple Park, Illinois Maple Park is a village in DeKalb and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 1,310 at the 2010 census, up from 765 in 2000. Maple Park was formerly known as Lodi. History Maple Park was originally called "Lodi", after L ...

(1854, formerly Lodi) *

Cortland, Illinois Cortland is an incorporated town in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,398 at the 2020 Census. It was previously 4,270 at the 2010 census, up from 2,066 in 2000. Because of its status as an incorporated town, Cortland ...

(1854) * DeKalb, Illinois (1854) * Malta, Illinois (1855, formerly Milton) * Creston, Illinois (1855, Formerly Dement) *

Rochelle, Illinois Rochelle is a city in Ogle County, Illinois. The population was 9,446 at the 2020 census. Rochelle is approximately west of Chicago and south of Rockford. History Originally named Hickory Grove, the town sits at the intersection of two ra ...

(1855, formerly Hang Town) *

Flagg, Illinois Flagg is an unincorporated community in the southeastern portion of Ogle County Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 53,497. Its cou ...

(1856) *

Ashton, Illinois Ashton is a village in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 972 at the 2010 census, down from 1,142 in 2000. History Ashton was originally called Ogle Station, but it was afterwards changed in order to avoid confusion with Ogl ...

(1855, formerly Ogle) * Franklin Grove, Illinois (1855) * Nachusa, Illinois (1855) * Dixon, Illinois (1855) *

Nelson, Illinois Nelson is a village in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 170 at the 2010 census, up from 163 in 2000. History A post office called Nelson was first established in 1858. The village was named for Samuel Nelson, a pioneer settl ...

(1858) * Sterling, Illinois (1855) * Galt, Illinois (1857) *Agnew, Illinois (1860) *

Como, Illinois Como is a census-designated place in Whiteside County, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. L ...

(1855. Depot was moved to Agnew in 1860) * Round Grove, Illinois (1855) *

Lyndon, Illinois Lyndon is a village in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 648 at the 2010 census, up from 566 in 2000. Geography Lyndon is located at (41.716821, -89.923186). According to the 2010 census, Lyndon has a total area of , ...

(1857) * Morrison, Illinois (1855) * Union Grove, Illinois (1859) *

Fulton, Illinois Fulton is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,481 at the 2010 census, down from 3,881 in 2000. Fulton is located across the Mississippi River from Clinton, Iowa. History A post office called Fulton has been ...

(1855. Line was moved to East Clinton after C&NW takeover) * Clinton, Iowa (1855) Crystal Lake Branch *

East Dundee, Illinois East Dundee is a village in Kane County with a small section in Cook County. The population was 3,152 at the 2020 census. Geography East Dundee is located at . According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, East Dundee has a total area of , of ...

(1854) *

Algonquin, Illinois Algonquin is a village in McHenry and Kane counties, Illinois, in the United States. It is a suburb of Chicago, located approximately northwest of the Loop. As of the 2020 census, the village's population was 29,700. The village is known as ...

(1855) *

Crystal Lake, Illinois Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The population is 40,269 as of the 2020 Census, a 1.2% decrease from 201 ...

(1855) Aurora Branch *

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the populati ...

(1872) *

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, a ...

(1888) St. Charles Branch * Geneva, Illinois (1854) *

St. Charles, Illinois St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. Per the 2020 census, the population was 33,081. The official city slogan is "Pride of the Fox", after the ...

(1871)

References

Sources

* examines the economic effects of the railroad (among other things). * A Chronological History of Chicago: 1673- Compiled by Chicago Municipal Reference Library, City of Chicago, updated by Municipal Reference Collection, Chicago Public Library * ''The Northern Counties Gazetteer and Directory for 1855–6: A Complete and Perfect Guide to Northern Illinois Containing a Concise Description of the Cities, Towns & Principal Villages...'' (1855). 189 Lake Street, Chicago. Reprinted on demand by Pranava Books, India. August 2019. {{DEFAULTSORT:Galena Chicago Union Railroad Predecessors of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Iowa railroads Railroads in the Chicago metropolitan area Railway companies established in 1836 Railway companies disestablished in 1864 American companies established in 1836 1836 establishments in Illinois American companies disestablished in 1864