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 the
Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad and the
Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad 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
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 County, Ohio, Crawford, Morrow County, Ohio, Morrow, and Richland County, Ohio, Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 10,453 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Galion is the s ...
, but also continued to buy engines from outside vendors.
After its formation, the CCC&I sought to make a connection to
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 ...
. This connection had never been realized by its predecessor line, the Cleveland Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, which ran trains only between
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
and
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
. 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 a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
. It also leased the
Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland Railroad between Dayton and
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...
, 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 region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
.
See also
*
Union Station (Columbus)
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