The Columbus to Chicago Main Line was a

rail line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

owned and operated by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s of

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The line ran from

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 ...

northwest via

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northwest of Kokomo. Hi ...

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

. Junctions included the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford, which split at

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

to reach the Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line at

New Paris, Ohio New Paris is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Preble County, Ohio, Preble County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,629 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton, Ohio, Dayton Greater Dayton, Metrop ...

; the Fort Wayne Branch at

Ridgeville, Indiana Ridgeville is a town in Franklin Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States, along the Mississinewa River. The population was 803 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Ridgeville has been in operation since 1851. The town was ...

; the

Richmond Branch Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

(from

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 ...

) at

Anoka, Indiana Anoka is an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Cass County, 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 ...

; and the

South Bend Branch The South Bend Branch was a Pennsylvania Railroad line that ran from South Bend, Indiana to Logansport, Indiana. The line was built in 1883 and was then a part of the Vandalia Railroad. The route was about 60 miles long and it passed through man ...

and I&F Branch at Logansport. The line has largely been abandoned. 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 ...

operates the portion from

Redkey, Indiana Redkey is a town in Richland Township, Jay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,353 at the 2010 census. History Redkey was named for James Redkey, who platted an addition to the town when the railroad was built through it in 18 ...

west to Sweetser as the Red Key Secondary, and a short piece from

Schererville, Indiana Schererville is a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,646 at the 2020 census It is a suburb of Chicago located just 30 miles south of the city History Long before Indiana became a state ...

, to

Hartsdale, Indiana Hartsdale was a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. It was part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Hartsdale was annexed by Schererville, Indiana, in 1911. History Hartsdale took its name from the Hart Farm.T. H. ...

, as the

Logansport Secondary Logansport is the name of some places in the United States: *Logansport, Indiana *Logansport, Louisiana Logansport is a town in western DeSoto Parish adjacent to the Sabine River in western Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 ...

. The portion from Anoka to Logansport is part of the

Winamac Southern Railway The Winamac Southern Railway is a short-line railroad in northern Indiana, United States, operated under lease by the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway. It owns two lines radiating from Logansport to Kokomo and Bringhurst, and formerly a thi ...

History

The oldest piece of the line is the part closest to Columbus; the Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad opened from Columbus to

Union City, Indiana Union City is a city in Wayne Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. , the city had a population of 3,584. Union City was a stop along the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania Rail ...

(on the state line) in 1853 and 1854 to Piqua and 1859 to Union City. Closer to Chicago, the Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad opened the short piece between Anoka and Logansport in 1857 as part of a longer line between

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and Logansport. The Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad opened the line from Logansport to

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

and beyond to Valparaiso in 1861; a bridge over the

Wabash River The Wabash River ( French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows fro ...

at Logansport, connecting to the existing line, was opened the same year by the

Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line Railroad 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 ...

. The Chicago and Great Eastern Railway opened the line from La Crosse to Chicago (and abandoned the old line to Valparaiso) in 1865, and absorbed the Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad and Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line Railroad later that year. The piece from Union City to

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...

was opened in 1867 from by the Columbus and Indiana Central Railway, the successor to the Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad, and, in 1868, the Columbus and Indiana Central Railway and Chicago and Great Eastern Railway merged to form the Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway and completed the line from Marion to Anoka; the CC&IC owned the entire line from Columbus to Chicago. The

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

leased the CC&IC on February 1, 1869, placing it under

control and giving the PRR a second route to Chicago (it already owned the

Fort Wayne Line The Fort Wayne Line and Fort Wayne Secondary is a rail line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad (CFE), and CSX Transportation in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. The line runs from Pi ...

). The PC&StL and its successors, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway and

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

, operated the line until January 1, 1921, when the PRR began operating it under lease. , June 2004 Edition The line passed to

Penn Central Transportation The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central Railroad ...

in 1968 and

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

in 1976; Conrail slowly abandoned almost all of it.{{Fact, date=February 2007 The route was abandoned in 1982 between Schererville and Winamac, the rest of the line was removed by 1986 with the exception of the track between Winamac and Logansport, which was removed in 2005.

References

Columbus to Chicago Rail infrastructure in Ohio Rail infrastructure in Indiana Rail infrastructure in Illinois