Illinois Central Railroad (IC)

former U.S. railroad founded in 1851 that merged with the Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) in 1999. After receiving its charter in 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad built its first line from Galena to Cairo, Ill. A spur line to Chicago was built as part of the acquisition of a federal land grant. It eventually absorbed more than 100 smaller railroads across the Midwest and south to the Gulf of Mexico. After merging with the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio in 1972, the railroad operated in 13 states. In 1985 it sold its line extending from Chicago to Iowa and Nebraska. The railroad was privatized in 1989 but in 1990 resumed operations as a public corporation, the Illinois Central Railroad Co., until its 1999 merger with CN.

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