charter prevented it from going within two miles of the Indiana state line east of Constantine. However, the most practical route went closer than two miles west of White Pigeon. To allow for this, Judge Stanfield of South Bend, Indiana, bought the right-of-way from White Pigeon to the state line, and leased it to the railroad company for about 10 years until the charter was modified to allow the company to own it. The Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad was chartered on November 30, 1850. Its initial tracks, from the Michigan Southern at the state line running west-southwest to Elkhart, Indiana, then west through Osceola and Mishawaka to South Bend, opened on October 4, 1851. The full line west to Chicago opened on February 20, 1852, (running to the predecessor of Englewood station, together with the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad). A more direct line was soon planned from Elkhart east to Toledo, and the Northern Indiana Railroad was chartered in Ohio on March 3, 1851. On July 8, 1853, the Ohio and Indiana companies merged, and on February 7, 1855, the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad and the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad were merged into the Northern Indiana Railroad. On April 25, 1855, that company in turn merged with the Michigan Southern Rail Road to form the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad. In 1858, the new alignment (Northern Indiana Air Line) from Elkhart east to Air Line Junction in Toledo was completed. The company now owned a main line from Chicago to Toledo, with an alternate route through southern Michigan east of Elkhart, and a branch off that alternate to Monroe, Michigan. Also included was the Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad, leased July 1, 1856, and providing a branch from Toledo past Monroe to Detroit. Erie to Cleveland The Franklin Canal Company was chartered on May 21, 1844, and built a railroad from Erie, Pennsylvania, southwest to the Ohio border. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad was incorporated February 18, 1848, to build northeast from Cleveland to join the Canal Company's railroad at the state line, and the full line from Erie to Cleveland opened November 20, 1852. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula bought the Franklin Canal Company on June 20, 1854. Buffalo to Erie The Buffalo and State Line Railroad was incorporated October 13, 1849, and opened January 1, 1852, from Dunkirk, New York, west to Pennsylvania.