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Description
The Illinois Terminal Railroad operated from 1928 to 1982. William B. McKinley formed the Illinois Traction System, an affiliate of the Illinois Power and Light Company. The ITS provided electric passenger rail service on 550 miles of tracks in central and southern Illinois. The system's main line stretched from St. Louis to Springfield, Illinois, with branches from Springfield northwest to Peoria and eastward to Danville. A series of street-level city trolley lines provided local passenger service in many of the cities served by the main line. The longest-lived segment of the line descended from an Edwardsville-Alton interurban line bought by the Illinois Traction System in 1928.

With the Great Depression, the Illinois Traction System was in trouble. The ITS relinquished many of its city street trolleys in the 1930s, and was forced to cut its ties with Illinois Power and Light Company. The passenger railroad reorganized in 1937 as the Illinois Terminal Railroad, ITR and continued to provide electric-powered, long-distance passenger service through downstate Illinois for nearly another two decades. In the 1950s with the advance of the automobile, the ITR's passenger service became unprofitable. In March 1956 the Illinois Terminal Railroad ended passenger service. What was left of the railroad was acquired in June 1956 by nine Class I railroads, which collectively operated the railroad as a diesel-powered short line to carry freight in the Metro-East area. The reorganized Illinois Terminal Railroad took down its power lines and abandoned much of its trackage. For the following 25 years, 1956-1981, the ITR operated diesel-powered train north and east of St. Louis, moving freight cars between the main lines of the freight railroads that owned it.

The Norfolk and Western Railroad purchased its partners' interests in the Illinois Terminal Railroad on September 1, 1981, and officially merged the ITR into the N&W on May 8, 1982.

Adobe Illustrator CS2, Apple G5 Power Mac, OSX Tiger.

Description
The Illinois Terminal Railroad operated from 1928 to 1982. William B. McKinley formed the Illinois Traction System, an affiliate of the Illinois Power and Light Company. The ITS provided electric passenger rail service on 550 miles of tracks in central and southern Illinois. The system's main line stretched from St. Louis to Springfield, Illinois, with branches from Springfield northwest to Peoria and eastward to Danville. A series of street-level city trolley lines provided local passenger service in many of the cities served by the main line. The longest-lived segment of the line descended from an Edwardsville-Alton interurban line bought by the Illinois Traction System in 1928.

With the Great Depression, the Illinois Traction System was in trouble. The ITS relinquished many of its city street trolleys in the 1930s, and was forced to cut its ties with Illinois Power and Light Company. The passenger railroad reorganized in 1937 as the Illinois Terminal Railroad, ITR and continued to provide electric-powered, long-distance passenger service through downstate Illinois for nearly another two decades. In the 1950s with the advance of the automobile, the ITR's passenger service became unprofitable. In March 1956 the Illinois Terminal Railroad ended passenger service. What was left of the railroad was acquired in June 1956 by nine Class I railroads, which collectively operated the railroad as a diesel-powered short line to carry freight in the Metro-East area. The reorganized Illinois Terminal Railroad took down its power lines and abandoned much of its trackage. For the following 25 years, 1956-1981, the ITR operated diesel-powered train north and east of St. Louis, moving freight cars between the main lines of the freight railroads that owned it.

The Norfolk and Western Railroad purchased its partners' interests in the Illinois Terminal Railroad on September 1, 1981, and officially merged the ITR into the N&W on May 8, 1982.

Adobe Illustrator CS2, Apple G5 Power Mac, OSX Tiger.