Anderson Ferry - Aurora, IN, branch to Harrison
- 1900-1930
- Standard Gauge
- Line Constructed by the Cincinnati Lawrenceburg & Aurora Electric Street Railroad, 1900
- Purchased by CSR, Service Cut Back to Fernbank, Line from Anderson Ferry to Fernbank Converted to Broad Gauge, 1930
- Streetcar Service Suspended, 1940
- This interurban was a standard-gauge line along the Ohio River from Anderson's Ferry, at the west end of Cincinnati, to Aurora, Indiana (25 miles), with a branch from Valley Junction to Harrison, Ohio (8 miles). It was completed in 1900. Plans for extension west to Rising Sun, Madison, and Louisville were never implemented. In 1913 flood damage forced the road into receivership, from which it did not emerge for 15 years, one of the longest receivership periods in the industry's history. The line is principally noteworthy for its pioneer purchase of lightweight, one-man equipment in 1918. The company was severely handicapped by its remote terminal, but like the rest of Cincinnati's standard-gauge interurbans, it never achieved entry into the center of the city. After reorganizing as the Cincinnati Lawrenceburg and Aurora Electric Railway Company in 1928, the line survived for only two years, and was abandoned in 1930 after a year of operating losses. Six miles from Anderson's Ferry to Fernbank were converted to 5'-2 1/2" gauge and operated by the Cincinnati Street Railway until 1941. The lightweight cars were sold to the Sand Springs Railway at Tulsa, Oklahoma. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- There isn't too much information out there about this interurban, as it wasn't anything particularly remarkable. Its close proximity to the Big 4 and B&O railroad made for an interesting tangle of railroad tracks through the west side of Cincinnati along the river. The takeover of this line by the CSR was a bit odd, considering that they needed to widen the distance between the rails. They left one rail and simply moved the other one over, but it's still a lot of work, especially since streetcar systems throughout the country were already being abandoned by 1930. The many factories along this route probably provided much of the ridership to and from other parts of the city, since the terrain does not allow much residential development this way until Delhi.
- The CL&A's terminal was at Anderson Ferry on River Road, which was Liston Road at the time. The line never operated east of Anderson Ferry, since its standard gauge did not allow them to operate over streetcar tracks. The CSR's route originally ended here, and there was a large loop with an extra layover track next to the CL&A depot. The route was double-track in the city, and it basically followed River Road west from here to Delhi, where it merged with Graceley Road. Just past Lowland Road at the northwest extreme of Fernbank, the double-track route merged to a single track. This is where the line ended after the CSR took it over. They put in a turnaround loop at this location after the takeover. The interurban line then ran on its own ROW for a short distance before running on Main Street in Addyson. There's some telephone poles at the extreme northwest end of Fernbank, but the graded ROW behind some houses on Hillside Ave. is the most visible remain of the CL&A. There's also some bridge remains about where E. Main turns into Hillside. This is where you'd get off of River Road to get on E. Main or Hillside. The CL&A continued to follow Route 50 after Addyston. When it reached North Bend, it curved away from River Road and had a short ROW into Cleves, where it ran on Miami Road before curving sharply to the west along Cooper. It then came back onto River (Route 50) and crossed the Great Miami River, sharing an old bridge with Route 50. The route to Aurora followed Route 50 into Indiana and Lawrenceburg. The branch line to Harrison basically paralleled the old NYC now I&O line along Kilby Road through Whitewater Township. As I have not been able to find any USGS maps of southeast Indiana, I have no way of plotting the route past the state line. There has been work on some new bike trails in the Lawrenceburg area, and there are some intriguing old trestles and grading along the Ohio River. However, with several mainline railroads in the area, it is difficult to discern what was railroad and what was interurban.
Winton Place - Detroit, MI
- 1873-1939
- Narrow Gauge
- Converted to Standard Gauge, 1902
- Electrified, 1901
Parent Railroads:
- Cincinnati & Miami Valley Traction Co., Hamilton-Dayton, 1897
- Cincinnati & Hamilton Electric Street Railway, College Hill-Hamilton, 1898
- College Hill Railroad & its Successor the Cincinnati-Northwestern Railroad (Steam), College Hill/Mt. Healthy, 1873
- Cincinnati-Northwestern Acquired & Electrified by the Southern Ohio Traction Co., 1901
- Hamilton-Dayton Lines Purchased by the Southern Ohio Traction Co., Reorganized as the Cincinnati, Dayton & Toledo Traction Co., 1902
- Reorganized as the Ohio Electric Railway, 1907
- Reorganized as the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, 1926
- Reorganized as the Cincinnati & Lake Erie, Cincinnati-Detroit, 1930
- Abandoned, 1939
- The Ohio Electric Railway, the largest interurban in Ohio, was organized by Randal Morgan, W. Kesley Schoepf, Hugh J. McGowan, and their associates on May 16, 1907. The company had originated two years earlier, when the same men formed the Ohio Syndicate, and organized the Cincinnati Northern Traction Company to lease the Cincinnati Dayton and Toledo Traction Company, proprietor of the important road between Cincinnati and Dayton. The line had been built by two companies, both affiliated with the Pomeroy-Mandelbaum syndicate, the Cincinnati and Miami Valley Traction Company (Hamilton-Dayton, 36 miles, opened 1897), and the Cincinnati and Hamilton Electric Street Railway (College Hill-Hamilton, 14 miles, opened 1898). The Pomeroy-Mandelbaum interests consolidated the two companies into the Southern Ohio Traction Company in 1900. The new company was in turn consolidated with the Miamisburg and Germantown Traction Company (5 miles, completed 1901), and two street railway properties into the Cincinnati Dayton and Toledo Traction Company in 1902. The Pomeroy-Mandelbaum interests were financially distressed by the panic of 1903, and so lost control of the property to the Schoepf-McGowan syndicate.
