From St. Johns, MP 285.4), the west side wye junction with the IC St. Louis line once used by Amtrak’s River Cities, where a spur trails in from the east, there is a grade crossing and extra track to the east, the line continues north, single track, with speed limit 79-60, past a bridge over a stream, a grade crossing, Sunfield, four grade crossings, Tamaroa (MP 279.8), where the former MP line from Chester to Mount Vernon crosses at grade (speed limit 60-40 on the crossing), a spur heading away to the east (maybe the remains of the former MP line?), two grade crossings, in town, a dirt track grade crossing at a cemetery, a grade crossing, a grade crossing just south of the 17,263 ft. siding on the east side at Bois (MP 273.8), where an IN line from Orient Mine #6 trails in from the east, two additional tracks to the east within the siding, a bridge over drainage, a detector at MP 273.5, two dirt track grade crossings, Radom, a grade crossing, a spur to silos on the east side, a dirt track grade crossing, and a grade crossing in Ashley.
There is a flat crossing (50-30 on the crossing) with the former L&N St. Louis line (now truncated in the St. Louis direction at Addieville) at Ashley (MP 266.3), where there is a grade crossing just to the north of the flat crossing, two dirt track grade crossings, a grade crossing at MP 263.71, a grade crossing, Richview, dual road bridges overhead, a dirt track grade crossing, spur to grain silos to the west, a grade crossing, Irvington (MP 256.3), where two main tracks, ABS, begin again, and separate to pass on either side of Shops Yard (IC’s Car Shops), past a grade crossing, the east side track separating from the west side track with two yard leads in between becoming two sets of four yard tracks, a dirt road grade crossing over the west track at the yard office, a bridge over a stream on the west track, an old coaling tower still standing in the yard, shop buildings along the west side of the east track, a turntable at the shops, and a grade crossing north of the shops.
North of the shops, the former CB&Q line from the Illinois coal field (south-southeast) and former Southern line from Louisville (east-southeast) trail in on the east side and cross to the west side of the line at grade (40 mph on the crossing), on an acute angled single alignment, at Southern Railway Junction, where the two former IC tracks come back together again, past two grade crossings, Centralia (MP 252.4), where a former Missouri-Illinois line once trailed in from the southwest, there is a passenger station (speed limit 35 mph from MP 253 to 250), with a small brick depot and brick platform to the east, and at a short distance on the west side, the former Southern St. Louis line turns west, and the former CB&Q line heads north-northwest, with a yard on that line just north of town, and the former IC line passes a grade crossing, a bridge over a street, a road bridge overhead, and formerly rail-served grain silos to the east.
A line trails in on the east side and the former Missouri-Illinois line turns away east at Central City, where the original IC main line continued north (and a track still separates on the west side), and the former Chicago Branch, now the main line, turns northeast, with speed limit 79-50/60, past two grade crossings, a gated dirt road grade crossings, a bridge over a river, MP 250, a grade crossing, a road alongside to the east, turning away, a bridge over a road and a road bridge overhead. .
Single track, CTC, begins again, with full line speeds, at Sandoval Junction (MP 247.3), past a grade crossings just to the north, two dirt road grade crossings, a road alongside to the east, a grade crossing just south of the flat crossing where the former B&O Cincinnati to St. Louis line crosses the IC at grade (60-40 on the crossing) at Olin (MP 244.2), a road bridge overhead, a 15,959 ft. siding at Tonti (MP 239.0), a dirt track grade crossing, a grade crossing, two dirt road grade crossings, a detector at MP 238.8, dual road bridges overhead, Intermediate Signals, a dirt road grade crossing, a road bridge overhead, a dirt track grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossings, a dirt road grade crossing in Alma (MP 233.6), a dirt track grade crossings, a dirt road grade crossing, a flat crossing (60-40 on the crossing) with the former C&EI north-south line at Kinmundy (MP 228.9), with a northeast quadrant connector, two grade crossings in town, a dirt road grade crossing, a bridge over a stream, a grade crossing, a dirt track grade crossing, a bridge over a stream, a spur to silos to the west, a grade crossing, formerly rail-served silos to the east, a dirt road grade crossing, Farina (MP 223.1), Intermediate Signals, a road alongside to the west, a grade crossing, and Laclede (MP 218.5).
The two track Bluford Cutoff rejoins the mainline, trailing in from the south (i.e. on the east side) at Edgewood Junction (MP 214.6), where a former B&O line once made a flat crossing.