The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway (CCC&I) was formed from the merger of the

Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad (CC&C) was a railroad that ran from Cleveland to Columbus in the U.S. state of Ohio in the United States. Chartered in 1836, it was moribund for the first 10 years of its existence. Its charter was ...

(CC&C) with the Bellefontaine Railway in 1868. The Bellefontaine had been formed by a merger of the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad and the

Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad The Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad (I&B) was an American railroad founded in 1848. It changed its name to the Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad (IP&C) in 1854. Its counterpart in Ohio was named the Bellefontaine and Indiana ...

in 1864. Two key figures in its construction were Cyrus Ball and Albert S. White.''The Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume 2'', pages 626–628

Genealogy

Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis RW 1869

The predecessor railroads the CCC&I were: *Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway **Bellefontaine Railroad (1868) ***Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad (1864) ***Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad (1864) ****Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad (1855) **Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad (1868) ***Springfield, Mt. Vernon and Pittsburgh Railroad (1862)

History

The CCC&I came into existence on May 16, 1868, as a merger of the Bellefontaine Railroad and the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. At its inception it had 83 locomotives, 47 of which came from the CC&C and 36 from the Bellefontaine. It immediately began to build its own locomotives at its shops in Cleveland and

Galion, Ohio Galion is a city in Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 10,453 at the 2020 census. Galion is the second-largest city in Crawford County after Bucyrus. The Crawford County portion of Galion is p ...

, but also continued to buy engines from outside vendors. After its formation, the CCC&I sought to make a connection to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. This connection had never been realized by its predecessor line, the Cleveland Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, which ran trains only between

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. In 1871, the CCC&I made agreements to operate the Cincinnati and Springfield Railroad and its 16 engines between Cincinnati and

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. It also leased the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland Railroad between Dayton and

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

, finally providing a through route from Cleveland through Columbus to Cincinnati. On July 23, 1882, the CCC&I acquired the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad (I&SL) in a judicial sale. The St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute railroad, which the I&SL had leased, was included in the sale. The I&SL continued to be operated under its own name after the acquisition. On July 1, 1889, the CCC&I merged with lines in Indiana and Illinois to form the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, known as the Big Four Route. At the time of the merger, the CCC&I had 161 locomotives and the I&SL had 47. The Big Four eventually became a part of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

References

Resources

* Steiner, Rowlee. "A Review of Columbus Railroads", 1952, unpublished 125 page manuscript available from the library of th
Ohio Historical Society
1982 Velma Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43211 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland Columbus Cincinnati Indianapolis Railway Companies affiliated with the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Defunct Ohio railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Transportation in Indianapolis Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad Railway companies established in 1868 Railway companies disestablished in 1889 Rail transportation in Cleveland

Genealogy

History

See also

References

Resources