The Rail History of Elwood, Indiana - Quincy's First Rail Line

The Rail History

of Elwood, Indiana

Quincy's First Rail Line

The Corporate Genealogy and Timeline

for the First Rail Line into Quincy

Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad Co. (No. 2)

Updated: October 17, 2013

Revised: August 20, 2021

The Pan Handle Freight House (left); and the Passenger Station (center) built in 1894

The Corporate Genealogy and Timeline

1857 -- Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad Co. (No. 2)

1860 -- Cincinnati & Chicago Air Line Railroad Co.

1865 -- Chicago & Great Eastern Railway Co. (No. 4)

1868 -- Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central Railway Co.

1869 -- Pennsylvania RR, lease Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central

1884 -- Chicago, St. Louis & Pittsburgh Railroad Co. (of Indiana)

1884 -- Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Company

1890 -- Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co.

1917 -- Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Co.

1921 -- Pennsylvania Railroad, lease PCC&StL (for 999 years)

1957 -- PCC&StL ownership transfer to:

*Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad

1968 -- Penn Central – February 1, 1968

1976 -- CONRAIL abandoned the line on April 1, 1976 – END OF THE LINE

*Well, almost. The date seemed appropriate . . . the Penn Central crew the day

before inadvertently left cars on the siding across from the depot. CONRAIL had

to come to ELWOOD for one (1) day to retrieve those cars. I know. There was an

eyewitness.

Verification

It was a dark and stormy night. The very next day, March 6, 1857, The Democratic

Standard (an Anderson newspaper), started a series of reports about the first rail line that

was to pass through Quincy. The town wouldn't change its name to Elwood for another

dozen years or so.

Statements and recollections regarding dates and names surrounding the building of the

first rail line through Quincy that are contrary to accounts on record have been repeated

endlessly to this day. Newspapers, books and current websites perpetuate accounts in

conflict with available records. The first leg of this journey consists of transcribed articles

from The Democratic Standard describing the events as they unfolded.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

March 6, 1857

Railroads in Anderson

There is now every prospect for an early completion of the Cincinnati & Chicago Rail Road, under the

management of J. W. Wright & Co., every thing seems to prosper. Men are busy at all points between here and

Kokomo grading and laying track. There is now on hand a large amount of iron, ties, etc., which will be

immediately put down. There is no doubt but that this road will be in good running order by the 1st of May to

Logansport. The I. P. & C. R. R1 is also doing a fine business. Why is it that Anderson having these advantages

cannot go ahead and be one of the best towns in this part of Indiana? It depends upon the citizens to say it shall

and it will.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

March 20, 1857

Local and Miscellaneous

We understand that the track laying of the Cincinnati & Chicago R. R., will be completed to Frankton this

week. We are informed, however, that there will be no regular passenger train run further than Anderson, until

the road is completed to Kokomo, which will be sometime in June next.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

April 3, 1857

Local and Miscellaneous

On last week the C. & C. R. R. track was finished to Frankton to which point goods are now conveyed by Mr.

Frank Olmstead’s train, and a more obliging conductor and engineer is hard to find.

Mr. Wilson, the gentleman having charge of the track laying of this road is entitled to much credit for the

workmanlike manner in which he has performed his duties.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

April 10, 1857

Cincinnati & Chicago Rail Road

This road is now finished some 12 miles beyond Anderson North West. The grading is all done to Kokomo,

which is 36 miles from this place, and but 24 miles of iron yet to lay. We may hope it will soon be completed,

which will be a direct route from Logansport and the Wabash Valley, to Cincinnati, via., Anderson.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

June 12, 1857

Local and Miscellaneous

We enjoyed very much a ride out to Quincy on last Saturday, on Mr. Frank Olmstead’s gravel train. Frank is

indeed a clever and industrious young gentleman and is filling his post to great advantage to the company. May

his run through life be as pleasant as it has been on the road from here to Quincy.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

June 26, 1857

Opening of the Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad to Logansport

The 4th of July will be celebrated at Logansport, where a dinner will be prepared and a speech will be

delivered by Hon. D. D. Pratt, of Logansport.

