Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway
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The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (CCC & StL.), Also known as the Big Four , is a former Class I rail company in the United States based in Indianapolis . It was created in 1889 through the merger of several railway companies. Its network covered large parts of the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, some branches also reached Kentucky and Michigan. As early as 1872, the Vanderbilts , which also owned the New York Central Railroad , owned larger shares in the predecessor companies of CCC & StL. New York Central acquired the Big Four in full in 1906 and formally leased it in 1930. With the merger of New York Central with the Pennsylvania Railroad to Penn Central in 1968, the Big Four ceased to exist. Today, a large part of the remaining track systems belong to CSX Transportation .
history
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway was created on June 27, 1889 through 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 had been known as the "Big Four" since 1880. In addition, the new company acquired the Springfield (Ohio) - Indianapolis line from the Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway .
At the time of the merger, the route network ranged from Cleveland in the east to Terre Haute in the west and from 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.
In 1890 the Big Four acquired 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,
- the White Water 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 led from 1890 the operation on the Peoria and Eastern Railway , whose main line ran from Indianapolis to Peoria . Including the newly agreed rights of use, the route network expanded to Chicago , St. Joseph and Sandusky in the north, to Cairo in the south and to Peoria and St. Louis in the west.
In 1906 the Evansville, Mount Carmel and Northern Railway built a branch line to Evansville , which was leased on November 1, 1910 by the Big Four.
With effect from February 1, 1930, the New York Central Railroad , owned by CCC & StL. already since 1906, the railway company and took over the management. The CCC & StL merged with this and the Pennsylvania Railroad. on February 1, 1968 finally to Penn Central , which a few years later became Conrail . The largest part of the CCC & StL. Network belongs to CSX Transportation after the dissolution of Conrail .
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literature
- George H. Drury: The Historical Guide to North American Railroads. 2nd edition. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI 2000, ISBN 0-89024-356-5
