Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway Co. Issued to and Signed by Collis Potter Huntington - 1887 and 1889 dated Autographed Railroad Stock Certificate

Stock issued to and signed by C.P. Huntington on back. One of the "Big Four". Rare! Different version of AG2330.

Collis Potter Huntington, born on October 22, 1821, was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the prominent figures in western railroading, alongside Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker. Huntington played a crucial role in investing in Theodore Judah’s vision for the Central Pacific Railroad, which became the first U.S. transcontinental railroad. Beyond the Central Pacific, Huntington spearheaded the development of other significant interstate lines, including the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O). He was specifically recruited to help complete the C&O, which was completed in 1873. This railroad fulfilled a long-cherished dream of Virginians, establishing a rail link from the James River at Richmond to the Ohio River Valley. The new railroad facilities near the river in West Virginia led to the expansion of the former small town of Guyandotte, transforming it into a part of a new city named Huntington in his honor.

Turning his attention to the eastern end of the line at Richmond, Huntington oversaw the C&O’s Peninsula Extension in 1881–82. This expansion opened a pathway for West Virginia bituminous coal to reach new coal piers on the harbor of Hampton Roads, facilitating export shipping. Huntington is also credited with the development of Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and the incorporation of Newport News, Virginia, as a new independent city. After his passing, his nephew Henry E. Huntington and his stepson Archer M. Huntington continued his work at Newport News. All three are regarded as founding fathers of the community, and local features bear their names in honor of them.

The Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Chicago Railway (CISL&C) was a railroad operating in the United States. It emerged from the 1880 corporate restructuring of the bankrupt Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Lafayette Railroad (IC&L). The CISL&C operated a railroad line from Cincinnati via Indianapolis to Lafayette, resulting from the 1867 merger of the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Railroad (I&C), the Lafayette and Indianapolis Railroad (L&I), and the Cincinnati and Indiana Railroad (C&I). These three predecessor companies had been established in 1850, 1846, and 1861, respectively.

The CISL&C controlled and operated numerous subsidiary railway companies that operated smaller branch lines. These included:

• Cincinnati, Lafayette, and Chicago Railroad, which ran from Templeton, Indiana, to Kenkakee, Illinois, was notable for its through service (1872) with the Illinois Central Railroad via Kankakee, Illinois. This service eventually became the sole Amtrak service that utilized Central Station in Chicago. (Amtrak relocated to Union Station in 1972.)
• The Columbus, Hope, and Greensburg Railroad, originating from Columbus, Indiana, extended to Greensburg, Indiana.
• The Harrison Branch Railroad was another railway.

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, commonly referred to as the Big Four.

Read More

Read Less