IC's CH&W: Champaign, Havana, and Western Railroad Overview

pre-1967 plus paint

(Some sources have the C in CH&W standing for Chicago instead of Champaign. I changed the title to Champaign because that makes more sense.) Since the Havana, Rantoul and Eastern Railroad never made it to Havana, IL, I was curious which IC acquisition did make it to Havana. This railroad is also of interest because one of today's remnants is used by the Monticello Railway Museum. Please read tdf23 or the last 3 paragraphs of the museum's history for the corporate history. To summarize, it was built in the 1870s, screwed up by Jay Gould's Wabash in the 1880s, and leased to the IC in 1888.

Download .jpg File via Dennis DeBruler
The key indicates it was built 1872-73, and it was admitted in 1888 with 131.63 miles of track.

The "built" date on the above map is more of a corporate consolidation date. The branch to Decatur was built by the Monticello Railroad (MMR) after the civil war. The other branch started with a charter in 1867 of the Havana, Lincoln & Champaign Railroad (HL&C). [chwrhs]

Satellite: Seymour

Most of this railroad is now gone. The segment west of Champaign to Seymour is still operated by because of a grain elevator. A remnant of the southwest branch out of Champaign between White Heath and Monticello was purchased by Monticello Railway Museum in 1987. A video of their steam locomotive.

Satellite: Cisco

Another remnant of the southwest branch is owned by Topflight Grain to connect their elevator in Cisco, IL, with Decatur. It is operated by Decatur Junction. A video indicates this Class III railroad hauls plastic pellets as well as grain. They have a GP20 and a couple of GP16s and also haul some tank cars.

The Topflight Grain web site is interesting because it has historic rainfall data and historic grain prices.

Newberry Library, p114-115