The trackage operated by the IERR was completed in 1904 by the
Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad as part of a
Cincinnati-
Chicago line. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway of Indiana, a newly incorporated subsidiary of the
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), acquired the line at
foreclosure sale in 1910. In 1978, the
Chessie System, owner of the C&O and
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), closed the steep approach to
downtown Cincinnati over Cheviot Hill in order to construct Queensgate Yard. Trains were rerouted to use the B&O's
Indianapolis Subdivision via
Hamilton, rejoining the C&O at
Cottage Grove. The much flatter portion of the line between Cottage Grove and the
Fernald Feed Materials Production Center was kept in service. In 2005, CSX, successor to the Chessie System, leased the line between Fernald and Richmond to the newly created Indiana Eastern Railroad, which began operations on August 29. In November 2023, it was purchased by
Regional Rail. ==References==