The South Shore Line uses odd train numbers on trains leaving Chicago to conform with traditional IC practice and just decided to go with the flow and retain the odd numbers after leaving Kensington eastbound rather than change the train number en route. The Michigan Central and Big Four public timetables showed even numbers all the way from Chicago to Detroit and Cincinnati (and odd numbers westbound). Did the IC assign its own numbers for operating purposes between Chicago and Kensington and Kankakee Jct.? Did they use an alpha prefix or suffix, or add a digit, or what? There are a couple of examples of this sort of thing elsewhere (NYC/NH in and out of Grand Central, and NYC/PRR at Buffalo), and I'm just wondering what they did on the IC.
Railroad Forums
Illinois Central train numbers
- Discussion relating to the Canadian National, past and present. Also includes discussion of Illinois Central and Grand Trunk Western and other subsidiary roads (including Bessemer & Lake Erie and the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway). Official site: WWW.CN.CA
