Green Bay, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad
| Company type | Railroad company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Illinois Parallel Railroad, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad |
| Founded | February 17, 1851 |
| Fate | Merged into Chicago, Milwaukee and North Western Railway in 1881; absorbed by Chicago and North Western Railway in 1883 |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Illinois, Wisconsin |
Chicago and Milwaukee Railway
The Chicago and Milwaukee Railway served as an antecedent to the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW), operating within the states of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Initially chartered on February 17, 1851, under the name Illinois Parallel Railroad, the company was tasked with constructing a rail corridor extending 44.6 miles northward from Chicago through Waukegan, Illinois into Wisconsin, ensuring the route remained at least ten miles inland from the western shoreline of Lake Michigan. The inaugural meeting of its board took place on September 9, 1851. The railroad was rebranded as the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad on February 5, 1853, and by December 19, 1854, the track had reached Waukegan.
On May 19, 1855, this line linked up at Kenosha, Wisconsin with the Green Bay, Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad—which had been chartered on March 13, 1851, and renamed Milwaukee and Chicago Railroad in 1857—another line spanning 44.6 miles. These two entities consolidated on June 22, 1863, to form the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway.
Additional mergers followed when the Northwestern Union Railway was incorporated into the company on January 11, 1881. Soon after, on April 12, 1881, it merged with both the Milwaukee and Madison Railway and the Sheboygan and Western Railway, resulting in the establishment of the Chicago, Milwaukee and North Western Railway, which itself was absorbed by C&NW in June 1883.