Illinois Central Electric Wiki
Welcome to the Illinois Central Wiki, the comprehensive database about all things IC Electric-related.
About IC Electric Wiki
Welcome to the ultimate fan encyclopedia dedicated entirely to the Illinois Central Electric commuter line. Whether you are a transit enthusiast or a local historian, this wiki serves as the central hub for everything related to the brand. We cover the entire timeline from the early steam operations in 1856 to the massive 1926 electrification project. Here you will find highly focused articles detailing every station, route, and piece of equipment used on the famous Chicago commuter rail network
What IC Electric Wiki Is Not
To ensure our information remains incredibly accurate and strictly relevant, it helps to explain what we do not cover. This site is not a general history of the entire Illinois Central Railroad freight network. We also specifically exclude the Illinois Central Electric Railway, which was an unrelated line chartered in 1903 that ran between Canton and Farmington. By keeping our focus strictly on the Chicago commuter line and its transition into the Metra Electric District, we provide the most relevant and detailed resource available.
The History and Infrastructure
Learn about the rich history of how the railway shaped the South Side of Chicago. You can read about the construction of the elevated tracks required by the city in 1919 and the grand opening of the electric service in 1926. This section of the wiki catalogs all the physical infrastructure. We document the massive maintenance facilities like the Burnside Shops and Woodcrest Shops. You will also find details on every interlocking tower, from the busy Weldon tower near Central Station to the Kensington tower at 115th Street.
Authors of IC Electric Wiki
Anita Lacey is the Co-Founder and Website Manager of TransitHub Travel, leading the platform's technical development at transithub.travel. Bringing 11 years of combined experience in web development and public transportation journalism, she creates dynamic vehicle tracking web applications and comprehensive transit wikis. Her educational content aims to give readers a transparent look into both the modern operations and the rich history of public transit networks worldwide. In the gaming community, she is known by her gamertag, AureliaWRLD, where she develops indie game mods for the Metruvia Expansion Series. When she steps away from coding and writing, she spends her free time applying her passion for rail networks by engineering locomotives in realistic train simulators.
- Anita Lacey (AureliaWRLD)
As the Co-Founder and Webmaster of TransitHub Travel, DaJuan Lacey oversees the technical operations at transithub.travel. He brings 11 years of combined expertise in web development and public transportation journalism to the platform. Dedicated to increasing industry transparency, DaJuan builds live vehicle tracker web apps and authors comprehensive wikis detailing transit history and daily operations. Under his gaming alias SantiagoWRLD, he actively applies his technical skills as an indie game mod creator for the Metruvia Expansion Series. Outside of his professional coding and writing pursuits, he enjoys relaxing by engineering virtual locomotives in train simulators.
- DaJuan Lacey (SantiagoWRLD)
2
Authors
0
Pages
Readers
2
The Rolling Stock Roster
A true fan site is not complete without a full catalog of the trains. Our rolling stock database covers every generation of electric multiple unit cars. Discover the original 1926 heavyweight cars built by Pullman and Standard Steel. Read about the transition to the bilevel Highliner fleet built by St Louis Car Company and Bombardier in the 1970s. Finally, we cover the modern stainless steel Highliner equipment manufactured by Nippon Sharyo that riders use today.
Subscribe to our newsletter
