The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad and commonly abbreviated CCC&StL, was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

company in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. It operated in affiliation with the

New York Central 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 Mid ...

system. Its primary routes were in

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

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 ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. At the end of 1925 it reported 2,391 route-miles and 4,608 track-miles; that year it carried 8180 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 488 million passenger-miles.

History

The railroad was formed on June 30, 1889, by the merger of the

Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway (CCC&I) was formed from the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad (CC&C) with the Bellefontaine Railway in 1868. The Bellefontaine had been formed by a merger of t ...

, the

Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway

and the

Indianapolis and St. Louis Railway Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. The following year, the company gained control of the former

Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway The Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway was a railroad that once operated in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Its immediate predecessor, the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railway, was formed on July 20, 1869, from the merger of the India ...

(through the foreclosed Ohio, Indiana and Western Railway and through an operating agreement with the

Peoria and Eastern Railway The Peoria and Eastern Railway was incorporated on February 21, 1890, for the purpose of constructing or acquiring a railway between Pekin, Illinois, and Indianapolis, Indiana. The following day, the company acquired such a railroad from Charl ...

). In 1906, the Big Four was acquired by 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 Mi ...

, which operated it as a separate entity until around 1930. The Big Four's lines were later incorporated into

Penn Central 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 and th ...

in 1968 with the merger of New York Central and 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 ...

. Penn Central declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

in 1970, and in 1976 many of Big Four's lines were included in the government-sponsored

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 bus ...

. Conrail was privatized in 1987 and in 1997 was jointly acquired by

CSX 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 trac ...

and

Norfolk Southern 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, ...

Notable facilities

Typical building in the Wholesale District

The railroad was headquartered in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, in the Chesapeake Building at 105 South Meridian Street. The building was constructed for the railroad in 1929 and was also known as the Big Four Building. In 1996, this multi-story structure became a

Hampton Inn Hampton by Hilton, formerly known (and still commonly referred to) as Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale ...

hotel. Between 1904 and 1908 the railroad constructed a repair shop for steam locomotives and for passenger and freight cars in

Beech Grove, Indiana Beech Grove is a city in Marion County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population is 14,192. The city is located within the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Beech Grove is designated an "excluded city" under Indiana la ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

purchased the facility, now known as the

Beech Grove Shops The Beech Grove Shops is a railway maintenance facility in Beech Grove, Indiana, outside Indianapolis. Beech Grove is Amtrak's primary maintenance facility. It also contains a very large freight yard. History The shops were originally constructe ...

, from the bankrupt Penn Central in 1975. The railroad operated a

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devi ...

Bellefontaine, Ohio Bellefontaine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, Logan County, Ohio, United States, located 48 miles (77 km) northwest of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 13,370 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 Cens ...

, that included the largest roundhouse in use at that time between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and St. Louis, Missouri. Conrail closed the Bellefontaine terminal in 1983, and its roundhouse was dismantled. A large yard facility known as the Big Four Yards is located in

Avon, Indiana Avon is a town in Washington Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 21,474 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. History The first settlement at Avon was made around 1830. The fi ...

, along the line's tracks, now owned and operated by CSX. In 1895, the railroad acquired what became known as the

Big Four Bridge The Big Four Bridge is a six-span former railroad truss bridge that crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was completed in 1895, updated in 1929, taken out of rail service in 1968, and conver ...

across the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, thereby giving it access to that city. Use of the bridge for railroad purposes ceased by 1968, and it sat abandoned until work began by 2006 to convert it to use by pedestrians and bicyclists.

References

External links

History of The Cleveland Cincinnati Chicago and St Louis Railway and its predecessors
from the 1913 Annual Report of The New York Central Railroad System.
Columbus, Ohio Railroads history page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland Cincinnati Chicago Saint Louis Railway Defunct companies based in Indianapolis Rail transportation in Cincinnati Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Defunct Ohio railroads Defunct Michigan railroads Defunct Missouri railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Predecessors of the New York Central Railroad Railway companies established in 1889 Railway companies disestablished in 1976 Railroads in the Chicago metropolitan area 1889 establishments in Indiana 1976 disestablishments in Indiana Railroads controlled by the Vanderbilt family Rail transportation in Cleveland

History

Notable facilities

See also

References

External links