Did the GM&O ever actually go to Ohio? A map and a short history in an older issue of Classic Trains doesn’t show any lines in that state. Did ‘Ohio’ refer to the Ohio river?
Ohio in this case is definitely the Ohio River. The original GM&O ran south of St. Louis to Tennessee and Mississippi with lines to Mobile and New Orleans. The lines between Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis were acquired in the merger with the Chicago & Alton.
I’m pretty sure the river, not the state, was the initial objective in the names of the other two big “&O” railroads, too.
Just like the Milwaukee & Mississippi – ran west from Milwaukee, which definitely wouldn’t hit the state!
The Historical Guide to North American Railroads says the Mobile and Ohio (which merged with the GM&N to form the GM&O) was planned to reach from Mobile to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers at a point across from Cairo Illinois.