ISSN 1053-4415

A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY THE & OHIO RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY $8.00 VOLUME 36, NUMBER 2 SECOND QUARTER 2014 Letter from the President Time to Prepare for the Future The official publication of THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO Gregory M. Smith, President B&ORHS RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY P. O. Box 24225 Te Baltimore and Ohio Railroad His- We will begin work on company fles Baltimore, Maryland 21227-0725 torical Society has been a continuously that we obtained. Since they are now E-mail: [email protected] functioning educational society for more being preserved they will be indexed into Website: borhs.org than 30 years. We have made many signif- the new program. Tis is going to be a Missing Sentinel: [email protected] changes over the last 15 years, ofering long process and more volunteers will be The Baltimore and Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving and disseminating members such things as an outstanding needed, but there is the problem of work historical information about The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. quarterly publication, Te Sentinel, yearly space. Space is tight for archive storage, Copyright ©2014 ISSN 1053-4415 calendars, books and reproductions on company store storage and operations, SOCIETY OFFICERS the B&O operations, mini-conventions and Society operation storages. Tere is Greg Smith - President and annual conventions. no space for ofces, conference room, [email protected] Henry Freeman - VP Operations Great progress has also been made in classroom(s), and/or meeting room. [email protected] developing the Society’s archival collec- To grow and meet the requirements George Stant - VP Finance [email protected] tion. Te Society’s photographs, maps to keep our 501 (c) 3 educational status Allen Young - Secretary and charts, books and documents are we need to do outreach to members [email protected] now secure under one roof. But with the and the community. We expect that the Chris Winslow - Treasurer [email protected] growing collection and the increase in Society will need more than 8,000 square the number of volunteer workers, plus feet of space to be more functional and BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bruce Elliott (2014) Mike Shylanski (2015) an increase in technology (think comput- have space to expand. One place we have Nick Fry (2014) Chris Tilley (2016) ers), we have rapidly outgrown the space. checked into could require a minimum of Wade Rice, Jr. (2016) Bob Witt (2015) Te executive committee and board $450,000 for purchase and renovations Bob Hubler (Past President) Officers’ terms expire annually. Directors’ terms of directors have come to the conclusion to reach a workable amount of space. expire in October of the indicated year. that we need to plan now for change in Tis would provide space for a world- All officers may be reached at [email protected]. the archives space and location. So we class railroad research library, digital EDITORIAL STAFF are beginning to institute a fund-raising imaging center, volunteer work stations, Editor [email protected] campaign to establish a war chest for storage space for archival records, space Harry Meem, Managing Editor such a move. for the company store, several ofces [email protected] Te collection is housed in a rented and a conference room for the board, Al McEvoy, Archives John Teichmoeller 2,000-square-foot space. We have been closets, and at least one classroom and a Roberta Poling, Graphic Design organizing the collection with limited meeting room. So we must allow for the roberta@thundergrafix.com working space for the volunteers. Tis costs of modifying any space, furniture, Contributors welcome: has been made by using every space in and moving the collection. Articles, manuscripts, photographs, reviews, and other historical data are solicited for publication. Original material corners and along walls. To date most of Your president and archivist have will be returned upon publication. Send all material to: the maps and charts are recorded in a committed $1,000 each to start the build- Harry Meem, 2409 Birchwood Road, Richmond, VA 23294. spreadsheet and photographs are being ing fund. Other members of the executive COMPANY STORE scanned and indexed. are making plans to follow suit. Orders: Company Store link at borhs.org Our next step is to place our spread- Meanwhile, here are the proposed [email protected] sheets in a workable program for use with classes to meet the monetary goals for MEMBERSHIP our web page. Tis program has just been the building fund, and to reward con- [email protected] One year regular membership is $35.00. For other classes or approved by the board and we will need tributors. inquiries, write to the Society’s P.O. Box, time to get it up and running. or email [email protected]. (Continued on page 35) For an address change, write to the P.O. Box or email [email protected] In This Issue Memberships, once accepted, cannot be returned. The B&O in Cleveland On the Covers Service to Heavy Industry, by Bill Cramer, Mike Lytle and Ron Spiga...... 3 FRONT COVER: Bridge 464 is one of three lift bridges the B&O needed in Cleveland; the peg-and-hole mechanism Tending Bridges in Cleveland [inset] helped with alignment. The railroad's role in the And Other Tales of B&O Service Tere, by E. Ray Lichty ...... 26 city will be a topic of July's NMRA convention there. Will the Real RD Tower Please Stand Up? by Ron Spiga ...... 30 (Ron Spiga photograph; E. Ray Lichty photograph) 31 The CT&V Passenger Station ...... BACK COVER: Alex Mayes headed for Sand Patch The Midwest Railway Preservation Society, Preserving B&O History ...... 32 grade the day after a February snowstorm to get Running Light, Coming Society Events, Saving an Machine, etc...... 33 this photograph of a new CSX double-stack National Sentinel Editor Barry Rubin Dies...... 35 Gateway train on the former B&O. See page 33. The B&O in Cleveland Service to Heavy Industry