- The Ohio Electric assumed the lease of the CD&T, and leased the Indiana Columbus and Eastern Traction Company that the Schoepf-McGowan syndicate had organized out of the former Appleyard properties in 1906. It also leased the Lima and Toledo Traction Company (73 miles when completed), which, although unfinished, had itself leased the Fort Wayne Van Wert and Lima Traction Company in 1906. When the gap between Lima and Bellefontaine was closed and the line from Lima to Toledo was completed (both in 1908), and when the Defiance branch was electrified in 1909, the Ohio Electric consisted of about 617 miles of line. It operated city service in Lima, Dayton, Hamilton, Newark, and Zanesville.
- Size did not mean strength, however, for the Ohio Electric never paid a dividend, and was never free of financial problems. It suffered from the two-cent-fare laws after 1906, and suffered about $1.5 million damage in the 1913 flood. Increasing costs, especially for paving and for street maintenance, relatively rigid fare structures, and rising highway competition all contributed to the company's disintegration. In 1918 it surrendered the Dayton-Cincinnati line to new owners, the Cincinnati and Dayton Traction Company, and in 1920 it turned the Dayton and Western back to its owners. In January 1921, the company went bankrupt, and was dissolved. The IC&E, the Columbus Newark and Zanesville, the Lima and Toledo, and the Fort Wayne Van Wert and Lima all went bankrupt at the same time, but resumed independent operation.
- The CN&Z and the FWVW&L were reorganized independently in 1925 and 1926, respectively, and never again operated jointly with the IC&E and the L&T. The L&T was reorganized in 1924 as the Lima-Toledo Railroad. In 1929, both the Lima-Toledo and the IC&E were reunited with the Cincinnati-Dayton line as the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad.
- As the first event in the disintegration of the Ohio Electric Railway the line between Dayton and Cincinnati was transferred to an independent company, the Cincinnati and Dayton Traction Company, organized on April 26, 1918. This company itself failed and was reorganized into the Cincinnati Hamilton and Dayton Railway Company in 1926. The new company, which had no connection with the railroad of the same name, was headed by a former professor of finance, Dr. Thomas Conway, Jr., who had already been successful in reviving the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad. He ordered new equipment that the property badly needed, and increased the maintenance of its roadbed. he did well at building up freight service in interurban equipment, and by virtue of his wide contacts in the railroad industry was more than ordinarily successful in establishing through rates for LCL with the railroads. Conway believed that there was still a place for the interurban in the medium distance range of passenger traffic, and thus conceived of regrouping the main lines of the former Ohio Electric.
- In 1929 Conway brought together (effective January 1, 1930) under the ownership of his company, the Indiana Columbus and Eastern and the Lima-Toledo Railroad. The CH&D changed its name simultaneously to the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad. The new company consisted of the old Ohio Electric main line from College Hill (Cincinnati) to Toledo (216 miles) and a single branch from Springfield to Columbus (44.5 miles). Since both were relatively strong lines, by the standards of the industry, they were considered good prospects for survival. Between 1931 and 1936, the C&LE operated the Dayton and Western, also a relatively important line. Conway ordered 20 new cars capable of high speeds and offering considerable comfort, and inaugurated limited service between Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, and Detroit. It was too late, however, for such efforts to be successful. In 1932, the company was put in receivership under Conway, and a retrenchment of its operations began. Abandonment of the Eastern Michigan Toledo Railroad in 1932 ended through service to Detroit. The C&LE's Springfield-Toledo line was abandoned on November 19, 1937, and the rest of the interurban lines were discontinued by May 31, 1939. the company's bus subsidiary took over passenger service along the same routes. Rail service from Dayton to Southern Hills (3 miles), mainly on Dayton city streets, was not replaced by buses until September 28, 1941.
