Central Midland Railway

The Central Midland Railway (reporting mark CMR), a division of Progressive Rail Incorporated of Lakeville, Minnesota, is a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Missouri, operating under lease of the former St. Louis Subdivision of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. CMR operates the eastern-most 60 miles of the 298-mile Rock Island line which used to stretch from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri. Today, CMR's operation of the line is performed under two separate leases from the Union Pacific Railroad and the Ameren Corporation, respectively, from Overland, Missouri - a suburb of St. Louis, to a location just west of Union, Missouri. CMR's first leased-segment is Union Pacific's "Lackland Subdivision" which extends from "Rock Island Junction" near the intersection of Page Avenue and I-170 in Overland to a location on the north-side of Creve Coeur Lake in Maryland Heights, Missouri, known as "Vigus." The second leased-segment is owned by Ameren and extends from Vigus to Pleasant Hill, Missouri, with active service terminating just west of Union.

The Central Midland is made up of trackage from the former 18th and 19th subdivisions of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRIP). The line was opened in 1904, and cut across the northern Ozark Mountains from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri. The entire route was 298 miles long, and featured several large bridges, as well as four tunnels.

On March 31, 1980, the Rock Island ceased all operations as a condition of its bankruptcy, and the line was passed into the hands of the Kansas City Terminal Railroad. Soon after, the line was sold as part of a package deal which included the Kansas City to Tucumcari, New Mexico, "Golden State Route" to the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (SSW). SSW originally had plans to rehabilitate the Rock Island across Missouri as a part of its purchase. However, due to years of deferred maintenance by its previous owner, bringing the line up to modern class 1 mainline standards was deemed uneconomical by the SSW. Instead, the company acquired trackage rights to operate its trains over Missouri Pacific Railroad's (now Union Pacific) parallel St. Louis to Kansas City mainline.

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Wikipedia