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One of the earliest railways
to be built in the interior of the United States was
the Illinois Central Railroad, which was formed in February,
1851, by the General Assembly of Illinois. Two and a
half million acres of public land had been granted to
the State by Congress in 1850 for the construction of
a railroad from the southern terminus of the Illinois
and Michigan Canal to a point near the junction of the
Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, with a branch to Chicago
and another to Dubuque, Iowa. The Illinois Central was,
therefore, the first of the land grant railroads, and
the system was subsequently adopted by other lines,
notably the Union and Central Pacific Companies.
The Illinois Central now operates over 6,850 miles
of track, of which 155 miles have been electrified.
There are over 1,750 locomotives, nearly 1,900 passenger
cars, and about 62,500 freight cars.
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