Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad

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Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad

Reporting marks	CAS
Locale	Northwestern and west central Indiana
Dates of operation	1922 – 1946
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Attica, Indiana

The Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad (AAR reporting mark CAS), nicknamed the "Dolly Varden Line" was a railroad linking small towns in west central and northwestern Indiana to a connection with the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railway (C&EI) near Momence, Illinois (where traffic continued on to Chicago). Never financially strong, the CA&S nevertheless continued operating through World War II before abandonment.

[edit] The "Coal Road"

The Chicago and Great Southern Railroad (C&GS) had by the 1880s built a rail line between a connection with the Monon Railroad at Fair Oaks, Indiana to Brazil. Primarily a coal hauler, the C&GS was reorganized later as the Chicago and Indiana Coal Railway (C&IC) and continued construction of the line north to La Crosse, Indiana and Wilder, Indiana to form connections with other railroads.

The management of the "Coal Road" and the Chicago and Eastern Illinois became intertwined and eventually a connection was built between the two railroads between Goodland, Indiana (on the C&IC) and Momence (on the C&EI). By 1894 the Eastern had merged the C&IC.

[edit] Chicago, Attica and Southern

In 1913, the C&EI was bankrupt. By 1922 as part of its reorganization, it cut free the old "Coal Road" which in turn organized itself into the Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad, selling to other railroads some of its more valuable lines for cash. However, the CA&S struggled through the 1920s and found itself bankrupt in 1931. It never left receivership, or turned a profit, again. The CA&S abandoned its connection to the C&EI in 1943, shut down completely in on September 14, 1946, and was completely abandoned shortly thereafter.