- Conway's endeavor to make a success of the C&LE was the most concentrated effort at survival of any of the Ohio interurban lines, and in most respects paralleled the experience of the Insull interests with the Indiana Railroad. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- The C&LE was Cincinnati's longest-lived interurban (even counting ones taken over by the CSR), and it was also one of the busiest. Like the Cincinnati & Hamilton line, it served the densely populated valleys between Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton. Part of the reason this railroad lasted longer than the others is that it served areas of Cincinnati with no other rail transportation, and it actually made it to other major cities like Dayton, Toledo and Detroit. Most interurbans ended in piddly country towns, and required transfers to other lines to get to the nearest major city. North College Hill, Mt. Healthy and points north had no other form of rail transportation, while the other interurbans usually had competition from steam railroads, streetcars, or other interurbans. The C&LE was also quite fast, and it even won a race with a single-engine airplane in the 1930s. Of course, that was a publicity stunt orchestrated by the railroad.
- The CL&E's terminal was at Crawford Avenue and Spring Grove Avenue in Cumminsville, now an uninspiring collection of industrial buildings. Due to the standard gauge tracks, the line could not operate over streetcar tracks to reach downtown. However, there was a connection with the CH&D line, but for most of the history of the interurban, the line terminated at Spring Grove Avenue, and passengers had to transfer to streetcars to reach downtown. The double track route followed Crawford along the western edge of Spring Grove Cemetery until the road bends where the C&LE then proceeded up to College Hill on its own ROW. While there are no major structures or telephone poles left that I know of, the grading is still evident as the rugged hillside up to College Hill hasn't been built on. There is a partially collapsed culvert in Laboiteaux Woods, but it is quite a hike to get there. At Hamilton Avenue and Llanfair Road, the main line turned north on a single track on Hamilton Avenue and stayed on it all the way north into Butler County, except for one short detour at Burlington Road (Hamilton Avenue later bypassed this section). There's nothing to see that I know of along this part of the line through Hamilton County. There was also an important transfer station on the northwest corner of Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road, where interurban passengers could transfer to the College Hill streetcar line under a protected shelter. The single track freight line, which was the old route of the College Hill Railroad, ran on Llanfair until Belmont Avenue, where it followed its own ROW north to Simpson Avenue. There are plenty of telephone poles and grading along this stretch, especially noticeable in where the railroad passed under Glenview Avenue. The line Crossed North Bend Road at Davey Avenue, and some telephone poles can still be seen to the south. Between Davey Avenue and Simpson there is a North and South Railroad Avenue which the C&LE ran between. This is an interesting diagonal slice across this gridded neighborhood. The freight line followed the side of Simpson Avenue north to Arlington Memorial Cemetery where it had its own ROW to the terminal and a small yard at Compton Road in Mt. Healthy. The old carbarn at the terminal is now used by Sunderhaus Auto Body, with the original high bay doors still evident on the north side of the building.
Hartwell - Hamilton
- 1901-1926
- Broad Gauge
- Line Constructed By the Cincinnati & Hamilton Traction Co., 1901
- Leased to the Cincinnati Interurban Co., 1902
- Reorganized as the Ohio Traction Co., 1905
- Purchased by CSR, Service Cut Back to Springdale, 1926
- Streetcar Service Suspended, 1932
- The lesser of the two interurbans connecting Cincinnati and Hamilton was this 5'-2 1/2" line through Wyoming and Glendale. It was built by predecessor companies between 1897 and 1901, and brought together by merger as the Cincinnati and Hamilton Traction Company in 1902. This road had great difficulty securing a franchise in Hamilton in 1901, but did so after threatening to run motor vehicles from the city limits to the business district as train connections. In 1902 the property was leased to the Cincinnati Interurban Company, which in 1905 became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ohio Traction Company, a Schoeph-McGowan corporation that controlled the street railway in Cincinnati. It operated as the Mill Creek Valley Line of the Ohio Traction Company until 1926, when it became part of the Cincinnati Street Railway itself. The Street Railway cut the line back to Glendale in 1926, and discontinued it in 1932. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- This is the second interurban to connect Cincinnati with Hamilton, although over a much different route. The line was pretty heavily travelled, due to the dense industrial and residential development in the river valleys between Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton. As already mentioned, the city of Hamilton caused some problems for this line, but Springdale depended on, and actively supported the interurban. This was most apparent after the CSR took over the line and ended interurban operations on July 15, 1926. Streetcar service was introduced on the line to Glendale, ending at a loop at the corner of Sharon Road and Springfield Pike. The citizens of Springdale wanted to keep transit service, and they funded the construction of a loop in front of the city municipal building (a short distance north of Kemper Road). The loop was put in service on April 12, 1928, and service was restored to downtown Cincinnati from Springdale. All operations north of Wyoming were abandoned in June 1930 however, and by August 11, 1931, a loop was built at Springfield Pike and Bonham Road in Wyoming. All streetcar service on the line was abandoned on November 9, 1932, due to repaving of Springfield Pike south to DeCamp Avenue in Hartwell. There's some more information about this line in a site detailing the history of Glendale, as well as in another page on the history of Springdale.
