The Illinois Subdivision is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line owned and operated by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

in the U.S. states of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The line runs from

Washington, Indiana Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana. The population was 11,509 at the time of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County. It is also the principal city of the Washington, Indiana Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

, west to

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a b ...

, along a former

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

line. At its east end, the Illinois Subdivision becomes the Indiana Subdivision. At its west end in East St. Louis, near the west end of the St. Louis Line Subdivision, it meets the

Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a Class III switching and terminal railroad that handles traffic in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. It is co-owned by five of the six Class I railroads that reach the city. Present ope ...

. Along the way, the line intersects the CE&D Subdivision at

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...

History

The line, built by the

Ohio and Mississippi Railroad The Ohio and Mississippi Railway (earlier the Ohio and Mississippi Rail Road), abbreviated O&M, was a railroad operating between Cincinnati, Ohio, and East St. Louis, Illinois, from 1857 to 1893. The railroad started in 1854 and paralleled the ...

, was completed in 1857. It passed to the

and CSX via leases and mergers. In the summer of 2015, the Illinois Subdivision line was cut in

Caseyville, Illinois Caseyville is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,245 at the 2010 census, a decline from 4,310 in 2000. History A wealthy man named Charles Harbour built a house here, and in 18 ...

, and just west of

Flora, Illinois Flora is a city in Clay County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,803 at the 2020 census. History Flora was founded by Samuel White. White was born September 10, 1831 in Warren County, Ohio. He and his family came to Clay County in 18 ...

. This marked the temporary closure of the line from Flora west. A plastic manufacturer and three grain buyers in Richland and

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

counties continue to have access to the line with trains from the east. (Update 9/18/21) It marks over 5 years since the Illinois Subdivision's shut down from

and to

O'Fallon, Illinois O'Fallon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The 2020 census listed the population at 32,289. The city is the second largest city in the Metro-East region and Southern Illinois. It sits from Scott Air Force Base and from Do ...

. The future of this once action packed line is now facing an uncertain fate. As CSX Transportation has no plans to reactivate or to even have any future plans on this line.

External links

*http://ilsubdivisionrailroad.wordpress.com

References

CSX Transportation lines Rail infrastructure in Indiana Rail infrastructure in Illinois Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines {{Illinois-transport-stub