Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway

The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway ( CCC & StL. ), Also known under the name of Big Four, is a former Class I railroad company in the United States with headquarters in Indianapolis. It was created in 1889 through the merger of several railway companies. Your network covered large parts of the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, some branch lines also reached Kentucky and Michigan. As early as 1872 had the Vanderbilts, including the New York Central Railroad was one, larger shares of the predecessor companies of the CCC & StL. The New York Central acquired 1906, the Big Four complete and rented it formally in 1930. With the merger of the New York Central with the Pennsylvania Railroad to Penn Central in 1968 heard the Big Four to exist. Today is one of a large part of the remaining tracks of the CSX Transportation.

History

The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway was established on June 27, 1889 by the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway ( " Bee Line " ), the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railway and the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St.. Louis and Chicago Railway. The last company was already known since 1880 under the name "Big Four". In addition, the new company acquired the route Springfield ( Ohio) - Indianapolis by the Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway.

The route network was enough at the time of the merger of Cleveland in the east to Terre Haute in the west and Lafayette in the north to Louisville and Cincinnati in the south. The two main routes ran from Cleveland to Terre Haute and from Cincinnati to Lafayette. They crossed in Indianapolis.

1890 acquired the Big Four several railway companies:

• The Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland Railway in Ohio,
• The Columbus, Springfield and Cincinnati Railway in Ohio,
• The Cairo, Vincennes and Chicago Railway in Illinois,
• The St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad in Indiana and Illinois,
• The Cincinnati, Lafayette and Chicago Railroad in Indiana and Illinois,
• Whitewater Railroad in southern Indiana,
• The Cincinnati and Springfield Railway in Ohio and
• The Cincinnati, Wabash and Michigan Railway in Indiana and Michigan.

In addition, the Big Four in 1890 led the operation on the Peoria and Eastern Railway, whose main line of Indianapolis went to Peoria. Including newly agreed shared rights thus expanded its route network to Chicago, St. Joseph and Sandusky in the north, to Cairo in the south and to Peoria and St. Louis in the west.

1906 built the Evansville, Mount Carmel and Northern Railway, a branch line to Evansville, which was leased on November 1, 1910, through the Big Four.

With effect from February 1, 1930 leased the New York Central Railroad, which owns the CCC & StL. had been located since 1906, the railway company and took over the management. With this and the Pennsylvania Railroad merged the CCC & StL. on February 1 of 1968 to the Penn Central, which passed a few years later in Conrail. Most of the CCC & stl network part after the dissolution of Conrail to CSX Transportation.

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