- The route basically stayed on streets in Hamilton County, although there was a small private ROW in Hartwell at Woodbine and DeCamp. Because of the broad gauge tracks, and the fact that the Schoeph-McGowan syndicate owned the line, it was able to operate to downtown on the streetcar tracks. The double track route north of Hartwell followed Springfield Pike to Glendale, where it continued north along Princeton Pike, then became single track and turned west on Sharon Road to re-join Springfield Pike. One USGS topographic map, and the PUCO map, show the line bypassing Glendale, following Springfield Pike the whole way without entering Glendale along Princeton Pike and Sharon Road. I've been told that this was never the case, and unless I hear information to the contrary, I will assume the maps were in error (it has happened, especially with the PUCO maps, which were probably drawn from the old USGS maps anyway).
Kennedy Heights - Lebanon
- 1903-1922
- Broad Gauge
- Line Constructed by the Interurban Railway & Terminal Co., 1903
- Abandoned, 1922
- Three 5'-2 1/2" lines out of Cincinnati comprised this company. The first was built along the Ohio River to New Richmond (19 miles) in 1902 by the Cincinnati and Eastern Electric Railway. The second, the Suburban Traction Company, opened a line to Bethel (32 miles) in June 1903, and the third, the Rapid Railway, finished a line northeast to Lebanon (33 miles) in October of the same year. the three companies were consolidated in 1902. This company was also badly damaged by the flood of 1913, and in 1914 went into a receivership from which it was never removed. The Bethel line was particularly weak, since most of it was within sight of the Cincinnati Georgetown and Portsmouth, a somewhat stronger company. The IR&T Bethel line had the advantage of entry into the downtown area over the Cincinnati Street Railway, but this was not enough to save it, and it was abandoned in 1918. The remaining lines to Lebanon and New Richmond were abandoned in 1923. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- Like the other IR&T lines, this one had a relatively short and uneventful life. It ran on Montgomery Avenue, continuing past the end of the streetcar route, originally at Fenwick Avenue in Norwood, but later from Coleridge Avenue in Kennedy Heights. This, and the other IR&T lines travelled over streetcar lines to reach downtown. Past Pleasant Ridge, the IR&T became single track, and it paralleled the CL&N north through Deer Park along the west side of Blue Ash Road. Most of the route in this area is now used as parking along the street, but large power lines remain. The old carbarn is still standing at 7234 Blue Ash Road, now occupied by Steward Industries. The line then ran along Kenwood and hooked back up with the CL&N on its own ROW to Butler County. There was a short branch line to Montgomery, exactly paralleling a branch line for the CL&N. This line is well represented by power lines, and the route is quite apparent through Mason and Kings Mills. Daniel Bingamon's house in Kings Mills is the old station, and the ROW is probably pretty evident going down into the Little Miami Valley behind there, but I have not explored it myself. There's not much to see between there and Lebanon, however there are still tracks buried under the streets of Lebanon. Cracks were telegraphing through the pavement on Mulberry Street as of 2006. This is the only instance of actual interurban tracks remaining anywhere in the Cincinnati area that I know of.
Norwood - Hillsboro
- 1906-1920
- Standard Gauge
- Line Constructed by the Cincinnati & Columbus Traction Co., 1906
- Abandoned, 1920
- This was a standard-gauge interurban, 53 miles long, between Norwood, at the edge of Cincinnati, and Hillsboro. It was chartered in 1901 and opened on April 22, 1906. It was promoted locally and early in its history was known as "The Swing Line," after its principal promoter. The company's ambition to build east to Chillicothe or Columbus were never realized. It paralleled no railroad, although the Baltimore & Ohio had a branch into Hillsboro. The company was never profitable enough to pay a dividend. The property was so badly damaged in the flood of 1913 (which injured all the lines in the area) that the company applied for voluntary receivership, from which it never emerged. In common with most interurbans, it had a very bad year in 1918, when it lost $21,036. The receiver concluded the property was hopeless and in 1919 applied for abandonment. Permission was granted, but an unsuccessful effort on the part of local residents to refinance the road and to continue it in service delayed sale for scrap until 1920. Its power business outlasted the rail operation, but was also sold to local interests in 1920. Its cars, heavy Jewett combines, were sold to the THI&E, the Joplin and Pittsburgh, and the Northeast Oklahoma, which was about to electrify. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- Despite its name, this interurban never made it any farther than Hillsboro. Not long after it opened, its owners renamed it to try to boost ridership. It didn't really work, and this was Cincinnati's shortest-lived interurban. It didn't help that this line never made it any closer to Cincinnati than Norwood. The C&C also got very little suburban traffic, since it travelled through areas that are sparsely populated even today. This interurban fought with the CM&B over the bridge crossing the Little Miami River in Milford. The C&C couldn't get a franchise, and had to build its own bridge to the south. The destruction and replacement of this bridge in the 1913 flood (among other flood damage) sent the C&C into receivership, from which it never emerged. There was pressure from the citizens of Madisonville to keep the line, because it was a very convenient way to get to the factories in Norwood from their neighborhood. Since most of the streetcar lines ran radially from downtown, taking the CSR would involve going to Walnut Hills and back out. That trip would take some 45 minutes, instead of 10 on the C&C. Unfortunately the CSR had no interest in that, and passionate citizens along the line could not raise enough money to save it.
