Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad stock certificate c1879 (Illinois) 

Dearborn Station owner. Uncommon vignette of a train crossing a river on a high bridge. Unissued and not cancelled.  Circa 1879. Dated 18__ on the cert.  Approximately 10 x 6.5 inches.

The Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad (CWI) was the owner of Dearborn Station in Chicago and the trackage leading to it. It was owned equally by five of the railroads using it to reach the terminal, and kept those companies from needing their own lines into the city. With the closure of Dearborn Station in 1971 and the Calumet steel mills in 1985, the railroad was gradually downgraded until 1994 when it became a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Corporation. The depot served passenger trains of the:

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad
Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway
Erie Railroad
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
Wabash Railroad

The C&WI was chartered June 5, 1879, and soon opened a line in May 1880, from Dolton, where the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad merged with the Columbus, Chicago, and Indiana Central Railway, north to Dearborn Station on the south side of the Chicago Loop.

Soon after, the Chicago and Western Indiana Belt Railway and South Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad were merged into the C&WI on January 26, 1882. Several more lines were built using their charters. Those two companies also acquired shares in the C&WI, bringing the total to five. The State Line and Indiana City Railroad later gave the Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway a second access point to the C&WI at Hammond, and a sixth railroad — the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway — used Dearborn Station, but used its own line on the east side of the C&EI from Alton Junction to the station.

The C&WI once owned over 100 steam locomotives. All were retired and replaced with diesels by 1947. A commuter service between suburban Dolton and downtown ran until July 26, 1963.

Product descriptions and images
Please note that some pictures may only be representative of the inventory available.  If we have more than one piece, we are unable to scan and display every piece.  Unless otherwise noted, that there are variations for signatures, cancellation marks/holes, serial number, and dates.  Colors will be as noted and pictured.