As the Cin. & Chicago R. R. will be completed, its opening will be celebrated at that time by an Excursion

Train from Cincinnati to Logansport on the 3rd of July, leaving Cincinnati at 5:30 A. M. Leaving Richmond

8:30 A. M. and return on the evening of the 4th. Fare on this train half the usual rates. The citizens of

Logansport have invited the State officers and the municipal authorities of Cincinnati, Hamilton, Dayton,

Richmond, Newcastle, and Andersontown, and the lessees have invited their railroad friends to be with them at

that time. Free passes over the road, and entertainment will be furnished to all such invited quests at

Logansport.

Ample provisions are being made by the citizens of Logansport to accommodate all persons visiting their

town on that occasion.

Half fare tickets to Logansport and return will be sold at all regular stations where tickets are now sold, good

from date until the 10th of July.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

July 3, 1857

Local and Miscellaneous

The excursion train from Cincinnati to Logansport will arrive at Anderson at 11 o’clock today and the

passengers will be treated to a free dinner in Stillwell’s Warehouse.

The Democratic Standard

Anderson, Indiana

July 10, 1857

The C. & C. Rail Road

The iron is laid on this road north as far as Logansport. The opening of the road was celebrated at Logansport

on the fourth of July. Quite a large number of persons were present at Logansport, from Cincinnati, Hamilton,

Eaton and other places. Everything passed off harmoniously, and as far as we are advised, to the satisfaction of

all present.

It being the Anniversary of American Independence, that memorable day of American Independence was

celebrated in connection with the opening of the road.

Hon. G. N. Fitch, U. S. Senator for Indiana, was the orator of the day. He delivered a patriotic discourse. The

exercises consisted of reading the Declaration of Independence, vocal and instrumental music, toasts, speeches,

etc. No accident happened to the trains or passengers worthy of notice. Passengers can now leave Logansport in

the morning and arrive at Cincinnati in the evening.

Summary

Work on this stretch of railroad started well before 1857. But several corporate decisions

prevented it from being completed to Logansport until 1857. The rails were not in place

until after the first of the year in 1857. The July 4 trip by train to Quincy in celebration of

the opening of this line was in 1857. Any speculation that the line might have been in

service any time prior to 1857 is inconsistent with corporate records and accounts of the

day.

The name of the corporate entity responsible for the building of the first line through Quincy

was the Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad Company (No. 2). The railroad so often credited with

building the line, the Cincinnati & Chicago Air Line Railroad Company, did not become a

corporate entity until the year 1860. It could not have been the railroad involved in 1856

and 1857.

1

The IP&C RR was the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago Railroad that ran from through Tipton, Indiana.

It later became part of the LE&W (Lake Erie & Western) and eventually the Nickel Plate Road.

But the devil is in the details . . . and here they are . . . starting in 1848.

The New Castle and Richmond Railroad 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 Cincinnati, Cambridge and Chicago Short Line Railway 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

(No. 1).

Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad (No. 2) – August/October 1854

On October 10, 1854 the Cincinnati, Logansport and Chicago Railway was merged into the

Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad (No. 2). 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 Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad 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 Galena and Illinois River Railroad 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 Chicago & Great Eastern Railway absorbed the Cincinnati and

Chicago Air Line Railroad and Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad.

The Marion and Mississinewa Valley Railroad 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.

On September 11, 1867 the Columbus and Indianapolis Central Railway, Union and

Logansport Railroad and Toledo, Logansport and Burlington Railway merged to form the

Columbus and Indiana Central Railway. 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 Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway 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 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.

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 Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad 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 Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.

The PCC&StL was leased by the PRR on January 1, 1921, and merged into the

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad on April 2, 1956.

Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad

Cincinnati and Chicago Air Line Railroad

Chicago & Great Eastern Railway

Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway

Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad

PRR

Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad

Penn Central

CONRAIL (line abandoned in 1976)

References:

The Democratic Standard – Anderson, Indiana 1857

Anderson Public Library – Indiana Room

Corporate Genealogy

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway - The Panhandle

http://www.div11-mcr-nmra.info/PRRhist/pcc_stl.htm

Marvin Crim

WLWHS 1957

I_Quincy’s_First_Rail_Line.docx