- The route's terminal was at the end of streetcar route 5 in Norwood on Harris Avenue. Since this was a standard gauge line, passengers had to transfer to streetcars here, or take a steam train to downtown. Harris Avenue is now right at the edge of the Norwood Lateral highway, which cuts across Harris a little farther to the east. The single track line crossed the PRR and descended to Duck Creek Road, which has since been mostly obliterated by I-71, and the creek itself has been channelized through much of this area. It is very hard to find anything left of the C&C in Norwood because of this. Past Ridge Road the route continued along Duck Creek Road to Oaklawn Drive, which it followed to Madison Road. The route then followed Madison Road to Whetsel Street, north to Chandler Street and finally out to a private ROW to the west of the B&O outside the city limits. The route then followed the B&O to downtown Madeira, where a station remains on Miami Road. The route then crossed Camargo Road and climbed up to Indian Hill. The route went through what would later become cookie-cutter suburban development to the site of the current village hall. The line ran to the south behind the elementary school then descended into a valley, called Redbird Hollow, and followed this almost all the way to Given Road. The ROW through Redbird Hollow is very beautiful, and it's a popular walking trail with several bridge structures to see. The best way to get there is to park on the east side, where there's a small parking "lot" on the side of Given Road. It takes about 40 minutes to walk the entire length of the trail, which almost reaches Shawnee Run Road, but disappears before reaching some school play fields. East of Redbird Hollow, the C&C ran right along the southern border of Indian Hill where there are some bridge abutments visible from Given Road. It then went into Terrace Park and then briefly across Wooster Pike. It then crossed another small creek (the same one as in Redbird Hollow, actually) just past the PRR where bridge work remains and then crossed the Little Miami River into Milford. There are several piers for this bridge remaining, although they are not accessible from any roads. The line then ran on High Street in Milford, just one block from the CM&B on Main Street. There's an alley behind some of the houses along Main Street that marks the route, but after that the commercial development of the area has obliterated any remains until well past I-275. Out in the country though, there are several areas where the route is easily viewed.
East Hyde Park - Blanchester
- 1903-1926
- Broad Gauge
- Line Constructed by the Cincinnati, Milford & Loveland Traction, Co., 1903
- Reorganized as Cincinnati, Milford & Blanchester Traction Co., 1906
- Service Over CSR Lines to Downtown Suspended, 1915
- Purchased by CSR, Service Cut Back to Milford, 1926
- Service Cut Back to Mariemont, 1936
- Streetcar Service Suspended, 1942
- A predecessor company, the Cincinnati Milford and Loveland Traction Company opened a 5'-2 1/2" line from Madisonville, on the outskirts of Cincinnati, to Milford (17 miles) in 1903. The road built an additional 12 miles to Blanchester in 1906. The company never operated to Loveland, and never carried out its plans to built to Columbus. Cars were equipped with a double trolley for running on the 8 miles of the Cincinnati Street Railway between Madisonville and a downtown terminal at 5th and Sycamore. The company found its trackage rights too expensive and after 1915 no longer came into the center of the city.
- The road was put in receivership in 1917 and in the following year was reorganized as the Cincinnati Milford and Blanchester Traction Company. The Kroger family, which controlled the company, abandoned the segment from Newtonsville to Blanchester in 1922, and sold the rest to interests connected with the Cincinnati Georgetown and Portsmouth Railroad in 1926. The company was hopelessly uneconomic, and was abandoned in the same year, save for the Madisonville-Milford line, which was incorporated into the Cincinnati Street Railway. The CM&B's lightweight cars, very similar to the last cars of the Cincinnati Lawrenceburg and Aurora, were sold to the Street Railway. The surviving Milford line was cut back to Mariemont in 1936 and abandoned entirely in 1942. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- The CM&B, later known as just the Milford Line, was the only interurban taken over by the CSR that lasted for very long. Like the C&C, this was one of the more scenic routes, as Fairfax is the most "urban" place along the line. Much of the rest of the route went through picturesque Mariemont and along the wooded bottom of Indian Hill. It also benefitted from little street running, having its own ROW through much of Hamilton County. As mentioned before, this interurban fought with the C&C over the bridge crossing the Little Miami River in Milford. The CM&B got the franchise, but fights with Milford were constant. Most of the complaints from Milford came from failure to comply with the franchise agreements, such as: painting poles, providing clean, well heated cars, maintaining the bridge, and keeping roads repaired around the tracks. Destruction of the bridge in the 1913 flood was not as damaging to the CM&B as the destruction of the C&C's bridge, since it was partly owned by the city and the state. Nevertheless, the line failed in 1926, and the CSR took over operations to the intersection of routes 50 and 28 in Milford. The line east of Miami Road in Mariemont was abandoned in 1936, and the rest abandoned in 1942.
