The , also known as the '''Big Four Railroad''' and commonly abbreviated '''CCC&StL''', was a
Railroad Company in the
United States . Its main routes were in
Illinois ,
Indiana , and
Ohio .
The railroad was formed on
June 30 ,
1889 by the merger of the
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati And Indianapolis Railway , the
Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis And Chicago Railway and the
Indianapolis And St. Louis Railway . The railroad once operated a
Terminal at
Bellefontaine, Ohio which included the largest
Roundhouse in use at that time between New York and St. Louis. The railroad was headquartered in
Indianapolis, Indiana , at 105 S. Meridian Street.
As Of 2006 the building previously known as the ''Big Four Building'' is a
Hampton Inn hotel.
By
1906 , the Big Four was acquired by the
New York Central Railroad . The Big Four's lines were incorporated into
Penn Central in
1968 with the merger of New York Central and the
Pennsylvania Railroad . When Penn Central declared
Bankruptcy two years later, Big Four's lines were nationalised through the state-run
Conrail . Conrail closed the Bellefontaine terminal in
1983 , and the roundhouse was dismantled. Conrail was later privatised, and sold in
1999 to
CSX and
Norfolk Southern .
