CINCINNATI, INDIANAPOLIS, ST. LOUIS AND CHICAGO RAILWAY

The 'Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway' was the name given after an 1880 foreclosure reorganization to the former 'Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette Railroad'. The Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette, in turn, was the result of a merger in 1867 of the 'Indianapolis and Cincinnati Railroad', the 'Lafayette and Indianapolis Railroad', and the 'Cincinnati and Indiana Railroad', and operated a railroad line from Cincinnati via Indianapolis to Lafayette. The original three predecessor companies had been founded in 1850, 1846 and 1861, respectively. (The Indianapolis and Cincinnati had originally (1850-53) borne the name 'Lawrenceburg and Upper Mississippi Railroad'.)
The Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago also controlled and operated numerous railway companies operating smaller branch lines. These included the 'Cincinnati, Lafayette and Chicago Railroad', which ran from Templeton, Indiana to Kankakee, Illinois, the 'Columbus, Hope and Greensburg Railroad' from Columbus, Indiana to Greensburg, Indiana, and the 'Harrison Branch Railroad'.
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 as the 'Big Four'.