The Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway (CM&W), was a Class II railroad

Class II railroad

A Class II railroad in the United States is a mid-sized freight-hauling railroad, in terms of its operating revenue. , a railroad with revenues greater than $20.5 million but less than $277.7 million for at least three consecutive years is considered a Class II railroad...

 that operated in the midwest of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 between 1987 and 1990. Never financially stable, less than a year after it was created it was bankrupt and sold off its lines piecemeal to other railroads in 1989 and 1990.
The Chicago and Alton Railroad had built and operated lines between Chicago, Illinois, Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

, St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 and Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

 until that railroad was merged into the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad

The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St...

 in 1947.