Early history: 1835–1869 , Ohio
Toledo to Chicago On April 22, 1833, the
Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad was chartered in the
Territory of Michigan, to run from the former Port Lawrence, Michigan, now
Toledo, Ohio, near
Lake Erie, northwest to
Adrian, Michigan, on the
River Raisin. The
Toledo War soon gave about one-third of the route to the state of Ohio.
Horse-drawn trains began operating on November 2, 1836; the horses were replaced by a newly arrived
steam locomotive,
Adrian No. 1, in August 1837. The
Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad was chartered in
Indiana on February 6, 1835, to run from
Buffalo, New York, to the
Mississippi River. The name was changed on February 6, 1837, to the
Northern Indiana Railroad, which would run from the eastern border of Indiana, west to
Michigan City, Indiana, on
Lake Michigan. Some grading between Michigan City, and
La Porte, Indiana, was done in 1838, but money ran out. Around 1838, the state of
Michigan started to build the
Southern Railroad, running from
Monroe, Michigan, on Lake Erie, west to
New Buffalo, Michigan, on Lake Michigan. The first section, from Monroe, west to
Petersburg, Michigan, opened in 1839. Extensions opened in 1840, to Adrian, and 1843, to
Hillsdale, Michigan. On May 9, 1846, the partially completed line was sold to the
Michigan Southern Rail Road, which changed the planned western terminal to
Chicago, using the charter of the Northern Indiana Railroad. The grading that had been done was not used, as the
grade was too steep, and instead the original Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad charter was used west of La Porte. The Michigan Southern leased the Erie and Kalamazoo on August 1, 1849, giving it a branch to Toledo, and a connection to planned railroads to the east. Due to lobbying by the
Michigan Central Railroad, a competitor of the Michigan Southern, the latter's charter prevented it from going within of the Indiana state line east of
Constantine, Michigan. However, the most practical route went closer than two miles, west of
White Pigeon, Michigan. To allow for this, Judge Stanfield, of
South Bend, Indiana, bought the
right-of-way from White Pigeon to the state line, and leased it to the railroad company for about 10 years, until the charter was modified to allow the company to own it. The
Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad was chartered on November 30, 1850. Its initial tracks, from the Michigan Southern at the state line running west-southwest to
Elkhart, Indiana, then west through
Osceola, Indiana, and
Mishawaka, Indiana, to South Bend, opened on October 4, 1851. The full line west to Chicago, opened on February 20, 1852, (running to the predecessor of
Englewood Union Station, together with the
Chicago and Rock Island Railroad). A more direct line was soon planned from Elkhart, east to Toledo, and the
Northern Indiana Railroad was chartered in Ohio, on March 3, 1851. On July 8, 1853, the Ohio and Indiana companies merged, and on February 7, 1855, the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad and the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad were merged into the Northern Indiana Railroad. On April 25, 1855, that company in turn merged with the Michigan Southern Rail Road to form the
Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad. In 1858, the new alignment (
Northern Indiana Air Line) from Elkhart, east to Air Line Junction, in Toledo, was completed. The company now owned a main line from Chicago to Toledo, with an alternate route through southern Michigan, east of Elkhart, and a branch off that alternate to Monroe. Also included was the
Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad, leased July 1, 1856, and providing a branch from Toledo, past Monroe, to
Detroit, Michigan.
Erie to Cleveland The
Franklin Canal Company was chartered on May 21, 1844, and built a railroad from
Erie, Pennsylvania, southwest to the Ohio border. The
Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad was incorporated February 18, 1848, to build northeast from Cleveland, to join the Canal Company's railroad at the state line. The first portion from Cleveland to Painesville opened on November 20, 1851. The first trains to Ashtabula ran on June 16, 1852. The first train between Ashtabula and Erie ran on November 23, 1852. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula bought the Franklin Canal Company on June 20, 1854.
Buffalo to Erie The
Buffalo and State Line Railroad was incorporated October 13, 1849, and opened January 1, 1852, from
Dunkirk, New York, west to
Pennsylvania. The rest of the line from Dunkirk to Buffalo, opened on February 17, 1852. The
Erie and North East Railroad was chartered April 12, 1842, to build the part from the state line west to Erie, and opened on January 19, 1852. On November 16, 1853, an agreement was made between the two railroads, which had been built at
broad gauge, to
relay the rails at to match the Franklin Canal Company's railroad (see below) on the other side of Erie, and for the Buffalo and State Line to operate the Erie and Northeast. This would result in through passengers no longer having to change trains at Erie, and on December 7, 1853, the
Erie Gauge War began between the railroads and the townspeople. On February 1, 1854, the relaying was finished and the first train passed through Erie. On May 15, 1867, the two companies between Buffalo and Erie merged to form the
Buffalo and Erie Railroad.
