The CCC&I came into existence on May 16, 1868, as a merger of the Bellefontaine Railroad and the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. At its inception it had 83 locomotives, 47 of which came from the CC&C and 36 from the Bellefontaine.
The Erie & Kalamazoo Rail Road was the first railroad completed west of the Allegheny Mountains.
In April 1833, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad company was given a charter to start the building of a railroad. The Palmyra Jacksonburgh Railroad was the first railway in the state of Michigan. It was built in 1837 - the year that Michigan became a state - as the Tecumseh branch.
The Buffalo and State Line Railroad was incorporated October 13, 1849, and opened January 1, 1852, from Dunkirk, New York, west to Pennsylvania. The rest of the line from Dunkirk to Buffalo opened on February 22. The Erie and North East Railroad was chartered April 12, 1842, to build the part from the state line west to Erie, and opened on January 19, 1852.
For the first few decades of Indianapolis’ existence, regular theatrical entertainment wasn’t on the top of most Hoosiers’ priority lists.
The first bridge only lasted until 1866, when it was considered inadequate for the ever-increasing loads carried by the railroad. It was replaced by a heavier wooden structure, which reused the original piers.