Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Co. - 1899 dated ailway Stock Certificate - Available in Green, Brown or Olive - Please Specify Color

Stock. 3 Superb vignettes! Available in Green, Brown or Olive. Please specify color. The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, designated by the reporting mark CEI, was a Class I railroad that established a connection between Chicago and regions in southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Established in 1877, the railroad experienced significant expansion and maintained a robust presence throughout the Great Depression and both World Wars. Ultimately, it was acquired by the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP or MoPac) and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N). In 1976, Missouri Pacific merged with the C&EI corporate entity, and it was subsequently absorbed by the Union Pacific Railroad. The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was formed in 1877 through the consolidation of three predecessor railroads: the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad (Chicago-Danville, November 1871), the Evansville, Terre Haute and Chicago Railroad (Danville-Terre Haute, October 1871), and the Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad (Terre Haute-Evansville, November 1854).

The railroad aimed to merge or acquire lines that connected the southern suburbs of Chicago to Terre Haute, Indiana, via Danville, Illinois. To facilitate this, the C&EI constructed a new route extending from Chicago to a connection on the Mississippi River in the far southern part of Illinois at Thebes. The management of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad became closely linked with that of the Chicago and Indiana Coal Railway, commonly referred to as "the Coal Road" or C&IC. A connection was established between the two railroads at Goodland, Indiana (on the C&IC) and Momence (on the C&EI). By 1894, the Eastern had successfully merged with the C&IC, and the C&EI continued its vigorous expansion into the following decade.