The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway Company, also known as the Big Four Railroad and commonly abbreviated CCC&StL, was a railroad company in the United States. Its main routes were in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

History

The railroad was formed on June 30, 1889 by the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway Company , the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway Company and the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railway Company . The railroad once operated a terminal at Bellefontaine, Ohio which included the largest roundhouse in use at that time between New York and St. Louis.

In 1922, the Big Four was acquired by the New York Central Railroad. The Big Four's lines were incorporated into Penn Central in 1968 with the merger of New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad. When Penn Central declared bankruptcy two years later, Big Four's lines were nationalised through the state-run Conrail. Conrail closed the Bellefontaine terminal in 1983, and the roundhouse was dismantled. Conrail was later privatised, and sold in 1999 to CSX and Norfolk Southern.

See also

• Melville E. Ingalls - railroad president 1889–1905.