One of America's greatest railroads, serving the Midwest and the South for more than 150 years before being acquired by Canadian National in 1999, the Illinois Central ran some of the nation's most famous passenger trains (most notably the City of New Orleans), as well as a freight service renowned for its quality. This comprehensive and beautifully illustrated history of the "Main Line of Mid-America"-the railroad that brought us engineer Luther "Casey" Jones-looks at Illinois Central's motive power and rolling stock, its good old reliable passenger service and crack freight operations, and its most interesting routes. Drawing on archival records and interviews with former employees, and illustrated with photographs from collections around the country, this volume brings to vibrant life a rich chapter of American railroad history.

Tom Murray has worked in the rail industry since 1970—for the Boston & Maine, Soo Line, CSX, and Southern Pacific. The publisher of Rail Stock Watch, Murray is also a columnist for Trains magazine, and the author of MBI’s Canadian National Railway, The Milwaukee Road, and Canadian Pacific Railway. He lives in Martinez, California.