The , commonly called the '''Pan Handle Route''' ('''Panhandle Route''' in later days), was a
Railroad forming part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line west from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania across the
Northern Panhandle Of West Virginia . The line continued west to
Bradford, Ohio , where it split, with one line to
Chicago and the other to
East St. Louis, Illinois via
Indianapolis, Indiana .
The was chartered
February 24 ,
1848 in
Ohio to build west from the
Ohio River at
Steubenville to the
Indiana state line between
Wilshire and
Fort Recovery , via
Mt. Vernon . On
March 12 ,
1849 it was authorized to build a bridge at Steubenville and a branch to
Columbus .
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, and the branch to
Cadiz opened
June 12 . Further extensions west from Cadiz Junction opened
June 22 to
Masterville ,
July 12 to
Bowersville , and
April 11 ,
1855 the rest of the way to
Newark . However, it did not yet connect to any other railroads in Newark.
On
December 25 ,
1854 the S&I came to an agreement with the
Central Ohio Railroad to use its tracks from
Newark west to
Columbus . Some surveying had been done for a separate route via
Granville . The connection at Newark opened
April 16 ,
1857 , and was built with funds provided by the
Columbus And Xenia Railroad , which helped provide a through route to
Cincinnati from the S&I. In
1864 the S&I outright bought a half interest in the Newark-Columbus track.
The was chartered
March 24 ,
1849 in
Pennsylvania to build west from the
Monongahela River near
Pittsburgh to the
Virginia (now
West Virginia ) state line towards the Steubenville and Indiana Railroad. It was authorized to extend across the Monongahela to Pittsburgh on
April 21 ,
1852 . The '''Western Transportation Company''' was incorporated by the
Pennsylvania Railroad in
Pennsylvania on
March 15 ,
1856 to build and operate the P&S.
On
July 22 ,
1853 , the president of the S&I deeded right-of-way he had bought from 36 landowners across the
Virginia Panhandle to the P&S. This allowed the railroad to build without a charter, which was required to use
Eminent Domain ; the powerful city of
Wheeling had opposed the P&S, which bypassed Wheeling. The private "" (named after its owners,
Jesse Edgington and
Nathaniel Wells of
Brooke County ) opened
July 4 ,
1854 but failed later that year, as it did not connect to any other railroads. The '''Holliday's Cove Rail Road''' was chartered by the Western Transportation Company on
March 30 ,
1860 in
Virginia to build across the Panhandle; the charter was only used to build the
Steubenville Railroad Bridge . The next day the
Wheeling Railroad Bridge Company was chartered by the same company, as a political promise to allow the incorporation of the HCRR.
The full P&S opened
October 9 ,
1865 , from
Smithfield Street in
Pittsburgh west to
Wheeling Junction at the east end of the
Steubenville Railroad Bridge . That same day, the Steubenville Railroad Bridge opened over the
Ohio River , connecting the S&I and P&S, as did the connection at
Pittsburgh , connecting the
Pennsylvania Railroad with the P&S via the
Monongahela River Bridge (commonly called the Panhandle Bridge) and
Grant's Hill Tunnel . From then until
1868 the line was operated as the by the Western Transportation Company.
The P&S was sold under
Foreclosure on
November 6 ,
1867 to the , which had been chartered
April 8 ,
1861 . On
April 30 ,
1868 the PHRy, S&I and HCRR merged to form the '''Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway''', and the Western Transportation Company was dissolved soon after.
The
Terre Haute And Richmond Rail Road was chartered in
1847 to build across
Indiana via
Indianapolis . On
May 25 ,
1850 , stockholders east of Indianapolis organized the . On
January 20 ,
1851 that section, from Indianapolis east to the
Ohio state line, was renamed the '''Indiana Central Railway'''. On
January 31 an Ohio law authorized the
Dayton And Western Railroad to unite with the Indiana Central and unite jointly. The line from Indianapolis east to
Greenfield opened in
September 1853 , and on
October 8 it was completed to the state line, where it connected with the Dayton and Western. Joint operation of both lines between Indianapolis and
Dayton, Ohio began
August 1 ,
1854 . In
1859 the
Rail Gauge was changed from
Standard Gauge to the broader
Ohio Gauge (4 ft 10 in) to allow for direct connections with the
Little Miami Railroad and
Columbus And Xenia Railroad at Dayton.
