The predecessor TD&B came about on May 23, 1879, from a merger of several other railroads. The TD&B wished to reach Ironton, which was a rail- and ingot-producing town, However, the TD&B's intended western termination point changed in the spring of 1880 from Burlington to East St. Louis, and the TC&StL subsidiary was formed in February 1881 to handle construction of the extension from
Kokomo, Indiana to that destination. If all required elements had fallen into place, this would have created continuous 3’ narrow-gauge tracks extending from
Mexico City to the
Great Lakes. and that company already planned to extend southerly to
Laredo, Texas, where not much more than a bridge or ferry would have been necessary to have joined it to the narrow-gauge rails of the
National Railroad of Mexico which ran south from
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to Mexico City. • St. Louis and Toledo Divisions (split at
Kokomo), completed by the TC&StL:
Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad (
NKP) • Cincinnati Division • Built by the TD&B (Lebanon Junction to Dayton):
Dayton, Lebanon and Cincinnati Railroad (
Pennsy) • Ex-Cincinnati Northern Railway:
Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway (
Pennsy) • Dayton Division, completed by the TD&B (Delphos to Dayton):
Dayton and Toledo Railroad (
B&O) • Southeastern Division, ex-
Dayton and South Eastern Railroad (Dayton to Wellston):
Dayton and Ironton Railroad (
B&O) • Ironton Division • Constructed by the TC&StL (Deans to Ironton Junction):
Dayton and Ironton Railroad (
B&O) • Ex-
Iron Railroad (Ironton to Center Station and connection to Deans):
Iron Railway (
converted to in 1887) ==References==