The
Richmond and Miami Railroad was chartered in
Indiana on January 19, 1846, to build from
Richmond southeast to the
Ohio state line. The
Eaton and Hamilton Railroad was chartered February 8, 1847 in Ohio to continue the line southeast to
Eaton and south to
Hamilton. The E&H opened from the
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad north of Hamilton (with
trackage rights to Hamilton) to Eaton July 1, 1852, and the rest of the E&H, as well as the R&M, opened May 1, 1853, crossing the state line at
Neels, Ohio. With the December 1853 opening of the Cincinnati, Logansport and Chicago Railway from Richmond northwest to
New Castle, Indiana, the three lines were operated jointly. On February 1, 1854, the
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad joined, providing a line south to
Cincinnati. The Eaton and Hamilton absorbed the Richmond and Miami on December 1, 1854. Joint operations ended December 1, 1856. The portion in
Indiana was sold under
foreclosure on January 25, 1862, and reorganized April 30 as the
Richmond and Miami Railway. The E&H began operating the R&M October 1. Om May 1, 1863 a branch opened from east of
Richmond, Indiana, the R&M's northwest end, east to
New Paris at the
Ohio state line. The
Dayton and Western Railroad leased the branch on March 11 and obtained
trackage rights to Richmond, extending their line west from New Paris to Richmond. (The next day, the
Columbus and Xenia Railroad leased the D&W.) The E&H again began operating the R&M November 1, 1864 on a lease dated November 26. The E&H (in
Ohio) was sold March 17, 1866 and reorganized April 30 as the
Cincinnati, Richmond and Chicago Railroad, under control of the
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad, and still operating the R&M. The CH&D outright leased the CR&C February 18, 1869. The
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, part of the
Erie Railway system, leased the
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad, including the CR&C, on March 31, 1869. The
Cincinnati and Richmond Railroad was incorporated December 22, 1881 to continue the line south from
Hamilton on its own. That line opened in 1888, running southeast to the
Little Miami Railroad at
Rendcomb Junction, east of
Cincinnati. The CR&C and R&M were merged into the C&R on April 1, 1890. Most of the line is now the
Norfolk Southern Railway New Castle District, although its southernmost portion became part of the
Indiana and Ohio Railway Oasis Subdivision. ==References==