Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway

The Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway (CISL&C) was a railroad in the United States.

Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway
Map
Gold Bond of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway, issued 14. September 1889
Overview
LocaleIllinois, Indiana, & Ohio
Dates of operation1867 (1867)–1889 (1889)
PredecessorsIndianapolis and Cincinnati Railroad, Lafayette and Indianapolis Railroad, Cincinnati and Indiana Railroad
SuccessorCleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway

The CISL&C resulted from the 1880 corporate restructuring of the bankrupt Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette Railroad (IC&L). The CISL&C operated a railroad line from Cincinnati via Indianapolis to Lafayette, being the result of an 1867 merger of the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Railroad (I&C), the Lafayette and Indianapolis Railroad (L&I), and the Cincinnati and Indiana Railroad (C&I). The three predecessor companies had been founded in 1850, 1846, and 1861, respectively.

The CISL&C controlled and operated numerous subsidiary railway companies operating smaller branch lines. These included:

In 1889, the railway merged with the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway and the Indianapolis and St Louis Railway to form the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known collectively as the Big Four.