Main Line (Pittsburgh to St. Louis)

Last updated

The Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania west via Steubenville, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Vandalia, Illinois to East St. Louis, Illinois. [1] In addition to its east end in downtown Pittsburgh, where it met the Main Line and Pittsburgh to Chicago Main Line, junctions included the Columbus to Chicago Main Line at Columbus, the C&X Branch (to Cincinnati) at Xenia, the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford (a freight bypass of Dayton) at New Paris, the Richmond Branch and Fort Wayne Branch at Richmond, the Louisville Branch and I&F Branch at Indianapolis, and the Peoria Branch at Farrington, Illinois.

Contents

Large portions of the line have been abandoned; the only major pieces still in use are from Mingo Junction (west of Steubenville) to Columbus, operated by the Columbus and Ohio River Rail Road (Ohio Central Railroad System), and west of Terre Haute, operated by CSX Transportation as part of its St. Louis Line Subdivision. Other existing pieces are from Rosslyn, Pennsylvania to Walkers Mill (Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad), Weirton Junction, West Virginia to Mingo Junction (Norfolk Southern Railway Weirton Secondary), Columbus to London, Ohio (NS Dayton District), Clement, Ohio to Dayton (NS), just east of Richmond, Indiana (NS New Castle District), and from Indianapolis to Ben Davis, Indiana (CSX Crawfordsville Branch Subdivision).[ citation needed ]

History

The Steubenville and Indiana Railroad opened a line from Steubenville west to Newark in 1853, [2] and 1854, [3] and 1855. [4] In 1857, it built a connection in Newark to the Central Ohio Railroad and signed a trackage rights agreement over the Central Ohio to Columbus; [5] it bought a one-half interest in that portion of the Central Ohio in 1864. [6] The Pennsylvania Railroad's Steubenville Extension, Pittsburg and Steubenville Railroad, and Steubenville Bridge across the Ohio River opened in 1865, connecting Pittsburgh to the Steubenville and Indiana. Both companies were operated as a continuous line by the Western Transportation Company until 1868, [7] when they merged to form the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway, [8] owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad.[ citation needed ]

The oldest part of the line was opened by the Columbus and Xenia Railroad in 1850, from Columbus west to Xenia. [9] The Dayton and Western Railroad opened from Dayton west to New Paris in 1853. The Indiana Central Railway also opened in 1853, continuing west from New Paris (on the Ohio/Indiana state line) to Indianapolis. [2] The Indiana Central began operating the Dayton and Western in 1854. [3] The Dayton, Xenia and Belpre Railroad opened in 1858, filling the gap between Xenia and Dayton, and was immediately leased by the Columbus and Xenia. [10] Operation of the Dayton and Western was transferred to the Columbus and Xenia by lease in 1863; [11] the Little Miami Railroad leased the Columbus and Xenia (and thus the line from Columbus to New Paris) in 1868. [8] The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway leased the Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway (the Indiana Central's successor) and the Little Miami in 1869, giving the PRR a line to Indianapolis (including an alternate route between Columbus and New Paris), fully operated by the PC&StL. [12]

The Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad opened the line from Indianapolis west to Terre Haute in 1852. [13] The line from East St. Louis east to Terre Haute was opened in 1868, [8] 1869, [12] and 1870 by the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad (in Illinois) and the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Rail Road, the Terre Haute and Richmond's successor (in Indiana). The entire line was operated by the Terre Haute and Indianapolis under lease [14] until 1905, when the two companies were merged into the Vandalia Railroad. [15]

The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (the PC&StL's successor) and the Vandalia Railroad merged in 1917 to form the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, [16] which the Pennsylvania Railroad leased in 1921. [17] The line passed to Penn Central Transportation in 1968 and Conrail in 1976, after which large portions were sold off or abandoned.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. It included the current Norfolk Southern-owned Fort Wayne Line east of Crestline, Ohio, to Pittsburgh, and the Fort Wayne Secondary, owned by CSX, from Crestline west to Tolleston in Gary, Indiana. CSX leased its entire portion in 2004 to the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad (CFE). The remaining portion of the line from Tolleston into Chicago is now part of the Norfolk Southern's Chicago District, with a small portion of the original PFW&C trackage abandoned in favor of the parallel lines of former competitors which are now part of the modern NS system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad</span> Railroad in the United States (1917–1956)

The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route, was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, which began at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, crossed the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, and continued west to Bradford, Ohio, where it split into a northern line to Chicago and a southern one through Indianapolis, Indiana, to East St. Louis, Illinois.

The Cincinnati and Richmond Railroad was part of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Company</span>

The Pennsylvania Company, later known publicly as the Pennsylvania Lines was a major holding company. It included the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, the PRR's main route to Chicago. It also owned but did not operate the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, another line to Chicago. It merged back into the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1918.

