Lake Erie & Western

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The acquisition of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad in 1922 united Nickel Plate with the railroad it had been built to complement forty years earlier. 

The Lake Erie & Western's Sandusky to Peoria mainline started in Ohio with the Fremont & Indiana Railroad Company on April 22, 1853. The Fremont & Indiana was incorporated to build a line from Fremont southwest towards the Indiana State line. As years passed, more trackage was laid and through acquisitions the line was completed in 1888. 

Crossing the LE&W at Tipton, Indiana was a line that extended from Indianapolis to Michigan City, Indiana. This line became part of the LE&W on April 8, 1887. Built by the Peru & Indianapolis, which was incorporated in Indiana on January 19, 1846, this was the first and oldest trackage on the Nickel Plate System. 

Another LE&W branch was a line that extended from Fort Wayne, through Muncie to Connersville. At New Castle a line split off to Rushville. This trackage was acquired by the LE&W in 1890. 

In 1895, the LE&W leased the Northern Ohio, a line that extended from Akron to Delphos, Ohio. This line, which eventually became the Akron, Canton & Youngstown, was omitted from the LE&W/NKP consolidation, but the Northern Ohio's debts nearly bankrupted the Nickel Plate during the 1930's. 

The Lake Erie & Western, itself, became part of the New York Central System in 1900. The LE&W was operated as a separate entity throughout its association, never integrated into NYC operation. After the Van Sweringens acquired the Nickel Plate, the New York Central sought to unload the LE&W, so the Nickel Plate and the LE&W were finally united. 

The Lake Erie & Western Railroad gave the Nickel Plate another gateway -- Peoria. The Fostoria to Frankfort portion became a vital link in the latter day freight operations. The LE&W, largest of Nickel Plate's four components, became to Nickel Plate what it had never been to New York Central -- an integral part of a well run railroad. 

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