Cleveland Lorain and Wheeling Railway stock certificate c1901 (Ohio) 

OH short line RR . Nice double vignette with a steam train to the left and a grain elevator to the right. Unissued and not cancelled. Dated 19__ on the stub but circa 1901 from issued examples. Measuring approximately 12 x 7.75 inches. 

Selah Chamberlain, Worthy S. Streator, Robert L. Chamberlain, and Andrew J. Baggs filed a charter on March 1, 1883, to incorporate the Cleveland, Lorain, and Wheeling Railway (CL&W), which would assume the assets of the Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley, and Wheeling Railway (chartered in 1877).

In 1898, a high-level bridge crossing of the Ohio River was made at Bellaire, connecting the CL&W with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). In December 1901, the B&O purchased $2.7 million of preferred stock in the CL&W, giving it a controlling interest in the company. The B&O made additional purchases of CL&W stock over the next six years, until in March 1908 it purchased all remaining outstanding shares and made the CL&W a subsidiary of the road.

The CL&W remained part of the B&O until 1963. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad fought for control of the B&O. But beginning in 1960, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) began purchasing large quantities of B&O preferred stock. By March 1962 it controlled 60 percent of the B&O. But the Pennsylvania and the New York Central agreed to a merger in March 1962, putting an end to this competition. The C&O then sought sole ownership of the B&O, and succeeded in acquiring the New York Central's 20 percent share. The merger was approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission in March 1963.

The C&O formed a holding company, the Chessie System, in 1973. The B&O continued to operate as a distinct company under the Chessie System. The Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line Industries (owner of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the Clinchfield Railroad, and the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company) on November 1, 1980, to form CSX Corporation.

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