The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad was the second railroad to enter Columbus, Ohio. It eventually became a part of the New York Central Railroad.
The CC&C was chartered in 1836. In the 1840s, construction from Cleveland through Galion and Delaware to Columbus was begun. The road entered Columbus from the north, running east and parallel to Fourth Street, then swinging southwestward to enter the passenger depot of the Columbus and Xenia Railroad. On February 21, 1851 a grand excursion train with 425 passengers took members of the state and city government to Cleveland, returning them to Columbus after a day's layover. Regular traffic was begun in April 1851, a full year after service began on the C&X. In 1868 the CC&C was merged with the Bellefountaine Railroad to form the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway. At that time the railroad still hadn't reached Cincinnati, and it was up to the CCC&I to finish the job.