The Baltimore and Ohio and Chicago Railroad (B&O&C) was a subsidiary of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

(B&O) that owned the line from Willard, Ohio to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

History

In 1869 the B&O leased the

Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad The Sandusky, Mansfield, and Newark Railroad began in . It ran in Ohio from Sandusky to Newark. It was taken under control by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O Railroad) in 1869. The B&O Railroad built a new mainline in the 1890s west from Wi ...

(SM&N), which stretched north from

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

on the Central Ohio Railroad to Sandusky on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

. Desiring to extend its system to Chicago, the B&O incorporated the Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Chicago Railway as separate companies in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

on March 13 and March 14, 1872, respectively; a third company with the same name was incorporated in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on February 27, 1873. Surveying began immediately, and a line was soon located and constructed from a point on the SM&N named Chicago Junction (later renamed Willard after B&O president

Daniel Willard Daniel Willard (January 28, 1861 – July 6, 1942) was an American railroad executive best known as the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) from 1910 to 1941. He served on or headed several government railroad commissions in World ...

) to Chicago. Operations began on November 23, 1874 under lease to the B&O, which initially obtained trackage rights over the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

(IC) north of the new line's terminus in Brookdale, Chicago (now located at the start of the Metra Electric District's South Chicago branch). On December 27, 1876, the Ohio and Indiana companies were consolidated to form the Baltimore and Ohio and Chicago Railroad, and simultaneously the Illinois company was renamed to match. On August 1, 1891, the

Akron and Chicago Junction Railroad The Akron & Chicago Junction Railroad was a railroad incorporated in the state of Ohio on February 17, 1890. It ran from Akron to the town of Chicago Junction, Ohio, renamed Willard in 1917. Construction was completed the following year, and th ...

was opened, under lease to the B&O&C, which subleased it to the B&O. This extended the line east from Chicago Junction to Akron, where it met newly acquired B&O subsidiary

Pittsburgh and Western Railway The Pittsburgh and Western Railroad was a nineteenth-century, narrow gauge railroad connecting Pittsburgh with coal supplies and the oil field around Titusville, Pennsylvania. Its right-of way formed the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail ...

, forming a through line between Chicago and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and thence to Baltimore via the

Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and B&O proper. The Baltimore and Ohio Connecting Railroad was completed on October 8, 1892, improving the B&O's Chicago terminal arrangements in conjunction with trackage rights over the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway from South Chicago to Brainerd, where the B&O Connecting began, and the

Chicago and Northern Pacific Railroad (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

from the B&O Connecting's other end into downtown Chicago. The B&O&C was subsequently disconnected from the IC, though a connection remained at the crossing of the IC's South Chicago Railroad. The B&O&C of Illinois was absorbed by the B&O&C of Ohio and Indiana at some time, and in 1949 the B&O acquired the properties of the B&O&C. The line between Brookdale and a point southeast of the

Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...

in South Chicago has since been abandoned, and operation near the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is via trackage rights over the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

's Chicago Line, but the line east of Pine Junction in

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

remains a main line of B&O successor

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

, which calls the old B&O&C the Willard Subdivision (Willard- Deshler),

Garrett Subdivision The Garrett Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Ohio and Indiana. The line runs from Deshler, Ohio, west to Willow Creek, Indiana (in Portage), along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B& ...

(Deshler- Willow Creek),

Barr Subdivision The Barr Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Indiana and Illinois. The line runs from Willow Creek (a neighborhood in Portage, Indiana), west to just west of Blue Island, Illinois, along ...

(Willow Creek-Pine Junction), and Lake Subdivision (Pine Junction-South Chicago).

, Chicago Division Timetable No. 1, effective January 1, 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Ohio Chicago Railroad Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Defunct Ohio railroads Predecessors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Railway companies established in 1876 Railway companies disestablished in 1949 American companies established in 1876 1949 mergers and acquisitions

History

See also

References