Railroads in West Central Illinois

Eric Detmer
Schuyler Middle School, Rushville

From the 1860s to the 1900s there were two railroads running through central Illinois. One, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (CB and Q) went though several small towns, including Macomb, to much larger cities. It played a large role in the development of the small cities it went through. The other railroad, the Macomb and Western Illinois Railroad (MLL), unlike the CB and Q, was a small railroad linking many small towns together.

The CB and Q was a very large railroad. Its facilities were by far better than most of its competitors. When the CB and Q was being built, McDonough County paid seventy-five thousand dollars for its construction. This was probably one of the best investments McDonough County ever made. Macomb grew several ways because of the CB and Q. Many factories opened up near it. Farms popped up all around it. This opened up many jobs in the area. In 1853 George W. Smith, the editor of the Independent, said that, "Because of the railroad the population of McDonough County would almost double in ten years," according to one historian. The population actually more than tripled in less than ten years. By 1878 the county population had grown six times from what is was in 1853.

This advertisement for the CB&Q its amenities on its Chicago to Omaha route.

This railroad was an overall success. A daily average of thirty-one cars came through McDonough County. In just six months a total of 44,740 cars came through McDonough County. From McDonough County alone came 5,092,044 pounds of wheat, 8,886,701 pounds of corn, 4,398,110 pounds of oats, 2,546,970 pounds of other grains, 8,990 head of cattle, 55,348 hogs, 9,787 pounds of flour, and 16,073,810 pounds of other freight. A total of 62,778,905 pounds were sent from Macomb. The railroad played a major part in building and populating Macomb.

A little later in time, around the early 1900s, the Macomb and Western Illinois Railroad was built. It was later called the MLL of Macomb, Industry, Littleton Railroad. When it was built, the purpose was to make an outlet for goods for the southern part of McDonough County and the northern part of Schuyler County, although Schuyler County did not want it. The Macomb and Western Illinois Railroad ended up going though Macomb, Industry, and Littleton.

C.V. Chandler and William Compton developed the railroad. In the beginning it was intended to carry passengers to places between Macomb and Littleton and also to provide farmers south of town with a way of shipping grain and livestock to Macomb and also to ship coal from Chandler's land near Gin Ridge.

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This streamliner Burlington train is now on display at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

In 1901 Compton became president of the railroad. In two years he sold out to Chandler, who had to develop the $300,000 project himself. Another major setback came when Chandler's coal was found to have too much sulfur to sell on the open market.

The train made its very first trip on January 5, 1904. The Western Illinois Railroad had many breakdowns. When money ran low people stopped investing in it. In 1910 Chandler went bankrupt. In doing this he lost the railroad and his property. Then, completely broke, he went to live with his son.

In 1914 some farmers sold their hundred-dollar shares to local residents and with the money purchased the railroad. They then called it the MLL Railroad. It stayed in operation until 1928. By then there were cars and trucks traveling on paved roads. It made the railroad less useful. In 1929 the bridges were taken down and the rails were taken up and sold.

These were two railroads in west central Illinois. One was a success and helped build up towns around it. It played a very important role in the building up of West Central Illinois. The other worked for a while but, under the pressure of a money shortage and the increase of wheeled vehicles and paved roads, was demolished.—[From S.J. Clark, History of McDonough County; John E. Hallwas, Macomb; Delores Holmes, "M-I-L Railroad was a Convenience," Macomb Journal (Oct. 12, 1978); Robert P. Howard, Illinois: A History of the Prairie State.]

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