The Illinois Central Electric Railway
by Stephen M. Scalzo
Headline image: Interurban car 9 of the Illinois Central Electric Railway is pictured on South Main Street in Canton, in 1908 or 1909, with the line's office and waiting room behind it. Pictured are Everett Engle and Sam Watson; the former would be killed in a wreck in 1910 while running this car. All photos are from the Stephen M. Scalzo Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum except where noted.
Ed. note: Canton, Illinois, is a small city located in the western part of the state, roughly 25 miles west-southwest of Peoria. Its population in 1910 was roughly 10,500 people.
The idea of establishing a street railway in Canton, Illinois, was first discussed at a city council meeting in September 1892. However, it was almost a year later, in August 1893, when the city council granted a franchise to Col. John M. Snyder to build a street railway in Canton. During the following months, the Canton City Railway Company was organized, with C.H. Martin as president, C.N. Henkle as treasurer, and Col. J.M. Snyder as secretary. The proposed route of the company ran on Main Street from Cherry to Chestnut Street, east on Chestnut to the city limits, along Second Avenue between Oak and Maple Streets, and on Maple between Fourth and Main Streets. However, that proposal never materialized; only about one-half block of track was constructed on Maple Street west from the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad tracks. On July 5, 1894, the city had a work crew remove the tracks, as it was apparent that the company would not fulfill its franchise to construct one mile of track during the first year. Nothing more was done toward constructing a street railway over the next eight years.
A renewed request for an electric railway system was made in 1902 when the CB&Q reduced passenger service running north and south through Canton. On May 5, 1903, W.S. McGinnis of Canton, representing James A. Lawrence of Chicago, was granted a franchise for the construction of an electric railway in Canton. However, the city later revoked the grant by claiming it had no authority to issue a franchise to an individual. McGinnis then organized the Fulton County Electric Railway Company with $100,000 capital, and elected James A. Lawrence as president, H.H. Fuller as vice president, and W.S. McGinnis as secretary. The new company received a franchise on July 9, 1903, and opened an office in the Randolph Building in Canton. On September 14, 1903, at 11:30am, Canton Mayor D.W. Lewis, in the presence of company officials and other Canton citizens, drove the first stake, after which surveyors immediately began laying out the proposed line running through the city.
Soon, it was discovered that the charter of the company was once again invalid, this time due to some oversight. Consequently, on October 9, 1903, the State of Illinois issued new articles of incorporation to create the Illinois Central Electric Railway Company. The new company held an organizational meeting on October 22, 1903, where the local stockholders elected U.G. Orendorff as president, M.W. Rafferty as vice president, W.D. Plattenburg as secretary, E.A. Heald as treasurer, and P.W. Plattenburg as general manager. In February 1904, the Canton City Council granted a new franchise, and in July 1904 the Lewistown City Council issued a similar franchise.
In August 1904, George W. Chandler, city engineer and longtime resident of Canton, was promoted to general manager. As Mr. Chandler had been connected with the company since its beginning, he replaced James Lawrence, one of the original organizers, who had resigned the month previous. The following month, W.S. McGinnis, another one of the first organizers, sued the Illinois Central Electric Railway for $2,500 for services rendered supposedly paid to him by the Fulton County Electric Railway Company before the interurban was reorganized.
Raising funds through the sale of stock to finance construction was slow; indeed by the spring of 1905, only $25,000 of the $300,000 needed was available. Preliminary arrangements were soon made with the McKinley Syndicate whereby they would invest $235,000 if an additional $40,000 could be raised locally. On June 7, 1905, the Board of Directors passed a resolution that transferred all company assets to the McKinley Syndicate. At the last minute, however, Mr. Orendorff blocked the poposal. Since Mr. Orendorff could not agree with the board, he was replaced by R.W. Henkle as president on August 3. Consequently, all necessary legal matters for the transfer of company property to the McKinley Syndicate were completed on August 17.
By the spring of 1906, considerable progress had been made. Only $11,000 remained to be subscribed locally. The improved financial outlook permitted the authorization of contracts for purchase of 1,500 tons of rail. On May 7, 1906, the Toledo Peoria & Western Railroad constructed a side track at Main and Railroad Streets for the unloading of material. About the same time, an acre of land south of the Chautauqua Grounds was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Johnson to be used for the construction site of a car barn. On May 28, surveyors started driving stakes on the right-of-way south of Canton. On June 3, three carloads of ties arrived from Michigan, with a crew making additional ties near Cuba, Illinois also. The next day, actual construction began. The first grading was done on South Main Street from the TP&W to Chautauqua, and on June 17, the first shipment of rail arrived.
