Premises Description
Illinois Central Railroad (founded 1851, headquartered Chicago IL — later reorganized as Illinois Central Gulf (ICG) in 1972 after merger with Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; acquired by Canadian National Railway (CN) in 1998) was through the asbestos era one of the principal U.S. Mid-Continent Class I freight railroads. Illinois Central’s signature “Main Line of Mid-America” ran from Chicago south through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana to New Orleans LA, with branches across Iowa, Indiana, and Alabama.
Illinois Central operated historic shop facilities through the asbestos era at Paducah KY (the principal ICRR locomotive shop), Chicago IL (the Burnside Shops), Memphis TN, Centralia IL, and Waterloo IA, plus dozens of intermediate roundhouse and car-repair facilities.
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) that Illinois Central exposed its railroad workforce to asbestos through brake-shoe dust, locomotive insulation disturbance, shop-facility asbestos, and asbestos-laden freight cars received from interchange partners.
Illinois Central Railroad / Illinois Central Gulf / Canadian National Railway has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation under FELA.
Workers Exposed
- Railroad car repairmen at Paducah, Burnside, Memphis, Centralia, and Waterloo
- Locomotive engineers and firemen on IC trains
- Railroad shop machinists, boilermakers, pipefitters, and electricians at Paducah Shop
- Roundhouse and locomotive-servicing workers
- IC yard switchmen, conductors, and brakemen across the Mid-America system
If You Worked for Illinois Central Railroad
If you worked for the Illinois Central Railroad, Illinois Central Gulf, or Canadian National Railway during the asbestos era at any IC yard, shop, roundhouse, or facility — including at the historic Paducah Shop — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA).
Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956