The Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Western Railroad was established in 1915 as a reorganization of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Western Railway, which in turn had been created in 1902 as a merger of the Indiana, Decatur and Western Railway (ID&W) and the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Indianapolis Railroad (CH&I). Predecessors of the ID&W include the Indianapolis, Decatur and Western Railway (1888–1894), the Indianapolis & Wabash Railway (1887–1888), the Indianapolis, Decatur and Springfield Railway (1875–1887), and the Indiana and Illinois Central Railway (1853–1875). Predecessors of the CH&I include the Junction Railroad (1848), the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Indianapolis, and the Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western. The CIWN's owned mainline was three segments connected and extended by

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

. The line was located in the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The first segment extended from its trackage rights over the

Chicago and Alton Railway The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...

in Springfield to Boody, Illinois. Trackage rights via the

Wabash Railway The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

connected Boody with

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. The second segment ran from Decatur to

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, where trackage rights over the

Indianapolis Union Railway The Indianapolis Union Railway Company , is a terminal railroad operating in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was organized on May 31, 1850, as the Union Track Railway Company by the presidents of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad (M&I), the Terre ...

connected it with the third segment also located in Indianapolis. From there, the road extended to

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Cincinnati along the Great Miami River, Hamilton is the second-most populous city in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and the List of municipaliti ...

. Further trackage rights over the Toledo and Cincinnati Railroad extended the CIWN from Hamilton into

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio. In 1925, the CIWN reported 376 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 14 million passenger-miles; at the end of that year it operated of road and of track. In 1927, it was acquired by the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

References

Former Class I railroads in the United States Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Defunct Ohio railroads Predecessors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Railway companies established in 1915 Railway companies disestablished in 1990 American companies established in 1915 {{US-ClassI-rail-transport-stub