The Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad (Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad) is part of 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 also ...
(IC), which is owned by the
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
(CN) through the
Grand Trunk Corporation. Operationally, the Chicago Central & Pacific is designated as the Iowa Zone of CN's Southern Region.
History
The Iowa Division of the original Illinois Central Railroad began its service to
Warren, Illinois in January 1854. By September 1854 the tracks ran to
Scales Mound, Illinois and on October 31, 1854, the Illinois Central made it to
Galena, Illinois
Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The c ...
.
On June 12, 1855 the tracks were expanded to
East Dubuque, Illinois.
By December 1868 a draw-bridge was built over the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...
to Dubuque, Iowa.
The
Dubuque Rail Bridge was rebuilt in the 1890s.
With entrepreneur Jack Haley as president and CEO, the Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad was formed by a spin-off from the by-then-named
Illinois Central Gulf.
Distinct operations began on December 24, 1985.
The IC repurchased the railroad in 1996 and operated it as a subsidiary until the IC itself was purchased by
CN three years later. The operation continues as a subsidiary of the
Grand Trunk Corporation.
Structure
The railroad was organized into eight subdivisions and other spurs. The subdivisions listed from east to west include the following:
*
Freeport Subdivision
The Freeport Subdivision is a railroad line in Illinois which runs from 16th Street in downtown Chicago to Freeport, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CN). the line is almost exclusively freight-only, with only ...
* Dubuque Subdivision
* Cedar Rapids Subdivision
* Osage Subdivision
* Waterloo Subdivision
* Omaha Subdivision
* Cherokee Subdivision
* Ida Grove Subdivision
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago Central Pacific Railroad
Railway companies established in 1985
Illinois railroads
Iowa railroads
Nebraska railroads
Predecessors of the Illinois Central Railroad
Canadian National Railway subsidiaries
Spin-offs of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
Companies operating former Illinois Central Railroad lines
Companies operating former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad lines
Companies operating former Chicago and North Western Transportation Company lines
1985 establishments in Illinois