The Private Sector Pursuit of Railroad Development
While significant time and resources were spent on the planning stages of a railroad through Bremen Township (and subsequently Midlothian) by both Stephens and Douglas, it was members of the private sector relying on approval at a state level to spur the development of a railroad connecting Rockford, Illinois to LaSalle, Illinois. The Rock Island and La Salle Railroad Company was incorporated on February 27, 1847 in the State of Illinois and an amended charter was approved by a special Act of the Illinois Legislature on February 7, 1851 where the name was changed to the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad amongst other modifications to the original corporation.
This approval at a State level came a year after Stephen A. Douglas passed legislation mandating the building of the Illinois Central Railroad on a federal level. The private sector apparently outpaced all existing plans held by their competitor at the time.
The first portion of the railroad connecting Chicago to Joliet was completed by October, 1952 and on October 10, 1852, an American-type locomotive (4-4-0) called the Rocket, was coupled to six newly built yellow coaches. At ten o'clock in the morning the Rocket belched a cloud of wood smoke from its balloon stack and headed west over the 58-pound iron rails that had been imported from England. The trip took two hours and the train was cheered by thousands along the way. It had to make the return trip as a back-up movement because there was yet no turning facilities at Joliet.
On February 22, 1854, the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad became the first railroad to connect Chicago with the Mississippi River.
The Cache:
PNG - **You cannot access this cache from the railroad platform!** From the cache location, there is no access to the platform.
Notes:
** Placed for the 18th Annual Chicagoland Geocachers Picnic, August 18, 2018 **