IC North Branch Leaf River Bridge

In 1851, the State of Illinois authorized the construction of a series of railroad lines, extending from Cairo, Illinois; located on the Ohio River, to the Mississippi River at East Dubuque, Illinois and to Chicago, Illinois.  The State awarded the Illinois Central Railroad with the land necessary to construct the new lines.  Surveys began in 1851, and the first segments were completed by 1853.  From East Dubuque, the railroad would run west through Galena to Freeport; turning south and crossing the Illinois River at La Salle.  The railroad then continued through Bloomington, Clinton, Decatur, Pana and Vandalia before reaching Centralia.  At Centralia, the railroad met the branch line to Chicago, before continuing south to Cairo.  The 341 miles of railroad from East Dubuque to Centralia would be completed in 1855, and the line would be completed to Cairo in 1856, providing the first main lines extending the length of Illinois.  The IC continued to build other railroad lines throughout Illinois, mainly stemming from this line.  By the 20th Century, the IC was a respected railroad, operating an extensive railroad network through the central United States.

During the late 20th Century, traffic on this line began to disappear.  In 1972, the IC merged with the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) to form the Illinois Central Gulf (ICG).  After the merger, this line became less important, as the GM&O had other parallel routes which were better built.  In 1981, the line would be abandoned between Junction City (Centralia) and Assumption.  In 1984, the line would be abandoned between Clinton and Maora, as well as between Heyworth and El Paso.  Further portions of the line were abandoned in 1986, when the segment between Freeport and El Paso was abandoned.  In 1985, the line from Freeport to East Dubuque was sold to the Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad (CC&P).  In 1988, the ICG was reorganized as the Illinois Central Railroad (IC).  In 1990, the segment between Decatur and Maora would be abandoned, and in 1993 the segment between Decatur and Assumption was sold to the Decatur Junction Railway (DT).  In 1998, IC was purchased by the Canadian National Railway (CN).  Today, much of the route is abandoned.  CN operates a segment between Clinton and Heyworth and a small section in Decatur.  DT continues to operate the line between Decatur and Assumption.  In La Salle, a cement plant continues to own a short segment of railroad and the bridge across the Illinois River.