The Chicago, Memphis and Gulf Railroad was incorporated in 1904 as the Dyersburg Northern Railroad. It opened from a junction with an

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

branch line west of Dyersburg north to

Tiptonville, Tennessee Tiptonville is a town in and the county seat of Lake County, Tennessee, Lake County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 2,439 as of the 2000 census and 4,464 in 2010, showing an increase of 2,025. It is also home to the Northwest Correc ...

, in 1907. The name was changed in 1909, and in 1911 the line was extended to

Hickman, Kentucky Hickman is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County, Kentucky, Fulton County, Kentucky, United States. Located on the Mississippi River, the city had a population of 2,365 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census and is classifie ...

. The intention was to continue to the Metropolis Bridge over the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

near

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

, via

Clinton, Kentucky Clinton is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city and the county seat of Hickman County, Kentucky, Hickman County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,388 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, a decline from 1,415 ...

, and

Moscow, Kentucky Moscow is an unincorporated community in Hickman County, Kentucky, in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal ...

, and so create a low-level trunk line from

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

. The IC was still promoting the scheme in 1915.Poor's Manual of Railroads, Vol. 48 1915 p. 746 The line became the ''Hickman Division'' of the

, which sold the branch to the Tennken Railroad in 1983. The track remains in service today.

Route

Dyersburg, Tennessee Dyersburg is a city in and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in northwest Tennessee, northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 16,164 at the 2020 census, down 5.72% from the 2010 ce ...

, junction with the Illinois Central *

Finley, Tennessee Finley is an unincorporated community in Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located roughly 5.5 miles west of downtown Dyersburg along Tennessee State Route 104. Tennessee State Route 182 also passes through the community, which conne ...

Lenox, Tennessee Lenox is an unincorporated community in Dyer County, Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders ...

* Miston, Tennessee * Ridgely, Tennessee * Wynnburg, Tennessee *

References

* * *{{cite web, title=Star Gazette 1907 , url=http://rootsweb.com/~tndyer/newspapers/gazette43.html , access-date=July 30, 2007 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118164653/http://www.rootsweb.com/~tndyer/newspapers/gazette43.html , archive-date=November 18, 2007 , url-status=dead Defunct Tennessee railroads Defunct Kentucky railroads Predecessors of the Illinois Central Railroad Railway companies established in 1909 Railway companies disestablished in 1963