St. Louis and Chicago Railway Co. - 1886 dated Beautiful Railroad Stock Certificate

Stock printed by American Bank Note Company, New York. Superb! This railroad was in operation from 1885 until 1889, after which it became part of the North and South Railroad of Illinois from 1890 to 1896. Subsequently, it merged into the St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railway, which operated from 1898 to 1900. Eventually, it became associated with the Chicago and Alton Railway and the Illinois Central Railroad.

The Alton Railroad, designated by the reporting mark A, was the final designation of a railroad that connected Chicago with Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad (reporting mark C&A), was acquired by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 and remained under its control until 1942, when the Alton was released to judicial oversight. On May 31, 1947, the Alton Railroad was merged into the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Jacob Bunn was among the founding reorganizers of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company in the 1860s.

The Illinois Central Railroad, known by the reporting mark IC and often referred to as the Main Line of Mid-America, was a significant railroad in the Central United States. Its main routes linked Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, thereby connecting the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, one line extended from Chicago westward to Sioux City, Iowa, established in 1870, while smaller branches reached Omaha, Nebraska, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, in 1899, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from Cherokee, Iowa, in 1877. The IC also provided service to Miami, Florida, utilizing tracks owned by other railroads.