The Marion and Eastern Railroad was purchased in 1917 from the Ernest Coal Company who owned the Eldorado, Marion and Southwestern Railroad for $60,000 dollars. The line was originally built in 1908 and was a short line railroad of 11.5 miles extending from Marion, Illinois to Paulton, Illinois. George O. Mitchell, who had been the manager of the railroad, was succeeded by H. E. Barber, who became superintendent of the line under the Marion and Eastern.

Approximately 97 percent of its freight consisted of coal supplied by five mines having an aggregate daily rating of from 99 to 107 cars. The average haul for the coal was about 8.1 miles but the line did also transport some freight and passengers. Most of the passengers were likely miners coming an going to work.

The short line railroad which had once run three trains a day each way between Marion and Paulton, hauling approximately 6000 tons of coal from the Franco mines that employed about 600 men, at the end, operated at a deficit. Although the road continued to haul coal from the area in which the Paulton, Pittsburg, Keystone, Crab Orchard and Scranton mines were located, the tonnage was far less than in the boom days.

Similarly, there was a gradual lessening of tonnage and the number of miners employed in the area served by the Missouri Pacific which, during the peak production period, operated the Coal Belt Electric interurban system and steam locomotive trains which carried hundreds of miners to work each morning.

The old Marion and Eastern tracks are still on the road bed of the short line which ran from a junction of the Illinois Central near Old Route 13 east of the fair grounds to Pittsburg and the mine fields. When the railroad was active it extended from a connection with the Illinois Central at M. & E. junction about one mile south of Marion, Illinois to Pittsburg. It reached Marion by using track rights over the Illinois Central Railroad.

The railroad used one steam locomotive, four coal cars, one box/freight car, one passenger car and 3 roadway machines.

The Marion office for the railroad was located at 1201 Public Square. This would be the east side of the square, north side of east main and was likely in an upstairs office.

The Missouri Pacific took over the Marion and Eastern Railroad in May 1926.

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(Compiled from I.C.C. Records and Marion Daily Republican articles provided by Edward Bridges; photo from Williamson County Historical Society;compiled by Sam Lattuca on 02/05/2013)