By June 15, trackage had been built on Main Street from Railroad to Locust when the TP&W obtained an injunction to prevent the company from laying a crossing with their tracks at Main and Roosevelt Streets. The TP&W wanted the company to build an overhead viaduct, but withdrew its objection only after local businessmen threatened a boycott. By July 22, the crossing had been installed, completing the first mile of track in time to fulfill the August 1 deadline as required by the city ordinance.
The first two cars of the ICER were of this type, little more than speeders. They were used from July 8, 1906, until retired on June 6, 1907 running from downtown Canton to the Chautauqua Grounds.
The first two cars arrived during July 1906. Those cars were small, four-wheel gasoline-powered cars capable of seating a dozen passengers. They were used initially for transporting workers along the track. When the first section of track was completed, contractor Joseph David turned the cars and other equipment over to the company. On July 13, 1906, regular passenger service for a five-cent fare started to the Chautauqua Grounds, with turntables at each end of the line to turn the cars. Later, trailers were attached to accommodate more passengers, but the loads caused the little cars to constantly break down.
By August 1906, work had started on extending the line 4.67 miles south to St. David, Illinois. In September, the Board of Directors had some disagreement with the quality of workmanship with contractor Joseph David, and consequently he was relieved of his duties. The company purchased all of his material and cars, and then severed relations with the McKinley Syndicate. More trouble faced the infant company in November when the McKinley Syndicate filed papers of incorporation for a company which proposed to build an interurban line from Peoria to Canton. Consequently, the local company had to finish their line between Farmington and Lewistown before the new company could begin construction.
The St. David line was forecast to have been completed by Thanksgiving 1906, but bad weather hampered construction when some of the roadbed washed out due to improper ballasting. On December 3, the grading crews reached St. David, with the tracklayers about a mile behind. However, continued bad weather halted all work for nearly a month, and it was not until January 18, 1907, that the tracks finally reached St. David. Plans to open service by the end of January were again thwarted by bad weather that stopped all ballasting work for several weeks. By early March, ballasting was nearly completed, and due to public demand, the company operated two trips from Canton to St. David on March 8, leaving Canton at 7am and 5pm. Regular service began on March 27, at 6:30am, with a car every two hours until 10:30pm. The fare was 10 cents. Offices were opened in the Dainty and Pearson store in in St. David and in the Byerly Building in Canton.
At that point, a long discussion ensued over the future extension of trackage. The St. David right-of-way had cost as much as estimated expenditures for the acquisition of a right-of-way all the way to Lewistown. As a result, the Lewistown extension was temporarily abandoned. Plans turned toward the north, where possibly more money could be made. By May 1907, the company was seriously considering laying tracks to Norris and beyond. Late in May, an announcement disclosed that the planned line running east from Canton's square had been abandoned in favor of extending trackage north on Main Street to the city limits, and then east to the CB&Q tracks before continuing north.
Car 3 was ordered in February 1907 and is pictured in service in Canton, pulling one of the open trailers, on August 3, 1907. Note that the company name is abbreviated "TICERy" with "The" included. Behind it is one of the secondhand open trailers.
Continued overuse of the company's initial two motor cars resulted in frequent breakdowns. On February 16, 1907, the company ordered a larger single-truck motor car, and shortly thereafter ordered a second one. Two trailers were ordered in May. On June 3, 1907, the first new motor car was placed into service between Canton and St. David hauling the two new trailers. In August, the second new motor car was placed into service. However, those two motor cars failed to solve the operating problems as they too constantly broke down and disrupted schedules.
What appears to be motorcar 4 is shown in service in Canton in 1907-1908.
In November 1907, the company decided to solicit funds to electrify the line between Canton and St. David. After the necessary $15,000 was raised, two interurban cars, six miles of overhead, the necessary poles, and other related electrical equipment was ordered. During those changes, R.F. Henkle resigned as president of the company for undisclosed reasons and was succeeded by Lewis W. Morton in January 1908.
