[6][7] In its charter, the C&X was authorized to issue $500,000 ($16,400,000 in 2023 dollars) in stock,[8] but the incorporators had difficulty raising funds and initiating construction.

The following year, the state authorized Franklin County and the city of Columbus to purchase $50,000 ($1,600,000 in 2023 dollars) of company stock each.

[11] The state legislature amended the company's charter in February 1848 to permit it to increase the stock by $1 million and to obtain loans in any amount necessary to complete the road.

The company was now faced with selecting a president who not only had to be an able fund-raiser but who also could oversee construction of the line without incurring any cost overruns.

Alfred Kelley agreed to become president of the railroad in spring or summer of 1847[12] at a salary of $500 ($16,350 in 2023 dollars) a year.

[15] One of the ablest bankers and financiers in Ohio,[16] Kelley personally went to New York City to sell C&X bonds, and raised enough money to not only complete construction of the railroad but also to buy locomotives and rolling stock to equip it.

[24] For the actual track, Kelley contracted with Sir John Guest & Co. of Wales in the United Kingdom for T rails.

[32] On March 2, members of the Ohio General Assembly rode the line in a special train to celebrate the road's opening.

[30] This allowed the railroad to reach its permanent freight and passenger station, located on High Street at Naughten.

[27] The 1851 station had several small additions made to it in the early 1860s, to accommodate train traffic during the American Civil War.

[27] This joint operating agreement ended in 1869, at which point the C&X agreed to permanently lease itself to the Little Miami Railroad.