The was chartered in
Ohio on
February 23 ,
1849 to build from
Columbus west via
Urbana ,
Piqua and
Greenville to the
Indiana state line. On
March 21 ,
1851 the CP&I was authorized to change the route west of
Covington , and a more northerly alignment was chosen to meet the
Indianapolis And Bellefontaine Railroad at
Union City, Indiana for access to
Indianapolis . The first section, from Columbus west to
Plain City , opened
June 6 ,
1853 . Extensions opened to
Urbana September 19 and
Piqua October 16 ,
1854 ; on the latter date it changed its
Rail Gauge to
Ohio Gauge to connect with the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine, which had also re-gauged. The rest of the line to Union City opened
March 25 ,
1859 after some financial problems. The CP&I was sold at
Foreclosure on
August 6 ,
1863 and reorganized
October 30 as the '''Columbus and Indianapolis Railroad'''.
The was chartered in
Ohio by the Indiana Central Railway and Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad on
March 12 ,
1862 to build a branch of the latter from
Bradford to the former at the
Indiana state line near
New Paris . The R&C opened in early
1863 , and the Indiana Central's joint operating contract with the
Dayton And Western Railroad was dissolved on
March 9 . On
January 10 ,
1864 the IC, C&I and R&C signed an agreement for joint operation as the '''Great Central Line''' between Columbus and Indianapolis, headed by the Indiana Central. The C&I bought the R&C on
September 5 ,
1864 . The Indiana Central Railway and Columbus and Indianapolis Railroad merged
October 19 to form the '''Columbus and Indianapolis Central Railway''', with a main line from
Columbus, Ohio to
Indianapolis, Indiana and a branch from
Bradford, Ohio to
Union City, Indiana .
The was chartered
February 16 ,
1848 in
Indiana to build a line from
New Castle east via
Hagerstown and
Washington to
Richmond . The company was authorized on
January 24 ,
1851 to extend northwest beyond New Castle to
Lafayette . On
February 26 ,
1853 it was renamed the '''Cincinnati, Logansport and Chicago Railway''' to better reflect its expanded role. The original line opened between New Castle and Richmond in
December 1853 , and it was operated jointly with the
Richmond And Miami Railroad and
Eaton And Hamilton Railroad , which continued the line southwest to
Hamilton, Ohio . The
Cincinnati, Hamilton And Dayton Railroad , connecting Hamilton to
Cincinnati , joined the operations on
February 1 ,
1854 .
The was incorporated in
Indiana on
January 25 ,
1853 , to build from
New Castle southeast via
Cambridge to the
Ohio state line; the '''Cincinnati, New Castle and Michigan Railroad''' was incorporated
April 11 of the same year to build northwest from New Castle towards
St. Joseph, Michigan . The two companies merged
May 1 ,
1854 to form the '''Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad'''. On
October 10 ,
1854 the Cincinnati, Logansport and Chicago Railway was merged into the Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad. The unfinished line between
Richmond and
Logansport was leased to
John W. Wright And Company on
October 16 ,
1856 . That company began operating it on
December 1 , and the joint operation towards Cincinnati ended. The full line between Richmond and Logansport opened on
July 4 ,
1857 . That line was sold at
Foreclosure on
April 28 ,
1860 and reorganized
July 10 as the '''Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line Railroad'''. Grading had been done from
Wabash southeast to the
Ohio state line; portions were later sold to the
Fort Wayne And Southern Railroad and
Connersville And New Castle Junction Railroad .
On
September 25 ,
1857 the was chartered in
Indiana to build a line from
Logansport northwest to
Valparaiso . That line opened in
1861 , connecting at Valparaiso with the
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne And Chicago Railway to
Chicago . The Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line opened a bridge over the
Wabash River at
Logansport on
September 25 ,
1861 , connecting it to the Chicago and Cincinnati. Joint operation between Richmond and Chicago began
July 1 ,
1862 and ended
January 29 ,
1865 .
The was chartered in
Illinois on
February 18 ,
1857 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 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&MW 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 .
map of the Columbus and Indiana Central 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 . 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 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, Ohio to
Chicago, Illinois and
Indianapolis, Indiana , 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 .
map]]
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 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'''.
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 .
The PCC&StL was merged into the
Philadelphia, Baltimore And Washington Railroad on
April 2 ,
1956 .
;
Chartiers
;New Cumberland
;Wheeling
;Muncie
;Effner
;Shelbyville
;Madison
