Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Operating Divisions October 31, 1980

This straightforward map by Rand McNally highlights the eight operating divisions of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad during the early 1980s. Rail lines are color-coordinated to show part of the Chicago, Illinois, St. Louis/Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, Delta, Alabama, and Mississippi divisions. Numerous stops along each route are labeled, along with a handful of mile posts and the Markham Yards, south of Chicago. The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad was formed in 1972 through the merger of the Illinois Central and the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio railroads, creating a massive 9,000-mile network that connected the Great Lakes to the Missouri River and the Gulf of Mexico. Designed to streamline north-south freight traffic through the “Main Line of Mid-America,” the company faced immediate financial hurdles and spent much of the 1980s aggressively downsizing its redundant trackage to stay competitive. By 1988, the railroad simplified its identity by dropping the “Gulf” from its name, eventually being absorbed into the Canadian National Railway in 1999 to complete a continent-spanning rail system.