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Toledo, St. Louis & Western

The Toledo, Delphos & Indianapolis was organized in 1877 and that year opened a three-foot gauge line a few miles north from Delphos, Ohio. Two years later, it became part of the Toledo, Delphos & Burlington, a consolidation of four railroads. The TD&B had as its goal a three-foot-gauge line from Toledo to Burlington, Iowa. The line was opened from Toledo to Kokomo, Ind., in 1880. It began extending south, buying up railroads to form a line south through Dayton to Cincinnati and Ironton, Ohio. Then it got caught up in a proposal to assemble a narrow-gauge line all the way from Toledo to Mexico City. The line was opened from Toledo to East St. Louis, Ill., in 1883, and the company collapsed soon afterward. The lines south of Delphos to Cincinnati and Ironton were spun off to eventually become standard gauge pieces of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, the Pennsylvania, and the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton. The Toledo-East St. Louis line was nearly dead when gas and oil were discovered along the line. It was reorganized as the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railroad, and adopted a clover leaf as its emblem. Trackage east of Frankfort, Ind., was converted to standard gauge on June 25, 1887; the remainder of the line was converted two years later. The road developed a good freight business, particularly in eastbound livestock and perishables received from connections at East St. Louis.

The TStL&KC went bankrupt in 1893. The court proceedings included William Howard Taft as judge and Benjamin Harrison as counsel. The railroad was sold to its bondholders and became the Toledo, St.Louis & Western. It continued as a fast freight line, particularly in competition with the Wabash. In contrast to many midwestern roads, the TStL&W got along well with neighboring interurbans, even filing joint passenger tariffs. In 1903, the Clover Leaf acquired a half interest in the Detroit & Toledo Shore Line. In 1907, it purchased control of the Alton. the TStL&W issued bonds to finance the purchase; interest on the bonds brought on another receivership in 1914.