Correspondence, accounting records, contracts, drawings, weekly construction reports, payroll information, work estimates, invoices, and receipts documenting the day-to-day construction of the section of the Illinois Central Railroad around Centralia, Illinois. Includes a substantial amount of correspondence between Isaac S. Metcalf and Illinois Central Chief Engineer Roswell B. Mason, who supervised the building of the entire line from Chicago to Cairo, Illinois, between 1851-1856. Metcalf employed local laborers for railroad construction, so there are many of records from local businesses around Centralia, and some information about the use of Irish labor. Drawings (see oversized folder and rolled documents box) includes sketches of bridges, measurements of culverts, railroad land plans, and grade elevations. Also includes a small amount of printed documents, including a wage calculator and assorted Illinois Central timetables and blank forms.