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<p>In 1853, the Illinois River Railroad (IRR) was charted to construct a railroad line between Jacksonville and La Salle along the Illinois River. A segment between Virginia, Illinois and Pekin, Illinois opened in 1859. The IRR was sold at foreclosure to the Peoria, Pekin and Jacksonville Railroad (PP&J). The PP&J would extend the line to Jacksonville in 1869. The Springfield and Northwestern Railway (S&NW) was charted in 1869 to construct a line from Springfield, Illinois to Rock Island, Illinois. A segment from Springfield to Havana, Illinois opened in 1874. The two railroads were sold to the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway in 1881, and were later reorganized into the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railway (CP&StL). The CP&StL was a subsidiary of the Jackvonville Southeastern Railway, and the system was broken up in 1893. The system went through various organizations until 1900, when the Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railway was formed to consolidate the lines. </p><p>In 1924, the CP&StL was broken up into four separate companies. The Springfield, Havana and Peoria Railroad (SH&P) acquired the line between Springfield and Pekin, and the Jacksonville and Havana Railroad (C&J) acquired the line between Jacksonville and Havana. The J&H section would later be abandoned. The SH&P was leased to the Chicago & Illinois Midland Railway (C&IM) in 1926 and merged into the C&IM in 1936. The C&IM had been owned by Commonwealth Edison, and was primarily constructed to connect coal fields in southern Illinois with power plants in the Chicago area. The line provided the C&IM with a connection to the Illinois River, where a large coal transfer facility was constructed at Pekin to allow shipments of coal to Chicago. The C&IM was sold to investors in 1987, and the railroad eventually became part of the Illinois & Midland Railroad (I&M); owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. Today, the I&M continues to operate the Springfield to Pekin line. <br></p>
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