Oh, is this going to be interesting! I believe at least one regular poster here has firsthand experience...
Hello Everybody,
Recently I picked up two pieces of Illinois Central Gulf railroadiana from a train show.
The first is a poster with a train twisting around the ICG and Penn Central logos with big words saying "central link." I assume this is some sort of special service between the Northeast and Southeast via the ICG-PC connection via Effingham, Illinois.
The second is a brochure advertising "The Dixie Connection." This appears to be the ICG's attempt to compete for east-west traffic via its Kansas City, Missouri, and Montgomery, Alabama gateways. At the Kansas City end, trains would use the Santa Fe's Argentine Yard, while on the Montgomery end, trains would use the Seaboard Cost Line's yard. These connections would be run-thoughts. There was also intermodal service offered to and from East St. Louis.
Based on what I know neither end of the route was in particularly great condition. The Kansas City line was a slow, hilly mess, with very poor track. So I'd imagine that this service never really took off. (I am aware of the Gateway Western-Santa Fe intermodal efforts in the early 90s along this same line. I wonder how they compare.)
Does anyone have any additional information on these services? How successful were they? How long did they last?
Thanks,
Michael
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