| Railroad Name: | Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railroad |
| Locale: | Ohio, United States |
| Predecessor Line: | Cleveland, Mount Vernon and Delaware Railroad |
| Successor Line: | Cleveland, Akron & Cincinnati Railway (1911, internal) Pennsylvania Company |
| Length: | 196.95miles |
| Hq City: | Akron, Ohio |
The Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railroad (nicknamed the "Blue Grass Route of Ohio"[1]) was a railroad company in the U.S. state of Ohio. It connected its namesake cities and served as a vital link for later parent Pennsylvania Railroad to connect Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
The company was formed through a reorganization of the Cleveland, Mount Vernon and Delaware Railroad on December 7, 1881, as the Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railroad.[2] It was rumored in 1881 that the line might become part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad system, as officials of that company had made visits to the property at the time. The reorganization became effective on December 31, 1885, with the first trains running under the new name Cleveland, Akron and Columbus Railway on January 1, 1886.
Rumors of control by the Pennsylvania Railroad floated in the mid-1890s,[3] with control of the CA&C ultimately gained in 1899. The CA&C merged with the Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley Railroad in 1911. Passenger services on the line ended on December 14, 1950.