Handsome car 9, an interurban on the ICER though closer in design to some lines' city cars, was one of two delivered from Danville in 1908 to inaugurate electric service.
The first shipment of poles arrived on December 1, 1907, and by the end of January 1908, all poles had been erected and rail bonding completed. Wire installation started in March and was completed in April. On May 5, the first two interurbans arrived from Danville, and on May 8, a group of officials and directors made the trial run to St. David and back. Regular service began on May 11, 1908.
Interurban car 9, signed for St. David, tows a pair of secondhand open trailers through Canton with sister car 10 behind.
On March 22, 1909, several construction crews started working on extending the trackage north toward Norris. On May 19, a work car arrived, and by month's end, graders came within a mile of Norris, with most of the overhead strung. At the same time, a lot purchased on South Main Street in Canton became the site for the construction of a large building to serve as the general offices, waiting room, and baggage room. On July 23, 1909, another new interurban and two new trailer cars inaugurated service north from Canton to Brereton. Service was extended after track layers reached Norris on July 31.
This photo appears to show brand new car 12 with trailers 14-15 behind it and a 9-10 series interurban coach bringing up the rear. Pictured (L-R): John Slater, barn man; Lyle Switzer, Fred Johnson, and Dick Heffron, conductors; Everett Engle, motorman; Sam Watson, conductor; Charles Brown, superintendent; and Glenn Wilson.
By late August, even as the final touches completed the Norris line, plans developed for extending trackage to Fairview and Farmington. The numerous coal mines along the St. David to Norris line at that time supplied much of the passenger traffic. By the end of September, after most of the bonds had been sold, surveying and right-of-way acquisition began on the Fairview line. In October, grading started on the Fairview line, but in late November, bad weather closed down all construction.
Car 9, with a pair of single-truck trailers in tow, is signed "BALL PARK" with a banner for emphasis on the front dash.
The problems encountered up to that time were insignificant compared with the disaster which struck on the murky, fog-shrouded morning of March 1, 1910, when at a point about a quarter mile north of Birch Street, northbound scheduled interurban 9 and southbound mine extra interurban 12 collided head-on. Usually the northbound interurban would wait at the Birch Street siding for the southbound interurban, but for some unknown reason that morning, it passed the switch. Higher and heavier, interurban 12 completely [sic] telescoped interurban 9 on impact. Motorman Everett Engle, roadmaster John Ownes, and track foreman Hi Henry were instantly killed, while several passengers were injured. Interurban 9 was a complete loss except for some electrical equipment and trucks; it was towed away to be scrapped. Only slightly damaged, interurban 12 was repaired and returned to service. The investigation that followed placed the cause of the accident on no person, but noted that both motormen had applied brakes and reversed motors in an attempt to avoid the collision.
In the terrible March 1910 wreck, car 12 telescoped car 9 as far back as the bolster and pushed the shorter car's roof right off of its posts. If anything, it's surprising more people weren't killed. In the top photo, car 10, sister to the stricken car 9, has arrived on the scene.
By March 1910, construction resumed on grading the Fairview line. With the extension of trackage to Norris, more electrical power became necessary. In April, $20,000 worth of machinery was ordered for the Norris substation. In Canton, the old Presbyterian Church building at Pine and Van Buren Streets was purchased by the Canton Gas and Electric Company and converted into a power plant for the interurban. Tracklaying commenced in May, and on June 19, with tracklayers within a mile of Fairview, interurban 12 ran to the end of the tracks for the first time, carrying Canton city officials and businessmen. On June 25, 1910, regular service started from the east side of Fairview to Canton with four round trips daily, and on July 7, service began running to the Fairview depot after street trackage was completed. During August, the Norris substation was placed into service.
The following spring, the people of Bryant and Lewistown again requested extension of tracks to serve their towns. Plans had already been made, however, to build tracks north from Norris through Gilchrist and on to Farmington. On August 18, 1911, the contract for constructing that northward extension was awarded, and by September, the roadbed was completed. On November 8, tracklaying started north of Norris, and by December 28, rails were within a mile of Farmington when severe weather set in and all work was suspended until late March 1912.
Car 12 was the most attractive car on the line in the early years and was a popular photo subject. Here, it's shown at the end of the line in Fairview.
