Illinois Terminal Railroad

The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company (reporting marks "ITC"), known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1982.

The Illinois Terminal was a fascinating operation. Its earliest heritage was a small switching line of the same name which carried no interurban ties until its acquisition by the Illinois Traction.

Steam ended on June 30, 1950 when 2-6-0 #21 dropped its fire.

ITC was a successor in interest to a series of interurban railroads that were consolidated in the early 1900s by businessman William B. McKinley into the Illinois Traction System (ITS), an affiliate of the Illinois Power and Light Company.

"The Road of Personalized Services" proved a good slogan for the Illinois Terminal, which worked hard over the years to develop its carload freight business while providing high quality service for customers.

The Illinois Terminal was a fascinating operation. Its earliest heritage was a small switching line of the same name which carried no interurban ties until its acquisition by the Illinois Traction.

When Depression era Illinois Traction was in financial distress and had to reorganize, the Illinois Terminal name was adopted to reflect the line's primary money-making role as a freight interchange link to major steam railroads at its terminal ends, Peoria, Danville, and St. Louis.

In 1956, ITC was absorbed by a consortium of connecting railroads.

Aside from its heavy carload freight business and numerous interchange connections the modern Illinois Terminal varied only slightly from what you might expect of a typical interurban.

In 1982 it was acquired by Norfolk & Western and today little remains of the original network.

To help meet demand in the 1960's IT purchased the largest and most powerful diesels it would ever own, second-generation SD39's and GP38-2's.