Cincinnati, Cambridge and Chicago Short Line Railway

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Steubenville and Indiana Railroad, Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad, Panhandle Railway, Columbus and Indianapolis Central Railway, Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway, among others
Founded	1848 (as Steubenville and Indiana Railroad)
Fate	Integrated into Pennsylvania Railroad network
Headquarters	Pittsburgh, United States
Area served	Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
Products	Rail transport services

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Cincinnati, Cambridge and Chicago Short Line Railway, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 27 November 2025

The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the Pan Handle Route (later shortened to Panhandle Route), was integrated into the Pennsylvania Railroad network. Its principal line extended from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania through the Northern Panhandle region of West Virginia to Bradford, Ohio, where it divided, with one branch heading northward to Chicago and another running south through Indianapolis toward East St. Louis.

Pittsburgh to Columbus (1848–1869)

Initially chartered in Ohio in 1848 as the Steubenville and Indiana Railroad (S&I), the company aimed to construct a westward line from Steubenville on the Ohio River to the Indiana border via Mount Vernon. In 1849, authorization was granted to build a bridge at Steubenville along with a branch line extending to Columbus. Construction commenced across the entire planned route in late 1851.

The first portion of track opened on December 22, 1853, connecting Steubenville to Unionport; by April 1855, the line had been extended to Newark but initially lacked direct connections there. A 1854 agreement with the Central Ohio Railroad permitted the use of tracks from Newark westward to Columbus; this linkage became operational in April 1857, supported financially by the Columbus and Xenia Railroad to establish a continuous route to Cincinnati. By 1864, S&I had acquired a fifty percent stake in the Newark-to-Columbus section.

The Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad (P&S), chartered in Pennsylvania in 1849 with the purpose of building westward from Pittsburgh toward the S&I line at the state boundary, received permission in 1852 to extend into Pittsburgh itself. The Pennsylvania Railroad created the Western Transportation Company in 1856 to oversee construction and operation of P&S.

In 1853, the president of S&I transferred rights-of-way across the Virginia Panhandle to P&S, enabling construction without requiring a separate charter—a tactical decision since Wheeling opposed P&S’s proposed bypass route. The Edgington and Wells Railroad operated briefly in 1854 but failed due to insufficient connections. To facilitate construction near modern-day Weirton, the Western Transportation Company chartered the Holliday's Cove Rail Road in 1860; this effort helped complete the Steubenville Railroad Bridge.

The entire P&S line officially opened on October 9, 1865, running from Pittsburgh’s Smithfield Street westward to Wheeling Junction at the eastern end of the Steubenville Bridge over the Ohio River—thereby linking S&I and P&S lines—and connected Pittsburgh via both the Monongahela River Bridge (also called Panhandle Bridge) and Grant's Hill Tunnel.

Following foreclosure proceedings in November 1867, P&S was sold to Panhandle Railway (chartered in 1861). On April 30, 1868, Panhandle Railway merged with S&I and Holliday's Cove Rail Road to form the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway; shortly thereafter, Western Transportation Company was dissolved.

Columbus to Indianapolis (1847–1867)

The Terre Haute & Richmond Railroad was chartered in 1847 with plans to build across Indiana through Indianapolis. On May 25, 1850, stockholders east of Indianapolis established a separate entity known as Terre Haute & Richmond Railroad (East of Indianapolis). This segment—from Indianapolis eastward to the Ohio border—was renamed Indiana Central Railway on January 20, 1851. Subsequently, on January 31, an Ohio statute authorized the Dayton and Western Railroad to merge operations with Indiana Central Railway. The section between Indianapolis and Greenfield opened in September 1853 and was completed up to the state line by October 8, connecting with Dayton and Western. Joint operations between Indianapolis and Dayton, Ohio commenced on August 1, 1854. In 1859, track gauge was changed from standard gauge to a broader Ohio gauge () allowing direct interchange with both Little Miami Railroad and Columbus and Xenia Railroad at Dayton.

Chartered on February 23, 1849 in Ohio, the Columbus, Piqua & Indiana Railroad was intended to run westward from Columbus through Urbana, Piqua, and Greenville reaching into Indiana. On March 21, 1851, CP&I modified its alignment west of Covington to connect with the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad at Union City, Indiana, thus securing access toward Indianapolis. The initial segment opened June 6, 1853 from Columbus to Plain City, extending service to Urbana by September 19 and reaching Piqua by October 16, 1854; on this latter date it adopted Ohio gauge () track width for compatibility with similarly re-gauged Indianapolis and Bellefontaine tracks. Despite financial difficulties delaying progress, CP&I reached Union City on March 25, 1859. Following foreclosure on August 6, 1863, it reorganized as Columbus and Indianapolis Railroad by October 30.

The Richmond and Covington Railroad was established in Ohio on March 12, 1862 by Indiana Central Railway alongside Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroad for constructing a branch line from Bradford westward toward Indiana near New Paris. R&C commenced operations early in 1863; shortly afterward Indiana Central ended its joint contract with Dayton and Western on March 9. On January 10, 1864 IC, C&I and R&C agreed upon joint management under Indiana Central’s leadership as the Great Central Line operating between Columbus and Indianapolis. The C&I acquired R&C on September 5 of that year. Subsequently on October 19 Indiana Central Railway merged with Columbus and Indianapolis Railroad creating Columbus and Indianapolis Central Railway featuring a main route from Columbus to Indianapolis plus a branch from Bradford to Union City.

