Cairo and Vincennes Railroad

The Cairo and Vincennes Railroad was a 19th century American railroad that connected Cairo, Illinois, with Vincennes, Indiana. It was chartered by the state of Illinois in 1866 through the efforts of former American Civil War General Green B. Raum, who subsequently oversaw the planning and engineering of the proposed line. Within a few years, the fledgling railroad company named another former general, Ambrose Burnside, as its president. The Cairo & Vincennes began laying track in 1870 and completed the initial portion in 1872 to haul coal from southern Illinois mines. However, the route was not fully completed until late in 1874.

In January 1874, the railroad was teetering on bankruptcy and the contractors, the firm of Winslow & Wilson, applied for control. In February, a new board of directors assumed control of the railroad and named industrialist J. P. Morgan as the new president, replacing Burnside. In April, the C&V formally went into receivership. The next month, receivers H. L. Morrill and A. B. Salford took possession of the Cairo & Vincennes Railroad. [ [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1874%20Mar%2005.pdf PRR Chronology 1874] ]

The line was reorganized into the Cairo, Vincennes and Chicago Railway, which in turn became part of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (the "Big Four"). Eventually, the railroad became a segment within the New York Central Railroad in 1906. Much of the original route of the C&V remains in usage for freight hauling.

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