Legacy of the C&EI Railroad Historical Society

Welcome to the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society, your gateway to exploring the rich history and enduring legacy of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad (C&EI).

Founded by a group of passionate rail enthusiasts, historians, and former railroad employees, our society works to safeguard the stories, achievements, and historical significance of the C&EI, a pivotal railway that played a crucial role in connecting Chicago to southern Illinois and fostering the development of the Midwest.

Through our extensive archives, museum exhibits, publications, and events, we strive to celebrate and preserve the legacy of the C&EI Railroad for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

The First Meeting

April 1982 a group of C&EI fans, some 60 in number, met at the Danville Junction Chapter’s Rossville Depot Museum to hold the first meeting of the new group. I thought you would like to see some of the photos that Bob McQuown took that day. Many of you will recognize yourself, you were a lot younger, and many of those in attendance are no longer with us. In most of the photos I don’t know some of those in attendance so no identity on anyone. The group photo is the officers that were elected at the meeting with left to right: Rick Schroeder-President, Bob McQuown-Director (deceased), Frank Cassman-Director (deceased), Doug Nipper-Director, Ray Curl-Vice President (deceased) and Kenny Reynolds-Secretary. Bob Gibson-Director was unable to be at the first meeting.

Our first publication, THE FLYER, was prepared by Frank Cassman in the summer of 1982 and at time we listed the first 88 Charter Members. The first actual meeting was held on November 13, 1982 at the Quality Inn Motel in Danville with a tour of Oaklawn Shops, contest, movies, and display tables. On Sunday the Rossville Museum was open for visitors. The first issue, Volume I, #1, included Franks outlook on the society, the President’s comments, Bob McQuown’s reflections on becoming an operator in 1946 and Larry Lewis’s Englewood Memories of the 46 trains that stopped at Englewood on the Chicago and Western Indiana. We had planned to publish a newsletter at least 4 times a year and came close to it the first 10 years or so.

In 1991 we started producing a single issue, about 60+ pages, about one topic of the railroad, such as motive power, passenger train operations, interlockings, history series and other topics. These publications featured many archive photos and are in black and white. Starting in 2007 we signed an agreement with White River Productions and started producing 36-page color magazine twice a year. These issues cover two or more topics and started including a modeling section. 

Each year the society produces a calendar for the following year. Early calendars were a large format, spiralbound, and featured large photos from the collection. Over the past years we changed to a 8×10 format with color cover and back side with black and white for each month. This format is more convenient for members to display the calendar. The yearly calendar is produced by Faulstich Printing in Danville and all current members receive the following year calendar as part of the membership.

By the summer of 1983 we had 160 members from all over the United States. Over the years we grew to over 350 members, many of them being former C&EI employees, and today we have around 260 C&EI fans on our roster. It has been very interesting as Treasurer to note the new members and the part of the country they live. Some had relatives that worked for the railroad and others have had an interest in modeling the smaller line. We welcome all that have an interest in the C&EI.  As of 2022 we still have some 25 of the original 160 first year members in the society.   

The society meets annually in April each year. Meetings are held at the museum in Watseka, Illinois or other locations along the former rail lines. Some joint meetings have been held with other societies, such as the Missouri Pacific Historical Society. Future location and program is announced in the fall issue of THE FLYER.