Macomb and Western Illinois Railway - History

History

Charles V. Chandler endeavored to form the Macomb and Western Illinois Railway (M&WI) to carry passengers to and from locations between Macomb and Littleton, to give farmers a way of transporting grain and livestock to Macomb, and to eventually connect Macomb with larger railroads. Originally the railroad was planned as an electric interurban but sufficient capital to electrify was not available, and the railroad began service with a primitive - and marginally useful - gas-electric locomotive.

The railroad encountered problems from the start. Many people were opposed to the expansion of Chandler's business empire and of his influence as the town's leading Republican. Many who before had helped fund similar projects pulled out. The railroad's president and C. V.'s business partner sold his interest in the business within two years to Chandler. A year after service began the railroad's engine house burned down, destroying its gas-electric locomotive. The local Illinois coal hauled from Littleton by the railroad was found to have too much sulphur to be effective. The tracks were lightweight, and derailments were common. Property owners along Johnson Street in Macomb filed a series of lawsuits to evict the railroad from the city streets, efforts which were eventually successful and which also had the effect of scaring off investors.

In 1910 the Bank of Macomb, owned by C.V. Chandler, went bankrupt and Chandler later left town to live with his son in Indianapolis. As part of the bankruptcy the M&WI was sold off to the Chicago House Wrecking Company, which intended to abandon the railroad and sell it for scrap.

In 1913, the railroad was bought back by a group of local farmers and merchants from the area and was reorganized as the Macomb, Industry & Littleton Railway (MI&L). This railroad operated through the remainder of the 1910s and 1920s. Starting in 1925, however, the railroad's fortunes began to decline due to the construction of hard (paved) roads parallelling the right-of-way. The decline in traffic, coupled with increased maintenance costs and a decaying infrastructure, led to the abandonment of the railroad in 1930. In that year the railroad's assets were sold at auction, the tracks were torn up and all of the rolling stock except for one steam engine was scrapped.