Kathy Halley Buhrman 254 pages softcover
In 1984, the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad sold a 100-mile branch line
serving Iowa and Minnesota to retired USAF pilot and real estate
entrepreneur Jack Haley, who had a longtime dream of owning a railroad. A
year later on Christmas Eve 1985, Haley, as president and chief
executive, took possession of the ICG’s former Iowa Division across Iowa
and Illinois, renaming it the Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad.
With a $75 million cash loan from General Electric, it was the largest
privately-funded American railroad company formed in the 20th century by
a non-railroad entity. Overshadowed by controversy and with his tenure
short, Haley became legendary as the short line and regional rail
operator who helped change the U.S. railroad industry forever.
