St. Louis, Alton and Springfield Railroad Company (Bluff Line)
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Product Details
Company
St. Louis, Alton and Springfield Railroad Company
Certificate Type
5% Gold Bond
Date Issued
September 1, 1887
Canceled
Yes
Printer
Homer Lee Bank Note Company
Signatures
Hand signed
Approximate Size
24 3/4" (w) by 14 3/4" (h) - includes the almost 5 complete columns of coupons attached at right side, 3 of which are shown
Images
Show the exact certificate you will receive
Guaranteed Authentic
Yes
Additional Details
NA
Historical Context
The Bluff Line Railroad began as the St. Louis, Jerseyville, and Springfield Railroad, which was incorporated in November 1880. The railroad went from Springfield, Illinois to the Mississippi River near Grafton. The line was completed in 1882 from Bates on the Wabash, west of Springfield, through Jerseyville to Dow, where it descended the Mississippi River bluffs to Elsah, and followed the shoreline to Grafton. After a lease to the St. Louis and Central Illinois Railroad in December 1886, the line was reorganized in November 1888 as the St. Louis, Alton, and Springfield Railroad, with incorporation in June 1887. In 1889, the company built a branch from Dow to the river at Lockhaven, and then along the Mississippi to Alton, as well as a connection from Elsah to Lockhaven. The Dow-Elsah segment would later be abandoned. In September 1892, another reorganization of the railroad resulted in the St. Louis, Chicago, and St. Paul Railroad, which built a direct entrance to Springfield from Loami (south of Bates), as well as an extension from Alton to Granite City in July 1894. The company was reorganized again in October 1897, forming the St. Louis, Chicago, and St. Paul Railway of Illinois. In March 1900, the Bluff Line was merged into the Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis Railway of Illinois, a reorganization of the Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis Railroad of Illinois, and at the same time, the Litchfield-Madison line was split off as a new Litchfield and Madison Railway, which the CP&Stl continued to operate under lease until June 1904. In December 1909 the Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis Railroad was incorporated, and took over the property of the Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis Railway of Illinois in 1913. Operations continued until November 1924, when four separate companies purchased portions of the property at a foreclosure sale:
1. The Alton and Eastern Railroad, Granite City to Grafton, including the lease of the Alton Terminal Railway leased to the Illinois Terminal Company in 1930 and merged in 1937; now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway.
2. The Chicago, Springfield and St. Louis Railway, Lockhaven to Springfield; later abandoned.
3. The Springfield, Havana, and Peoria Railroad, Springfield to Pekin, leased to the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway in 1926, and merged in 1936; now part of the Illinois and Midland Railroad.
4. The Jacksonville and Havana Railroad, Jacksonville to Havana, later abandoned.
There were depots along the Bluff Line in Alton (on the riverfront), Riehl’s Station, Clifton Terrace, Elsah, Lockhaven, Chautauqua, and Grafton. Lockhaven was the site of not only a small depot, but a coal dock, small store, and water tower.
Additional Information
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All of our pieces are original - we do not sell reproductions. If you ever find out that one of our pieces is not authentic, you may return it for a full refund of the purchase price and any associated shipping charges.