- The CM&B has the most visible remains of any of Cincinnati's interurbans, partly because it operated longer than most, but also because the ROW is either sandwiched in by existing development/roads or the terrain is too rugged to bother with. Nothing remains of the terminal at the side of Erie Avenue, due to construction of the overpass over the railroad and Red Bank Road. From here, to the east side of Mariemont, the single track ROW is very obvious. (Note that the route was originally double track from Cincinnati to just before Terrace Park). In Fairfax, it ran just north of Murray Road with double telephone poles along the way. In Mariemont it ran down the median of Murray Avenue. This is why the road runs both ways on either side of the median, since it's not really a boulevard. Telephone poles are also quite evident here too. There was a loop at Miami Road for route 72 to turn back to Cincinnati, and the grading and even part of the platform are still there. Just past Mariemont, a little north of Wooster Pike, there are lots of concrete bridge supports where the railroad came down the hill. From Plainville on, the route gets much harder to find. It flirted with Wooster Pike at various places, but widening of the road has since obliterated any evidence of the side of the road ROW. In Terrace Park the CM&B took a detour along Elm Avenue, it actually passed under the Pennsylvania Railroad before Elm with a small viaduct that has since been filled in. It then wound its way up to Terrace Park, ran along the east side of the PRR and eventually made it back to Wooster Pike near the Pennsylvania Railroad Viaduct. There was once a picturesque trestle near the PRR viaduct, but virtually nothing of it remains. There are some telephone poles left around here, but it's so overgrown there's not much else to see. There are some remains of a bridge for the C&C here as well. Due to street running, there isn't much to see in Milford either, aside from the powerhouse on the west side of the Little Miami River. Beyond Milford there is still quite a bit of ROW to see, and one can follow it all the way to Blanchester without too much difficulty.
Columbia - Bethel
- 1903-1918
- Broad Gauge
- Line Constructed by the Interurban Railway & Terminal Co., 1903
- Abandoned, 1918
- Three 5'-2 1/2" lines out of Cincinnati comprised this company. The first was built along the Ohio River to New Richmond (19 miles) in 1902 by the Cincinnati and Eastern Electric Railway. The second, the Suburban Traction Company, opened a line to Bethel (32 miles) in June 1903, and the third, the Rapid Railway, finished a line northeast to Lebanon (33 miles) in October of the same year. the three companies were consolidated in 1902. This company was also badly damaged by the flood of 1913, and in 1914 went into a receivership from which it was never removed. The Bethel line was particularly weak, since most of it was within sight of the Cincinnati Georgetown and Portsmouth, a somewhat stronger company. The IR&T Bethel line had the advantage of entry into the downtown area over the Cincinnati Street Railway, but this was not enough to save it, and it was abandoned in 1918. The remaining lines to Lebanon and New Richmond were abandoned in 1923. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- This was the worst planned route for any of Cincinnati's interurbans. The IR&T line to Bethel was in direct competition with the C&GP that had been around for 30 years already (not that competition was uncommon). Considering how common it is to take Beechmont Avenue from Columbia Parkway to get up to Mt. Washington today, the IR&T route through California seems rather circuitous. Regardless, the IR&T and the CG&P fought with one another on several occasions, but despite their competitive nature, they did cooperate on certain occasions, especially during floods or other disasters. One of the most contentious points, however, was the Donham Avenue Viaduct in Columbia. This single track viaduct was built to connect the IR&T and the CG&P (after they stopped running cars on the PRR line to downtown) with the East End streetcar line. Because the two roads used this single track viaduct, going in both directions, it was frequently the site of delays. There are also reports of cars from one company blocking cars from the other company, and taking their passengers (usually the ones going to Coney Island amusement park). When the PRR line was elevated, both the CG&P and this line made the connection with the streetcars a little further to the northwest at Stanley Avenue, and the viaduct was abandoned. Competition from the CG&P, as well as the rather sparse population along the line, made for a rather short life for this line. There had been talks of the CG&P taking over portions of the route, but it never happened.
