Chicago and Milwaukee Railway
| Company type | Railroad company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Illinois Parallel Railroad, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad |
| Founded | 1851 |
| Defunct | 1883 |
| Fate | Merged into Chicago, Milwaukee and North Western Railway; later integrated into Chicago and North Western Railway |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Illinois, Wisconsin |
Chicago and Milwaukee Railway
The Chicago and Milwaukee Railway served as an important forerunner to the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW), operating across regions in Illinois and Wisconsin.
The portion within Illinois began as the Illinois Parallel Railroad, which received its charter on February 17, 1851. Its objective was to construct a rail route extending 44.6 miles northward from Chicago through Waukegan, Illinois into Wisconsin, ensuring it remained at least ten miles inland from the western shore of Lake Michigan. The initial board meeting took place on September 9, 1851. The company was renamed the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad on February 5, 1853, and by December 19, 1854, the track had reached Waukegan.
On May 19, 1855, the railway linked up in Kenosha, Wisconsin with the Green Bay, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad—which had been chartered on March 13, 1851, and later renamed the Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad in 1857—also covering a distance of 44.6 miles. These two entities combined on June 22, 1863, to establish the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway.
Additional mergers followed when the Northwestern Union Railway was absorbed on January 11, 1881. Shortly thereafter, on April 12, 1881, it joined forces with the Milwaukee and Madison Railway and Sheboygan and Western Railway, resulting in the formation of the Chicago, Milwaukee and North Western Railway. This new corporation was eventually integrated into the C&NW system by June 1883.