On April 25, 1912, a special interurban ran to within a mile of Farmington, and on July 14, 1912, service between Canton and Farmington opened with six daily trips. The northern extension had cost $215,000 since work began in August 1911. The company now had a total of 24 miles of track.
On May 15, 1912, with the sale of bonds to finance the southern extension from St. David through Bryant and on to Lewistown completed, surveys were started. On July 1, one construction crew began working south from St. David toward Bryant with a second crew working from Bryant toward Lewistown. Two more interurbans were soon ordered by the company for the southern extension. During August, 40 steel poles replaced wooden poles in Canton on Main Street from Walnut to Locust. By late August, grading was completed to within four miles of Lewistown. On September 16, tracklaying started in St. David, and on November 28, 1912, President L.W. Morton and Lewistown Mayor R.E. Griffith drove silver spikes at a ceremony to mark the completion of tracklaying.
Heavy interurban combine 17 was one of two ordered for the Lewistown extension. These were the largest and heaviest cars on the ICER by a wide margin.
On December 10, 1912, at 9am, interurban 12 left Canton on the first trip to Lewistown carrying company officials and Canton businessmen, and at 11:15am, the same car left Lewistown on the return trip to Canton carrying Lewistown businessmen. Regular service started on January 12, 1913, but because the Bryant substation was not completed, only two round trips were operated. In February 1913, the Bryant substation was opened, and by June 1913, traffic had increased to where six trips daily ran to Lewistown. With the completion of the final section of track, a fare structure was established with 25 cents from Canton to Lewistown, 15 cents from Lewistown to Bryant, and 15 cents from Bryant to Canton.
Interurban car 14 loads passengers in downtown Lewistown. Cars 14 and 15 were delivered as trailers and were of a more austere design than the ICER's purpose-built motor cars.
In May 1914, plans were prepared for electrifying the CB&Q branch from Lewistown to West Havana for extending interurban service, but for unknown reasons, construction was never carried out. The company now operated seven interurbans (four coaches and three combines) and four trailers, with seven daily round trips between Lewistown and Farmington, three each Fairview to Farmington and Canton to Fairview trips, and two Lewistown and Canton and Fairview trips [sic].
The snowstorm of February 1909 had disrupted service, but those difficulties paled in comparison to those encountered in the blizzard of February 1914. High winds and snow along the iced overhead wires stalled an interurban with 40 passengers about three miles south of Canton on the first evening of the storm. Rescue crews labored until the next morning when they finally reached the interurban and evacuated all the stranded passengers. Another three days passed before crews could sufficiently clear the tracks of snow, enabling the interurban to reach Lewistown. That storm was similar to the one of January 1886, when snow was 14 inches deep, and also the February 1900 storm which was 15 inches deep.
Car 12, with a Fairview Limited sign perched on its bumper, is pictured in front of the office and waiting room in downtown Canton. The site of the old office building, 130 S. Main Street, is today a parking lot.
After World War I, the coal mining industry in Fulton County started to decline due to competition from Kentucky mines. There were numerous deep mines along the interurban route which supplied much of the passenger revenue. However, as early as 1915, the Drake Mine south of Canton was abandoned, and the Simmins Mine north of Canton lasted only a few years longer. During the period from 1921 to 1929, only seven coal mines opened compared to 26 coal mines abandoned in Fulton County. That signaled a local depression.
In 1921, the company purchased a 250-ton freight locomotive [ed. note: records suggest this was a homebuilt box motor] to institute freight service in the hope of offsetting the drop in passengers. Joint rates were established with the M&StL and transfer tracks were built at Farmington. However, revenues continued to decline because of the increased popularity of automobiles and the competition of several hard roads in the area. In 1907, earnings were only $774 (minus $265 net), but reached a peak of $121,822 in 1922. The Eagle Motor Coach Company was organized during that period, and also helped to cut ridership.
This regrettably poor photo shows one of the two freight motors built by the ICER in the 1919-1921 period.
By 1923, the company began to curtail service. Interurbans were equipped for one-man operation, and the station at Norris was closed. On April 1, 1924, the Illinois Commerce Commission approved abandonment of service between Fairview and Norris, but that action did not help the company save any money. On March 18, 1925, the ICC authorized one-man service, which saved $745 per month. ON August 1, 1925, the company was unable to meet the obligation of interest due on $540,000 worth of bonds. In 1927, the company had an income of $30,000 against operating expenses of $38,000, taxes of $4,000, and bond interest expenses of $24,000.
