Chicago and Alton 1879 Railway Depot near Kansas City, Mo was a very important railway that ran from Chicago to St. Louis and then on to Kansas, Missouri and Colorado by means of several different branches that extended into those directions. When it was first built in 1847, it was under two separate charters. The first charter was granted in 1847 and in 1852, the second one was charted.
For the next fifty years, the Chicago and Alton Railway continued to expand, each time adding more routes. It started with a line going from Alton and eventually winding up in Joliet with stops in Bloomington and Springfield, with more directions and lines being added steadily.
The Chicago and Alton Railroad Company was formed in 1861 and purchased a group of lines a year later when they was foreclosed. In the years to come, many lines were added to the railway lines they already owned. Some were leased and others were purchased, with the biggest and influential one starting in Bloomington and traveling to St. Louis via Jacksonville. By the end of the 1800s, the company owned 1,186 total miles of track.
With the railway having the importance that it had in those days, these new lines were a major advancement for commerce and industry. In 1879, the Kansas City, St. Louis and North line merged with the Wabash to create a large railway to later be named Wabash Railroad Company. With all the different lines going through the states, the Chicago & Alton was advanced, being the first to use service sleeping cars and dining cars in the Pullman. Since that time, they've been adopted my many other lines.
