Indianapolis and Cincinnati Traction Company
The Indianapolis and Cincinnati Traction Company was an interurban railway in Indiana. It built lines southeast of Indianapolis, with two branches planned to reach Connersville and Greensburg, covering about 116 miles of track. A hoped-for link to Cincinnati, Ohio never happened.
In 1902, Charles L. Henry of Anderson won a franchise for a line from Morristown through New Palestine to Rushville. Some called it part of a plan to connect Cincinnati and Chicago. The company was incorporated on February 4, 1903. After building the Indianapolis to Rushville section, the plan was to extend to Hamilton, Ohio, to connect with a Cincinnati line. The right-of-way to Hamilton was secured and the southern end contract awarded. The Indianapolis to Rushville section opened on February 20, 1905, though on an irregular schedule.
In 1903 the company bought the Indianapolis, Shelbyville and Southern Traction Company, which had built a line from Indianapolis to Shelbyville. Henry bought that company to prevent competition for a possible Cincinnati connection, and the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Traction Company extended the line to Greensburg.
Before reaching Connersville, the directors asked for a receiver, noting that the Rushville and Shelbyville sections were doing well but that damage suits and the cost of extending the line needed changes in financing. Henry was appointed receiver on July 3, 1906. After more than four years, reorganization failed. On November 10, 1910, the road was offered for sale and bought by John J. Appel for investors at an upset price of $1,045,000. The bond holders organized the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Traction Company.
The company reorganized as the Indianapolis and Southeastern Railroad in 1929, and the lines stopped operating in January 1932.
Electrification: The lines used Westinghouse alternating current generators, advertised as the first AC system for commercial rail operation, intended to power the entire system from one location without substations. It operated at 3,300 volts AC, unlike the common 600-volt DC trolley systems of the time. Because high voltage near Rushville was considered unsafe, a 600-volt DC system was also installed there. Cars used multi-mode motors to run on both systems. The system proved unwieldy and expensive, and between 1923 and 1924 it was replaced with the conventional 600-volt DC system.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:15 (CET).