Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Co. - $1,000 Unissued Railroad Bond - Also Known as the Big Four Railroad
Inv# RB5040C Bond
Ohio
$1,000 4% Unissued Railroad Bond printed by American Bank Note Company, New York. Super triple vignette of 2 female figures and a steam train on each side. 4 full pages of coupons remain.
The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway, commonly known as the Big Four Railroad or CCC&StL, was a prominent railroad company operating in the Midwestern United States. It maintained a strategic alliance with the New York Central system. The company’s primary routes extended across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. By the end of 1925, the railroad had amassed an impressive network of 2,391 route-miles and 4,608 track-miles. That year, it generated substantial revenue, carrying 8,180 million net ton-miles of freight and 488 million passenger-miles.
The railroad’s origins can be traced back to June 30, 1889, when it was formed through the merger of three distinct railway companies: the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis Railway, the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Chicago Railway, and the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railway. The following year, the company’s reach expanded further when it acquired control of the former Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway. This acquisition was achieved through the foreclosure of the Ohio, Indiana and Western Railway and through an operating agreement with the Peoria and Eastern Railway.
In 1906, the Big Four railroad was acquired by the New York Central Railroad, which operated it as a separate entity until around 1930. Later, in 1968, the Big Four’s lines were incorporated into Penn Central, which was formed by the merger of the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad. However, Penn Central declared bankruptcy in 1970, leading to the inclusion of many of the Big Four’s lines in the government-sponsored Conrail in 1976. Conrail was privatized in 1987 and subsequently jointly acquired by CSX and Norfolk Southern in 1997. The railroad was headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Chesapeake Building on 105 South Meridian Street. Constructed in 1929, the building, also known as the Big Four Building, served as the railroad’s headquarters. In 1996, this multi-story structure underwent a transformation and became a Hampton Inn hotel.
A bond is a document of title for a loan. Bonds are issued, not only by businesses, but also by national, state or city governments, or other public bodies, or sometimes by individuals. Bonds are a loan to the company or other body. They are normally repayable within a stated period of time. Bonds earn interest at a fixed rate, which must usually be paid by the undertaking regardless of its financial results. A bondholder is a creditor of the undertaking.
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