Illinois Central Gulf
Bold New Colors for a Major Mainline Merger
The two railroads officially called it a merger; many involved called it a failed marriage. Regardless, former north-south rivals Illinois Central and Gulf, Mobile & Ohio joined forces in 1972 to form a massive 8300 mile rail system moving freight in 10 mid-continent states. Soon, orange and white was everywhere in Mid-America. By the late 1970s, however, it was clear that the union of parallel roads produced a bloated network with many redundant lines. When the Feds rewrote the rules on rail regulation in 1980, ICG was quick to spin off most of its east-west mainlines and much of the once-great "Rebel Route."
fter World War II, the Illinois Central Railroad, the mighty "Mainline of Mid-America," began to simplify its complicated corporate structure of old subsidiaries while at the same time expanding its footprint through the acquisition of several shortlines. As such, the Green Diamond was the dominent player in the Chicago-New Orleans freight and passenger market. Not to be underestimated, however, was the IC's chief north-south rival, the spirited Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad. The postwar "Rebel Route" was itself the product of several mergers, the combination of two southern roads and one midwestern regional. Based in Mobile, Alabama, but also connecting New Orleans to northern markets, the post World War II GM&O gave the formidable IC a run for its money.
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1978 ICG system map / collection
at a glance
| 1929 | 1940 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles operated | 734 | 827 | |
| Locomotives | 77 | 55 | |
| Passenger cars | 39 | 31 | |
| Freight cars | 1573 | 1647 | |
| Service cars | 144 | ___ | |
| Reporting marks | GM&N | ||
| Headquarters | Mobile, Al | ||
| Named trains | The Rebel | ||
| Affiliated roads | Mississippi Export New Orleans Great Northern | ||
| Successors | Gulf Mobile & Ohio Illinois Central Gulf | ||
HawkinsRails thanks railfan historian and friend Michael Palmieri for generously sharing his Illinois Central Gulf images for our scrapbooks below
Scrapbooks
Lagniappe
Snapshots
Covington, La / Apr 1986 / JCH
Covington, La / Sep 1988 / JCH
Bogalusa, La / Sep 1988 / JCH
Covington, La / Jun 1985 / JCH
Beaumont, Ms / Jul 1986 / JCH
Links / Sources
- Wikipedia article for Illinois Central Gulf
- Diesel Shop roster for Illinois Central Gulf
- Railroad Picture Archives Illinois Central Gulf roster
- Illinois Central Railroad Heritage Society
- Historical Guide to North American Railroads - Second Edition (Kalmbach, 2000) 195-9
- The Train-Watcher's Guide to North American Railroads - Second Edition (Kalmbach, 1992) 128-31