The Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Western Railroad (reporting mark CIWN) was established in 1915 as a reorganization of the Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Western Railway, which in turn was created in 1902 as a merger of the Indiana, Decatur and Western Railway (ID&W) and Cincinnati, Hamilton and Indianapolis Railroad (CH&I). Predecessors of the ID&W include the Indianapolis, Decatur and Western Railway (1888-1894), the Indianapolis & Wabash Railway (1887-1888), the Indianapolis, Decatur and Springfield Railway (1875-1887), and the Indiana and Illinois Central Railway (1853-1875).
In 1925 it reported 376 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 14 million passenger-miles; at the end of that year it operated 347 miles of road and 460 miles of track. In 1927 it moved into the B&O Railroad system.