The line opened in 1888 and the company was merged into the Illinois Central in 1903.
From there, lines ran north to Freeport, Illinois, northeast to Chicago, and south to New Orleans.
To eliminate these costs the Illinois Central decided to build its own route between Chicago and Freeport.
[3] Construction of the new line began in 1886 and was completed under the unified company in 1888.
[5] The Chicago, Madison and Northern Railroad owned 233 miles (375 km) of track in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin:[5]