Pittsburgh to Columbus (1848–1869) The Steubenville and Indiana Railroad was chartered February 24, 1848, in
Ohio to build west from the
Ohio River at
Steubenville to the
Indiana state line between
Willshire and
Fort Recovery, via
Mount Vernon. On March 12, 1849, it was authorized to build a bridge at Steubenville and a branch to
Columbus. The line began construction in late October 1851. Work occurred along the entire length of the line at the same time. The first section opened December 22, 1853, from Steubenville west to
Unionport. On February 2, 1854, an extension from Unionport west to
Cadiz Junction opened; the branch to
Cadiz opened June 12. Further extensions west from Cadiz Junction opened June 22 to
Masterville, July 12 to
Bowerston, and April 11, 1855, the rest of the way to
Newark. to build from
Galena through Chicago to the Indiana state line towards
Lansing, Michigan. The Chicago and Great Eastern Railway was incorporated in Indiana on June 19, 1863, to build from Logansport northwest to the Illinois state line towards Chicago. The charter of the G&IR was assigned to the C&GE on September 11, 1863, and the C&GE absorbed the G&IR on October 30. The line from Chicago (
12th Street) south and southeast to the Chicago and Cincinnati at
La Crosse, Indiana, opened March 6, 1865, and the old line northwest from La Crosse to
Valparaiso was abandoned. On May 15, 1865, the C&GE absorbed the Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line Railroad and Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad. The Marion and Mississinewa Valley Railroad was incorporated in Indiana on May 11, 1852, to build from
Union City northwest to
Marion. On May 14, 1853, the Marion and Logansport Railroad was incorporated to continue northwest from Marion to Logansport. The M&L conveyed its property to the M&MV on November 28, 1854. The
Union and Logansport Railroad was incorporated January 5, 1863, and bought the unfinished M&MV on January 9. In the meantime, the
Logansport and Pacific Railroad was incorporated in 1853 to build from Logansport west to the Illinois state line. After several reorganizations, the
Toledo, Logansport and Burlington Railroad opened to the Illinois state line near
Effner in 1859. The
Logansport, Peoria and Burlington Railroad continued as part of a line to the
U.S. West, bypassing Chicago, on a route that later became the
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway. On September 11, 1867, the Columbus and Indianapolis Central Railway, Union and Logansport Railroad and
Toledo, Logansport and Burlington Railway merged to form the Columbus and Indiana Central Railway. The main line, formerly being built by the Union and Logansport, opened from Union City to Marion in October 1867. On February 12, 1868, the Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway was formed as a merger of the Columbus and Indiana Central Railway and Chicago and Great Eastern Railway. The rest of the new main line, from Marion northwest to
Anoka, on the old main line east of Logansport, was completed March 15, 1868, making the old route via New Castle and Richmond into a branch. The CC&IC now had main lines from Columbus to Chicago and Indianapolis with branches from near Logansport, Indiana, southeast to Richmond, Indiana, (on the Indianapolis line) and west to
Effner, Indiana. The
Erie Railway offered in late 1868 to lease the CC&IC, but the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway made a better offer on January 22, 1869, leasing it on February 1.
Expansion (1869–1890) On December 1, 1869 (retroactive from February 23, 1870) the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway leased the
Little Miami Railroad. This included the Columbus and Xenia Railroad,
Dayton and Western Railroad and
Dayton, Xenia and Belpre Railroad, as well as the
Richmond and Miami Railway's branch west to
Richmond, Indiana. With that lease, the Pennsylvania Railroad acquired access to Cincinnati. With the 1870 completion of the
St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad and
Terre Haute and Indianapolis Rail Road, the PRR now had a route to
East St. Louis via the PC&StL to Indianapolis. The Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway went bankrupt and was sold at foreclosure on January 10, 1883. The Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad was incorporated in Indiana on March 14 and Illinois on March 15, and the former CC&IC was conveyed to the two companies on March 17. Operation by the PC&StL continued until April 1, 1883. On April 1, 1884, the two companies merged to form one Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad. That company was merged with the PC&StL,
Cincinnati and Richmond Railroad and
Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad on September 30, 1890, to form the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (PCC&StL).
20th century In 1891, the PCC&StL acquired stock ownership of the Little Miami Railroad. On December 21, 1916 (taking effect January 1, 1917), the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway merged with the
Vandalia Railroad,
Pittsburgh, Wheeling and Kentucky Railroad,
Anderson Belt Railway and
Chicago, Indiana and Eastern Railway, forming the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. The PCC&StL was leased by the PRR on January 1, 1921, and finally was merged into the PRR's
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad on April 2, 1956.
Current use Sections of the route have been adapted for other uses. The easternmost section, from the Pittsburgh
Union Station through the
Panhandle Tunnel and over the
Panhandle Bridge to
Station Square in Pittsburgh, is part of the
Pittsburgh Light Rail system. From there to the
Sheraden neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the railway forms part of
Norfolk Southern's
Mon Line. The portion from Sheraden to
Carnegie, Pennsylvania, has been converted into the
West Busway, a bus-only roadway. The section from Carnegie to
Walkers Mill, Pennsylvania, retains its rails and is owned by the
Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad, however, it has not seen a train since mid 2015, and it will likely be removed to become part of the Panhandle Trail. The section from Walkers Mill to
Weirton, West Virginia, was shut down and removed by Conrail in 1996, and has been made into the
Panhandle Trail, a bicycling/walking trail. From the trail's end in Weirton to Columbus, the rails are still in place: from Weirton to
Mingo Junction, the route is part of various rail lines and spurs, and from Mingo Junction to Columbus, the line forms part of the
Columbus and Ohio River Railroad. Part of the line in
Piqua, Ohio has been converted to a linear park. The line between Logansport and Chicago has been abandoned, with a portion of the right of way on the South Side of Chicago developed as the
Major Taylor Trail, and a portion between
Lansing, Illinois, and
Schererville, Indiana, as the Pennsy Greenway. ==Branches==