Clover Leaf

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The Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railroad became part of the Nickel Plate on December 28, 1922. Finally, after forty years the New York Chicago & St. Louis reached St. Louis. For the Clover Leaf, the TStL&W's nickname, their line from Toledo to St. Louis was nearly ten years in building. The Toledo & Maumee began it all in 1874 with a seven mile narrow gauge line along the Miami & Erie Canal in Toledo, Ohio. The final stretch from Charleston to St. Louis was completed in 1882, after fourteen sections had been completed earlier. 

The consolidation of several narrow gauge lines formed the Toledo, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad in February 1881. The TC&StL&W, often called the Little Giant, fell into financial trouble almost as soon as it opened and was reorganized on June 12,1886, as the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railroad, shorn of its Cincinnati line. It was at this time that the Clover Leaf was born. The following year the line from Toledo to Frankfort, Indiana was widened to the standard gauge. It was nearly two years before the Frankfort-St. Louis portion was completed. Unfortunately, the Clover Leaf was beset with high overhead, low profits, and stiff competition. These facts stifled growth and denied the Clover Leaf luxuries enjoyed by other railroads. So the wandering Clover Leaf brought to the Nickel Plate a road that opened up valuable connections through the St. Louis gateway, while presenting difficult operating and engineering problems. 

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