- The IR&T basically followed Kellogg Avenue on a double track route from Columbia to Coney Island. The single track lines to Bethel and New Richmond branched off at Sutton Road and the entrance to Coney Island. The Bethel line then went up the hill along Sutton, merging with and diverging from it many times along the way. From Columbia to Mt. Washington, there isn't much to see aside from a little grading along Sutton. Upon reaching Beechmont Avenue, there was a stub that went north for a few blocks to serve the Mt. Washington business district (this stub is shown on all maps, but it never extended north/west any farther, despite what the PUCO map shows). From this point on the IR&T followed Beechmont Avenue into Clermont County, and all the way to Bethel. Due to the relatively recent suburbanization of Anderson Township, and the prolific street running of the railway, there's nothing much left in Hamilton County. In Clermont County, Beechmont Ave (Route 125 at this point) is quite wide, and there are also some significant telephone poles along the way. Still, due to street improvements, the power lines are really the only thing left to see.
- Columbia - New Richmond
- 1902-1922
- Broad Gauge
- Line Constructed by the Interurban Railway & Terminal Co., 1902
- Abandoned, 1922
- Three 5'-2 1/2" lines out of Cincinnati comprised this company. The first was built along the Ohio River to New Richmond (19 miles) in 1902 by the Cincinnati and Eastern Electric Railway. The second, the Suburban Traction Company, opened a line to Bethel (32 miles) in June 1903, and the third, the Rapid Railway, finished a line northeast to Lebanon (33 miles) in October of the same year. the three companies were consolidated in 1902. This company was also badly damaged by the flood of 1913, and in 1914 went into a receivership from which it was never removed. The Bethel line was particularly weak, since most of it was within sight of the Cincinnati Georgetown and Portsmouth, a somewhat stronger company. The IR&T Bethel line had the advantage of entry into the downtown area over the Cincinnati Street Railway, but this was not enough to save it, and it was abandoned in 1918. The remaining lines to Lebanon and New Richmond were abandoned in 1923. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- This IR&T line is not quite as ludicrous as the one through Mt. Washington, but it still competed with the CG&P that had a short branch to Coney Island. After this single track line branched off from the Bethel line at Coney island, it flirted with Route 52 on its way to New Richmond. It diverged from the road in many places, and ran on the road farther to the east, bearing to the north/east onto what is now Old Kellogg near Clermont County. Since the ROW was sandwiched between the river and the hillside, there were very few riders between California and New Richmond. However, the interesting terrain would have made for a beautiful ride. Because of that rough terrain, landslides, floods, and construction of Route 52, there is really nothing left of this line that I know of.
Columbia - Russellville, branches to Batavia and Felicity
- 1873-1936
- Narrow Gauge, Steam, 1873
- Converted to Standard Gauge & Electrified, 1902
- Line Constructed by the Cincinnati & Portsmouth Railroad, 1873
- Reorganized as the Cincinnati, Georgetown & Portsmouth Railroad, 1902
- Reorganized as the Cincinnati-Georgetown Railroad Co., 1928
- Abandoned, 1933-1936
- This company completed a 3-foot-gauge steam railroad between Cincinnati and Georgetown (41 miles) in 1886, and in 1902 both converted it to standard gauge and electrified it. A branch from Lake Allyn to Batavia was opened at the same time. The company also operated a 5'-2 1/2" line to Coney Island that entered Cincinnati over the street railway. The standard-gauge line was extended from Georgetown to Russellville (8 miles) in 1904. An affiliate, the Felicity and Bethel Railroad (9 miles) was opened in 1906. The CG&P hoped to build east to Portsmouth, but although it did some grading between Russellville and West Union, it lacked the funds for completion. The road always retained much of the character of a shortline railroad, in spite of its electric operation. It interchanged railroad freight, operated a railway post office, and even interchanged a passenger car with a steam short-line, the Ohio River and Columbus Railway to serve Ripley, Ohio. the Felicity and Bethel used a steam locomotive for freight service.
- The company failed in 1927 and was reorganized in 1928 as the Cincinnati Georgetown Railroad Company. The new corporation abandoned the Georgetown-Russellville extension in 1933, and in 1935 abandoned the outer 20 miles of the remaining main line, as well as the Batavia branch. It gave up passenger service at the same time. In 1936, it abandoned the rest of the property. (From: Hilton, George W. and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press, 1960)
- Along with the C&LE, this was one of the area's most useful interurbans. The Railroad With 3 Gauges (also the name of a great book on this railroad) operated at one point narrow, standard and broad gauge rails all at once in the Carrell Street Yards. The reason for the gauge differences is because the CG&P started life as a narrow gauge steam railroad. It was similar to the Cincinnati & Westwood, and the College Hill Railroad. However, the CG&P maintained its status as a railroad, just an electrified one, which gave it some advantages with the PUCO. Nevertheless, the CG&P considered itself an interurban when it was deemed convenient. The line was later converted to standard gauge, and later a broad gauge route was constructed to the California Water Works and Coney Island. Electrification was intended to breathe new life into the line, which only made it as far as Russellville, still a significant distance from Portsmouth. The line was very important for the city of Georgetown, which was its major supporter, while other communities such as Batavia were rather ambivalent towards it. Due to the sparse population of the area, the line (like most interurbans) never saw stellar revenues, but it held its own into the 1920s. The end came rather quickly, however, as passenger and freight traffic quickly dropped off in the late 20s and 30s. There were talks of the CSR taking over the line to Mt. Washington and/or California, since the residents of those neighborhoods wanted more frequent service (both the CG&P and the IR&T ran cars only about every 2 hours). The CSR determined that there was not enough population in either neighborhood, and the line would operate at a loss, even if it was obtained for free.
