Its immediate predecessor, the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railway, was formed on July 20, 1869, from the merger of the Indianapolis, Crawfordsville and Danville Railroad with the Danville, Urbana, Bloomington and Pekin Railroad.
[1] Both of these predecessor companies had been chartered in 1866, but construction of the railroads had not yet been completed at the time of the merger.
After this combination, the railroad was completed and opened in July, 1869, connecting Pekin, Illinois, with Indianapolis, Indiana.
The OI&P rail line from Indianapolis east to Springfield (Ohio) was completed by the IB&W and opened in 1883.
After that reorganization, the line from Indianapolis westward was sold to the Peoria and Eastern Railway, while the newer track east of Indianapolis was purchased by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (Big Four).