On January 11, 1928, the company was placed into the hands of a receiver, S.A. Drake, and two months later, the First National Bank of Canton filed a foreclosure suit against the company for a $300,000 trust debt. On July 25, 1928, the company was sold at a foreclosure sale for $50,000 to the first mortgage bondholders. Passenger service was discontinued at midnight on September 13, 1928, when the last interurban made its final trip. The ICC then rejected efforts of the company to run buses. Only about two miles of track were temporarily kept open for transporting coal from the Buckheart Coal and Mining Company's mine at St. David until the coal company was able to secure other means of transportation. A petition objecting to the abandonment was submitted, but after another ICC hearing, final authority for permanent abandonment was granted on December 29, 1928.
A crew of men from Hyman Michaels Company of Chicago began salvaging the equipment of the company the following month. One unusual feature of the task was the necessity of partially rebuilding the Norris to Fairview section. A large section of overhead trolley wire had been stolen and the tracks had to be straightened and spiked down so that scrap cars could be used for equipment removal. The salvage company also ran into trouble with Canton city officials when it was discovered that paving bricks in the city streets were not going to be replaced when the rails were removed. As a result, city crews removed all rails in the city limits of Canton, and by 1937, the last trackage was removed.
This article was edited and laid out by Frank Hicks. Thanks to Ray and Julie Piesciuk and to Richard Schauer for making available the materials from the Stephen Scalzo Collection that were used to publish this history.
Equipment Roster
#1-2 (two cars) - Sheffield, 1906 - ST gas-powered motor cars - 12 seats, 15'6" long, 4250 lbs, F-M gas engine, Sheffield truck
#3-4 (two cars) - Pullman, 1893 - DE ST DR gas-powered motor cars - 35 seats, 30' long, Whiting gas engine, Brill truck (rebuilt by Whiting Foundry Equipment Co. from older city cars, likely ex-Milwaukee Street Railway cars)
#1-2 (two cars) - bought secondhand c1907 - 8-bench open trailers - 40 seats (possibly ex-Chicago City Railway)
#3-4 (two cars) - LaClede, 1887 - DE ST BR 8-bench open trailers - 40 seats, 24' long, LaClede truck (originally Chicago Passenger Railway, later West Chicago Street Railway, later Chicago Union Traction #2424 and #2425, purchased June 1907
#5-8 (four cars) - Danville, 1908 - DE ST 10-bench open cars - 50 seats, 30' long (delivered as trailers, later motorized, retired c1919?)
#9-10 (two cars) - Danville, 1908 - DE DT RR interurban coaches - 44 seats, Brill 27G1 trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, 42' long, 44000 lbs (#9 wrecked in 1910)
#12 (one car) - McGuire-Cummings, 1909 - DE DT RR interurban combine - McGuire 10A trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, 49'2" long
#14-15 (two cars) - McGuire-Cummings, 1909 - DE DT DR interurban coaches - McGuire 10A trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, 44' long (delivered as trailers, later motorized)
#16 (one car) - McGuire-Cummings, 1909 - DT work motor - McGuire 10A trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, 43' long
#17-18 (two cars) - American, 1912 (ord#954) - DE DT AR interurban combines - 58 seats, Brill 27MCB3X trucks, 4 x GE 210 motors, 57'10" long
#19 (one car) - homebuilt, 1919 - freight motor
#20 (one car) - homebuilt, c1921 - freight motor
#21 (one car) - unpowered cinder car
AR = Arch roof
BR = Bombay roof
DE = Double end
DR = Deck roof
DT = Double truck
RR = Railroad roof
ST = Single truck
Trailer 4, shown here out on the railroad alone for some reason, was one of the ex-Chicago open trailers purchased secondhand in 1907.
Handsome interurban combine 12 is pictured in a McGuire-Cummings builder's photo.
This is clearly a cropped version of the McGuire-Cummings builder's photo of car 12 shown above, but the reproduction is much better quality. Krambles-Peterson Archive
Route Map
I believe the Canton car barn became a roller skating rink. I remember skating there in the fifties.
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