The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway (CCC&I) was formed from the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad (CC&C) with the Bellefontaine Railway in 1868. The Bellefontaine had been formed by a merger of the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad and the Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad in 1864. Two key figures in its construction were Cyrus Ball and Albert S. White.

The Keystone Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. The line includes the well-known Sand Patch Grade over the Allegheny Mountains.

The St. Louis Line Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Indiana and Illinois. The line runs from Indianapolis, Indiana, west-southwesterly to East St. Louis, Illinois, along a former Conrail line, partly former New York Central Railroad trackage and partly former Pennsylvania Railroad trackage.

The Sandusky District is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from Columbus north to Sandusky along a former Pennsylvania Railroad line. At its south end, it junctions or comes close to the Columbus District, Dayton District, and West Virginia Secondary. On the way to the Chicago Line at Sandusky, it meets the Chicago Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad at Bucyrus and the Fostoria District and Cleveland District at Bellevue.

The New Castle District is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of Ohio and Indiana. The line runs from Evendale northwest and north to Fort Wayne, Indiana along former Pennsylvania Railroad and New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad lines. Its south end is at Evendale, where it meets the Dayton District and Indiana and Ohio Railway's Oasis Subdivision. It runs along a piece of CSX Transportation's Toledo Subdivision from Hamilton north to New Miami, Ohio using trackage rights. The New Castle District junctions the Frankfort District at Muncie, Indiana. In Fort Wayne, it crosses the Huntington District and ends at the Chicago District.

The Dayton District is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from Columbus southwest to Cincinnati along former Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad lines. Its east end is at or near the Columbus District, Sandusky District, and West Virginia Secondary; its south end is in Ivorydale, where it meets the Indiana and Ohio Railway's Midland Subdivision, and just past that in Winton Place, where it meets CSX Transportation's Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision. Along the way, it junctions the New Castle District at Evendale.

The New Castle Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line ran from New Castle north to Stoneboro, and is now entirely abandoned. At its south end, the line intersected the Erie and Pittsburgh Branch and Mahoningtown Branch. When the New Castle Branch ended at Stoneboro, the PRR had trackage rights east along the New York Central Railroad's Stoneboro Branch to Oil City and the Allegheny Branch, Chautauqua Branch, and Salamanca Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butler Branch (Indiana)</span>

The Butler Branch is a historic railroad line that operated in Indiana, USA. It ran between the city of Logansport on the Wabash River in north central Indiana and the namesake town of Butler near the Ohio border in northeastern Indiana.

The Fort Wayne Line and Fort Wayne Secondary is a rail line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad (CFE), and CSX Transportation in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. The line runs from Pittsburgh, west via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Gary, Indiana, along what was once the Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh to Chicago main line.

The Columbus to Chicago Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Columbus, Ohio northwest via Logansport, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. Junctions included the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford, which split at Bradford to reach the Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line at New Paris, Ohio; the Fort Wayne Branch at Ridgeville, Indiana; the Richmond Branch at Anoka, Indiana; and the South Bend Branch and I&F Branch at Logansport.

The Columbus to Indianapolis via Bradford Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. state of Ohio.

The Pennsylvania, Ohio and Detroit Railroad was a railroad company in the U.S. states of Ohio and Michigan that existed from 1926 to 1956. Its sole purpose was to simplify the corporate structure of the Pennsylvania Railroad by merging subsidiaries into a common company leased to the PRR; the PO&D was merged into the Connecting Railway in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xenia Station</span>

Xenia Station, located at 150 Miami Avenue in Xenia, Ohio, in the United States, is a replica of Xenia's 1880s brick railroad station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vandalia Railroad (1905–1917)</span>

The Vandalia Railroad Company was incorporated January 1, 1905, by a merger of several lines in Indiana and Illinois that formed a 471-mile railroad consisting of lines mostly west of Indianapolis.

References

  1. ↑ Pennsylvania Railroad, "Western Region employee timetable" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-04-21. (23.3  MiB), April 30, 1967
  2. 1 2 "PRR Chronology, 1853" (PDF). (91.5  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  3. 1 2 "PRR Chronology, 1854" (PDF). (79.1  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  4. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1855" (PDF). (47.0  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  5. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1857" (PDF). (54.1  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  6. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1864" (PDF). (109  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  7. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1865" (PDF). (110  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  8. 1 2 3 "PRR Chronology, 1868" (PDF). (93.8  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  9. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1850" (PDF). (49.7  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  10. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1858" (PDF). (56.8  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  11. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1863" (PDF). (140  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  12. 1 2 "PRR Chronology, 1869" (PDF). (114  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  13. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1852" (PDF). (83.5  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  14. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1870" (PDF). (57.0  KiB), January 2005 Edition
  15. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1905" (PDF). (73.4  KiB), March 2005 Edition
  16. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1917" (PDF). (110  KiB), June 2004 Edition
  17. ↑ "PRR Chronology, 1921" (PDF). (100  KiB), June 2004 Edition
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.