Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Rail Road Co. - 1860's dated Railway Payment Receipt

Scrip in payment of Stock dividends printed on blue paper. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad (CP&A), commonly referred to as the Cleveland and Erie Railroad, the Cleveland and Buffalo Railroad, and the Lake Shore Railroad, was a railway that extended from Cleveland, Ohio, to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Established in 1848, the line commenced operations in 1852. This railroad completed the connection between Buffalo, New York, and Chicago, Illinois. The CP&A linked with the Franklin Canal Company (FCC) at the state border, a Pennsylvania-based entity. Both the FCC and CP&A utilized the same track gauge, allowing the CP&A to manage both rail lines. At Erie, Pennsylvania, the FCC interlinked with the Erie and North East Railroad. The Erie Gauge War, which took place from late 1853 to early 1854, arose when the Erie & North East, a broad-gauge railway, adjusted its gauge to align with that of the CP&A. The resolution of this dispute resulted in the CP&A acquiring the FCC completely. In the 1860s, the CP&A was among the most lucrative railroad lines in the United States and was rebranded as the Lake Shore Railway in 1868. It subsequently merged with the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad in 1869, leading to the formation of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad.