Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company

The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad was founded in 1871 and it was originally designed to span the distance from the Ohio River through the coal fields of southeastern Ohio to the ports on Lake Erie. By 1877, only 13.5 miles of track had been laid, and the railroad tycoon was jokingly called the "Wailing and Leg Weary." After several early financial embarrassments, including a complete shut down in 1879, Jay Gould began buying large amounts of Wheeling's stock the following year. With the fresh influx of financing, construction resumed.

The Cleveland, Canton and Southern Railroad (CC&S) originated as the Youngstown and Connotton Valley Railway. It was organized August 29, 1877 to construct a line from Bowerston (south of Canton, Ohio) to Youngstown. The Youngstown and Connotton Valley purchased the bankrupt Ohio and Toledo Railroad in 1878, which ran from Carrollton to Oneida, and shortened its name to Connotton Valley Railroad Co. The Connotton Valley Railroad Co. continued to expand its line, and by 1885 the Connotton Valley road had a total of 160.59 miles of narrow gauge (three foot wide) track in operation from Cleveland to Coshocton. In Cleveland, the Connotton Valley's tracks extended along Canal Street to the corner of Cleveland, and the Connotton Valley's tracks extended along Canal Street to the corner of Ontario and Huron Avenues, where a new passenger depot was opened in 1883. Most of the road's freight was coal and the Union Rolling Mill companies. Sold under foreclosure to bondholders on May 9, 1885, the railroad renamed as the Cleveland and Canton Railway. Tracks were converted to standard-gauge over the next three years and merges with three smaller railroads in May 1892 expanded the line to Zanesville. The Cleveland and Canton added Southern to its name to better describe the 209.59 miles of track it now operated.

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