Richmond to Chicago (1848–1865)

In 1848, the New Castle and Richmond Railroad was established in Indiana with the purpose of constructing a rail line from New Castle eastward to Richmond. In 1851, authorization was granted to extend the route northwest toward Lafayette. Reflecting its broadened scope, the company was renamed the Cincinnati, Logansport and Chicago Railway in 1853 and commenced operations between New Castle and Richmond that December. It collaborated with both the Richmond and Miami Railroad and Eaton and Hamilton Railroad to provide a southwest connection to Hamilton, Ohio. The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad joined this network in 1854, linking Hamilton to Cincinnati.

In 1853, two companies—the Cincinnati, Cambridge and Chicago Short Line Railway and the Cincinnati, New Castle and Michigan Railroad—consolidated in 1854 to create the Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad. Later that year, the Cincinnati, Logansport and Chicago Railway merged into this entity. The segment connecting Richmond to Logansport was completed in 1857; however, after foreclosure in 1860, it reorganized as the Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line Railroad. Some grading sections southeast of Wabash were divested to other railroads.

Chartered in 1857, the Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad aimed to construct a line from Logansport northwest to Valparaiso, opening in 1861 to link with the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway into Chicago. That same year, the Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line inaugurated a bridge over the Wabash River at Logansport, establishing a connection with the Chicago and Cincinnati. From 1862 through 1865, joint operations were maintained between Richmond and Chicago.

Realignments towards Chicago and mergers (1857–1869)

The Galena and Illinois River Railroad was chartered in Illinois in 1857 with plans to build from Galena through Chicago toward Indiana. In 1863, the Chicago and Great Eastern Railway was incorporated in Indiana to develop a line from Logansport northwest toward Chicago. After absorbing the Galena and Illinois River Railroad later that year, it inaugurated service from Chicago southward to connect with the Chicago and Cincinnati at La Crosse, Indiana by 1865, abandoning the previous northwest route from La Crosse to Valparaiso. During that same year, it also absorbed both the Cincinnati and Chicago Air-Line Railroad and the Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad.

The Marion and Mississinewa Valley Railroad (established in 1852) planned a northwest extension from Union City to Marion, while the Marion and Logansport Railroad continued from Marion to Logansport; these merged under the Union and Logansport Railroad in 1863.

By 1859, expansions westward from Logansport had reached Illinois through multiple reorganizations, forming part of a route circumventing Chicago en route to the U.S. West that would later become known as the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway.

In 1867, three railroads—the Columbus and Indianapolis Central Railway, Union and Logansport Railroad, and Toledo, Logansport and Burlington Railway—combined to form the Columbus and Indiana Central Railway; its principal line from Union City to Marion opened in October of that year.

On February 12, 1868, this entity merged with the Chicago and Great Eastern Railway to establish the Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway (CC&IC). By March 1868, its main line extending northwest from Marion to Anoka was completed, causing the former New Castle-Richmond route to be designated as a branch line. CC&IC operated primary routes linking Columbus, Chicago, and Indianapolis along with branch lines near Logansport extending southeast toward Richmond and westward toward Effner. Although Erie Railway presented lease proposals late in 1868, CC&IC ultimately entered into a lease agreement with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway beginning February 1, 1869.

Expansion (1869–1890)

On December 1, 1869 (effective retroactively to February 23, 1870), the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway took on a lease of the Little Miami Railroad, which encompassed the Columbus and Xenia Railroad, Dayton and Western Railroad, Dayton, Xenia and Belpre Railroad, and the Richmond and Miami Railway branch extending to Richmond, Indiana. This agreement enabled the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to establish a connection to Cincinnati.

By 1870, with the completion of the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad alongside the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Rail Road, PRR secured a continuous route reaching East St. Louis through PC&StL via Indianapolis.

Following the 1883 bankruptcy of the Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway, its assets were sold under foreclosure and transferred to newly formed Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad companies based in Indiana and Illinois. These entities consolidated in 1884 into a single Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Railroad. Subsequently, on September 30, 1890, this company merged with PC&StL, the Cincinnati and Richmond Railroad, and the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad to create the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (PCC&StL).

20th century

In 1891, PCC&StL obtained stock control of the Little Miami Railroad. On January 1, 1917, PCC&StL combined 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 PRR leased PCC&StL starting January 1, 1921; this arrangement culminated in a full merger into PRR's Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad on April 2, 1956.

Current use

Various segments of the original line have been adapted for transit or recreational purposes. The easternmost portion—from Pittsburgh’s Union Station through the Panhandle Tunnel across the Panhandle Bridge to Station Square—now serves as part of the Pittsburgh Light Rail network. Beyond this point to Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood, it forms a section of Norfolk Southern's Mon Line. The corridor extending from Sheraden to Carnegie, Pennsylvania has been converted into the West Busway dedicated solely to bus traffic.

Rail infrastructure remains intact from Carnegie to Walkers Mill, Pennsylvania, under ownership of the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad, although it has been inactive since mid-2015 and is anticipated to be dismantled for development of the Panhandle Trail. The stretch between Walkers Mill and Weirton, West Virginia was removed by Conrail in 1996 and re-purposed as the Panhandle Trail for cycling and pedestrian use.

Rails continue from Weirton toward Columbus: from Weirton to Mingo Junction supporting multiple rail operators; while from Mingo Junction to Columbus it forms part of the Columbus and Ohio River Railroad. In Piqua, Ohio, a segment has been transformed into a linear park. The track between Logansport and Chicago is abandoned; however, sections have been converted into trails such as Chicago’s Major Taylor Trail and the Pennsy Greenway stretching between Lansing, Illinois and Schererville, Indiana.

Branches

External links