Cleveland to Toledo The
Junction Railroad was chartered March 2, 1846, to build from Cleveland, west to Toledo. The
Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad was chartered March 7, 1850, to build from Toledo, east to
Grafton, Ohio, on the
Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. The latter company opened on December 20, 1852, finally forming a continuous Buffalo-Chicago line. On September 1, 1853, the two companies merged to form the
Cleveland and Toledo Railroad, with the Junction Railroad becoming the Northern Division and the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland, the Southern Division. The Northern Division opened from Cleveland, west to
Sandusky, Ohio, on October 24, 1853, and the rest of the way to Toledo, on April 24, 1855. The Northern Division was abandoned west of Sandusky, due to lack of business, but the track was relaid in 1872, merging with the Southern Division, at
Millbury, Ohio, east of Toledo. In 1866, the Southern Division, east of
Oberlin, Ohio, was abandoned and a new line was built to
Elyria, Ohio, on the Northern Division, ending the use of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad.
Consolidations In October 1867, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad leased the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. The CP&A changed its name to the
Lake Shore Railway on March 31, 1868, and on February 11, 1869, the Lake Shore absorbed the Cleveland and Toledo. On April 6, the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and Lake Shore merged to form the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, which absorbed the Buffalo and Erie Railroad on June 22, giving one company the whole route from Buffalo to Chicago. The LS&MS name was in use as a nickname for the four component railroads as early as 1859. The main route passed through Dunkirk; Erie;
Ashtabula, Ohio; Cleveland; Toledo;
Waterloo, Indiana; and South Bend. An alternate route, the Sandusky Division, in Ohio, ran north of the main line between Elyria, and Millbury, Ohio, not all track was laid until 1872. From Toledo to Elkhart, the Old Road ran to the north, through southern Michigan, and the through route was called the Air Line Division or Northern Indiana Air Line. Along with various branches that had been acquired (see
below), the Monroe Branch ran east from Adrian, to Monroe, where it intersected the leased Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad. At some point the original line to Toledo was abandoned west of the branch to
Jackson, Michigan, the
Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad, with the new connection at Lenawee Junction, the crossing between that branch and the line to Monroe. The railroad established its first significant repair shop in 1851 along Mason Street in
Elkhart, Indiana. These shops were occasionally expanded and upgraded in the 1800s and early 1900s until employment reached about 1,500. A second shop site was established in 1874 in Collinwood on the northeast side of
Cleveland, Ohio. In 1901, the railroad bought a new property in Collinwood for $2 million to build a much larger repair center that by the 1920s employed more than 2,000 people. In 1913, a freight car repair shop was established in
Ashtabula, Ohio, to maintain the large roster of ore and coal cars operating at the nearby port. In 1952, as the railroad was converting its motive power from steam to diesel, the repair shops were consolidated at Collinwood.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway: 1869–1914 . A similar, but smaller-sized bridge, exists to the east in the Ohio town of
Wakeman.] "Decapod" switching locomotive of 1907 Around 1877,
Cornelius Vanderbilt, and his
New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, gained a majority of stock of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. The line provided an ideal extension of the New York Central main line from Buffalo, west to Chicago, along with the route across southern
Ontario, the
Canada Southern Railway and the Michigan Central Railroad. On December 29, 1876,
The Pacific Express passenger train was passing over a bridge in
Ashtabula, Ohio, when it collapsed due to structural failure, causing the
Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster which killed 92 and injured 64.
New York Central Railroad: 1914–1968 On December 22, 1914, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad merged with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to form the New York Central Railroad. While the original main line was to the south of
Sandusky Bay, between Toledo and Elyria, the northern alignment, the Sandusky Division, eventually became the main line.
Post-NYC: 1968–present In 1968, the New York Central merged with the
Pennsylvania Railroad and the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to form the
Penn Central Transportation Company, Penn Central, which two years later, filed for bankruptcy. In 1976, it became part of
Conrail. In 1976, the Southern Division, from Elyria to Millbury, was abandoned, with parts of the former right of way now in use as a recreational trail, the North Coast Inland Trail. Under Conrail, the Lake Shore main line was part of the New York City–Chicago, Chicago Line. In 1998, Conrail was split between
CSX and
Norfolk Southern. The Chicago Line east of Cleveland, went to CSX, and was split into several subdivisions: the
Lake Shore Subdivision, from Buffalo, to Erie, the
Erie West Subdivision, from Erie, to east of Cleveland, and the
Cleveland Terminal Subdivision, into downtown Cleveland. From the former
Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad junction in Cleveland, west to Chicago, the line is now Norfolk Southern's
Chicago Line.
Amtrak's New York City–Chicago
Lake Shore Limited runs along the full route from Buffalo west. The
Floridian joins in Cleveland, at the "Amtrak Connection" from the former Pennsylvania Railroad, C&P line, just east of the present Cleveland Station (MP 181), on its way from
Washington, D.C., to Chicago. Passenger trains along the route originally terminated at
LaSalle Street Station, but now run to
Union Station, switching to the parallel former
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, Pennsylvania Railroad, at a crossover in
Whiting, Indiana, Indiana, () to get there. ==Branches==