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The Illinois Terminal Railroad, The Road Of Personalized Service
The Illinois Terminal Railroad had a relatively short lifespan. However, it turned out to be the largest interurban railroad in the country and a history that was as colorful and interesting as any of the other classic fallen flags. The IT or “the Traction”, as it was known by locals, served small cities and towns throughout Illinois with its major hubs at St. Louis and Peoria (it had hopes of reaching Chicago but never made it that far north). What started out as a hodgepodge of interurban rail lines turned into a quite profitable freight operation by the time the railroad was taken over by the Norfolk & Western in 1980. Today, the IT is long gone but a portion of its old interurban system remains in use for freight service under Norfolk Southern today.
What transpired into the Illinois Terminal began in 1925 when Illinois Power & Light was formed by the Illinois Traction Company (which was also the parent of ITS) to oversee the company’s rail assets. The IP&L then purchased two small railroads the St. Louis, Troy & Eastern and St. Louis & Illinois Belt. These railroads along with the ITS were then combined into the now-classic Illinois Terminal Railroad. After another acquisition of two more small railroads, the St. Louis & Alton and Alton & Eastern the Illinois Terminal became a 400+ mile system that stretched eastward and northward out of St. Louis. Not only was the railroad now the country’s largest interurban it also found itself as a profitable freight carrier as well. Prior to the Great Depression most of the IT’s lines were electrified so as to properly serve its large commuter base. While it used standard interurban cars for its passenger services, built from such companies as American Car & Foundry and the St. Louis Car Company, the railroad also had a sizeable fleet of electrics used primarily for freight service. These motors included the 800-hp Class B (1910), 1,000-hp Class C (1924), and hefty 1,750-hp Class D (1930) locomotives, the latter of which was more powerful than any diesel-locomotive model of the day! However, following the Great Depression the Illinois Terminal’s passenger operations were hit hard, although it was able to weather the blow much better than most other smaller interurbans across the country who were not as fortunate. Twenty years later the IT decidedly gave up on the increasingly money losing passenger business and called it quits in 1958.
Two years prior in 1956 the Illinois Terminal Railroad had also lost its independence when it was purchased by eleven railroads serving St. Louis to help them more efficiently move freight around the city. Those railroads included the Baltimore & Ohio; Chicago & Eastern Illinois; Rock Island; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Frisco; Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; Illinois Central; Litchfield & Madison; New York Central; Nickel Plate; and Wabash. Also in the 1950s the Illinois Terminal Railroad was facing a dilemma concerning its remaining electrified operations for freight service. Two years prior to the railroad bailing out of the passenger business it shut down its electrified lines for freight service and replaced them with an eclectic assortment of diesel-electric power from Alco and EMD which included models like the S2 and RS1 (Alco), and SW8, GP7, F7, and SW1500 (EMD). These first generation diesels also replaced the IT’s small fleet of steam locomotives (used for freight service) as well. Later, in the late 1960s to help keep up with the demands of freight service the Illinois Terminal purchased the largest and most powerful diesels it ever owned, second-generation SD39s and GP38-2s from EMD. By the early 1980s most of the IT’s principle owners were no longer interested in the railroad, save for the Norfolk & Western. It should also be noted that by this time the IT had largely abandoned its web of branch lines, including its line serving Danville, and in other instances was using trackage rights over neighboring railroads to move its freight. In any event, because of the others’ disinterest in the IT and the fact that the N&W already owned the Nickel Plate Road and Wabash, two roads with controlling interest in the Illinois Terminal Railroad, the railroad decided to merge the IT into its system which it did in May of 1982. Today, while many of the IT’s former lines have been abandoned some continue to remain in use under N&W successor Norfolk Southern, while others have been turned into rail/trails. Notable Illinois Terminal Railroad Passenger Trains Capitol Limited: (St. Louis - Peoria) City of Decatur: (St. Louis - Decatur) Fort Crevecoeur: (St. Louis - Peoria) Illini: (St. Louis - Champaign) Illmo Limited: (St. Louis - Peoria) Mound City: (St. Louis - Peoria) Owl: (St. Louis - Peoria) Peoria Flyer: (St. Louis - Peoria) St. Louis Flyer: (Peoria - St. Louis) Sangamon: (St. Louis - Peoria)
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