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The Northern Cross Railroad was the first railroad to operate in Illinois, originating in Meredosia and eventually extending both east and west to the state borders. It eventually linked the state capital Springfield east to Decatur and Danville, and west to Jacksonville and the Illinois River, and later to Quincy on the Mississippi River. ==First railroad in the nation's rail-center state== On November 8, 1838, the first railroad steam locomotive ever operated in Illinois (actually, in the entire land area west of the Allegheny Mountains and north of the Ohio River) was removed from its shipping crates, assembled, and placed on strap rail track at Meredosia. The locomotive that day transported a select group to what was then the end-of-track, eight miles east, and back to Meredosia. The locomotive was called the "Rogers" and was made in Newark, New Jersey, by the firm of Rogers, Grosvenor and Ketchumit. For nearly 10 years, the growing Northern Cross Railroad was operated by the State of Illinois. By 1842, a line between Jacksonville and Springfield was completed, and in May, 1842, service from Meredosia to Springfield was made available. In 1854, the Northern Cross reached Decatur, Illinois. In December, 1856, the line was completed between Springfield and the Illinois-Indiana state line. The year 1847 saw the first change in the new railroad. The legislature of the State of Illinois authorized the sale of the original track between Meredosia and Springfield to Nicholas H. Ridgely, who paid $21,000 for the road. He changed its name to the Sangamon and Morgan Railroad. The part of the line from Springfield to the Illinois-Indiana state line had been temporarily abandoned by the State of Illinois due to a funding shortage. Ridgely was eventually granted an extension of his charter to include the entire line of the Northern Cross, which he reopened to Decatur. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Northern Cross Railroad」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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