- The CG&P ran from Columbia, near the old PRR station, along the Little Miami Valley to California. There are still some tracks splitting off the PRR line at Carrell Street leading to a chemical loading platform for the nearby sewage treatment plant. While this does mark the route, it's doubtful that they're actual interurban-era tracks. Right next to Lunken Airport there is a low flood wall that used to be the ROW of the CG&P. This used to be a wood trestle that was eventually filled in with soil. In the winter, one can see the ROW climbing up and winding around the hill at the edge of California Woods Preserve. About half way up the hill to Mt. Washington, a branch line to Coney Island splits off from the main line at California Junction. There's some interesting stuff left here under the old junction, just east of a sharp bend in Kellogg Avenue. Some foundation piers are still there for the trestle, and there is an odd road loop on the south/eastbound side of the street. It kind of looks like a bus or streetcar loop. This was actually the eastbound lanes of Kellogg Ave. There was a fat steel truss support column for the railroad trestle above that split the lanes of the road around it. Apparently they only recently fixed it and abandoned the old outer lanes, leaving this "loop" that's now barricaded off. The trestle was built by the city of Cincinnati and leased to the CG&P. The line was originally intended as a freight spur to supply the water works, but it was later extended to Coney Island. There's not much to see of the branch line in California except grading. The main line continued the climb up the hill. There's a road called Moon Valley Lane that leads to the ROW. This road "ends" with a driveway to the front and to the left. The driveway to the left is the ROW, and if you look to the right the ROW follows a little cut in the hill and bends to the south. I can't find anything along Salem Road, but north of here the ROW is a bit more evident. The old Mt. Washington station is on Sutton Road, it's an American Legion Hall now. Behind there is an electrical substation and a parking lot and a fence line that follows the ROW. The line then curved southeast and wiggled around a bit before shooting east-northeast towards Clermont County. Because of suburban development, there's nothing much left to see except some houses that are older than the rest. There was a short branch line to Batavia, and another between Bethel and Felicity. Jeff Wood has provided several pictures of the line through Clermont County and points east.
South Fairmount - Westwood
- 1874-1926
- Narrow Gauge
- Converted to Standard Gauge, 1891
- Line Constructed by the Cincinnati & Westwood Railroad, 1874
- Abandoned, 1926
- The Cincinnati & Westwood was a small railroad that never expanded to an interurban like the College Hill Railroad expanded to eventually become the C&LE. However, there were plans to run the Cincinnati & Indianapolis Traction line over this route, but it was never carried out. This was basically a short-line railroad, only 4 1/2 miles long. It served commuters between Cincinnati and Westwood/Cheviot. Competition from the streetcar line killed it, and the line was basically relegated to freight service before it was abandoned completely in 1926.
- There's quite a bit left of this line to this day. Surprisingly, even though this line has been gone for 3/4 of a century, there's still some tracks shown in my GIS data. I've managed to trace the route pretty accurately with GIS, however, suburban development has erased much of what may have remained at the end of the line. This railroad had its own ROW for basically its entire length. It started in South Fairmount and joined with the CH&D, sharing its downtown station on Baymiller Street. A short spur off the CH&D still remains, which served the large Lunkenheimer factory on Beekman Street. Right now, only the tracks crossing Beekman remain, and they will likely be covered as soon as the road is paved again. Running west from here, the line ran between Queen City Avenue and Harrison Avenue and roughly paralleled Queen City Avenue to the west. There's some bridge abutments left at White Street, which the Cincinnati & Westwood had a bridge over. At East Tower Drive/Gehrum Lane, the line turned northwest towards Harrison Avenue. Before hitting Montana Avenue, it turned west and ran to roughly the western border of the city where it ended. There is a noticeable raised berm throughout much of Westwood, which makes the ROW easy to trace. It is difficult to locate the end of the line, however, due to more recent development, at-grade track, and the proximity of the Cincinnati and Cheviot borders, which means some streets stop at the border.
Note that I have identified railroads by their most common name. This is the name you're most likely to see on bridges and viaducts, or see in relatively recent maps. I also list the current operating railroad companies. Due tho the ever-changing nature of railroad ownership, I cannot make any guarantees about naming, although I tried my best to be as accurate as possible.