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Private company

Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad

Former American Class I railroad (1881–1922)

The Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, often abbreviated TStL&W and commonly known as the Clover Leaf, was a railroad company that operated in northwestern Ohio, north central Indiana, and south central Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.2 It was founded in 1900.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1900Founded1

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Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad system map (1918)
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. NE2 assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, often abbreviated TStL&W and commonly known as the Clover Leaf, was a railroad company that operated in northwestern Ohio, north central Indiana, and south central Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.2

The story

The TStL&W originated with the Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, a company formed in February 1881 as a consolidation of several smaller, 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge lines connecting the Ohio cities of Toledo and Cincinnati with St. Louis, Missouri. Soon in financial difficulties, the company dropped its Cincinnati arm and reorganized in June 1886 as the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad and over the next two to three years converted its lines to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.

The following constituent companies formed the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad:

Toledo, Dupont and Western Railway of Ohio

Bluffton, Kokomo and Southwestern Railroad of Indiana

Toledo, Charleston and St. Louis Railroad of Illinois

The Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City was reorganized in 1900 and renamed as the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad. It operated 450.72 miles of line between Toledo and East St. Louis. The Clover Leaf became part of the larger New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (the "Nickel Plate") on December 28, 1922, which eventually became part of Norfolk Southern.

From Wikipedia’s article on Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad1
  2. Succeeded by New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad1

Timeline

  1. 1900Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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