By Bill Cramer, Mike Lytle and Ron Spiga

The original CT&V/B&O Columbus Road freight house in the Cleveland fats. Put into use on June 17, 1896, it was 500 feet long and could accommodate 85 freight cars on multiple tracks. Built at a cost of $16,000, it was located only about a block from the proposed new brick CT&V passenger depot. (Photograph from CT&V Annual Report dated October 21, 1897)

he city of Cleveland traces its roots to the summer of 1796, it ofered Ohio settlers to reach eastern markets by crossing Twhen a Connecticut Land Company surveying party led Lake Erie to Bufalo and the new canal, the Ohio government by Moses Cleaveland (the frst “a” was dropped over time during developed two major canal systems to connect inland to both the 1800s) arrived in the lands of the Western Reserve that it had Lake Erie and the Ohio River. recently acquired from the state of Connecticut. In western Ohio, the Miami and Erie Canal was developed Te Western Reserve was an area of what is now the north- along major rivers to connect the Ohio River at Cincinnati with eastern portion of the state of Ohio that was reserved for west- Lake Erie at Toledo. In the eastern part of the state the Ohio ward expansion by settlers of Connecticut during colonial days. and Erie was developed between Cleveland and Portsmouth Cleaveland made the recommendation that the “principal” city to make a similar connection. in the Western Reserve should be located at the mouth of the Alfred Kelly, a local politician and businessman, is credited Cuyahoga River, where it fows into Lake Erie. His judgment with bringing the northern terminus of the canal to Cleveland. was based on its central location in the Western Reserve lands While we cannot question Kelly’s business and political skills, along the shore of Lake Erie and that the river was navigable he was no doubt assisted by the canal planning engineers, who for small boats for several miles inland. noted the close and favorable proximity of the Cuyahoga and Te name “Cuyahoga” is commonly believed to be a white Tuscarawas river watersheds and a supply of water necessary settler’s derivation of the Mohawk Indian word “Cayagaga,” to operate the locks at what is now Akron, Ohio. which meant crooked river. Te name is certainly an accurate Te selection of the mouth of the Cuyahoga as the northern description of the lower Cuyahoga River, which winds its way terminal for the O&E led to an infusion of federal money for like a writhing snake through its narrow valley the last few improvements, including a cutof channel to miles before it empties into Lake Erie. improve the outlet of the river into Lake Erie. In addition to A small settlement formed along the river bank near the providing better access by lake vessels to the river, the cutof outlet into Lake Erie and a town was even platted on a bluf channel improved the fow of the river, enabling residents to above the river at what is now Cleveland’s Public Square. But drain the swampy valley and make it more livable. growth was slow to come, largely because the mouth of the river Te cutof created an island between it and the original river was frequently blocked by sandbars and the narrow valley was a mouth that became known as Whiskey Island, so named for swampy and overgrown home of malaria-carrying mosquitoes a distillery, one of Cleveland’s frst important industries, that and other unwelcome critters. was located there. Tings began to pick up in the 1820s when the new Ohio Te canal was opened for navigation between Cleveland and Erie Canal was developed. Inspired by the potential of and Akron on July 4, 1827, and was opened all the way to the the canal system across New York State and the opportunity Ohio River at Portsmouth in1832. Largely because of the canal, 3 Second Quarter 2014 Te emerging idea of railroads began LAKE ERIE to ofer an opportunity to compete with 1 WHISKEY communities that had canals and caught ISLAND 2 4 3 LAKE ERIE the attention of business interests in NYC RR SUPERIOR AVE8 PRR 6 Ohio, much like the business community 5 9 of Baltimore, Maryland, that had started CO LU M the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to B U S DETROIT R 7 D SUPERIOR compete with cities such as Philadelphia VIADUCT 11 CENTRAL AVE and New York that were developing canal 12 systems to reach the interior. CENTRAL NYC & ST-L FURNACE The earliest successful example in 3 Ohio of railroads competing with canals Cleveland, Ohio Circa 1896 AGW is the Lake Erie community of Sandusky 1 FUTURE SITE OF Key ■ 2 W&LE STANDARD OIL and the Mad River and Lake Erie Rail- 1. Interchange with the NYC (Whiskey Island) road, which sought to connect Lake Erie 3rd ST 2. Interchange with the PRR (Whiskey Island) FUTURE SITE OF 3. Bridge 404, (Swing Bridge – will later become B&O Bridge 464) 13 GRASSELI CHEMICAL at Sandusky with the Ohio River at Cin- 14 4. Valley Railway Warehouse (Rail to River) cinnati, in competition with Cleveland 5. Bridge 403 (Swing Bridge – will later become B&O Bridge 463) 6. Valley Railway Station and Toledo. 7. Columbus Road Freight House By the 1850s the superiority of rail- 8. Seneca Street Yard roads as a transportation mode became 9. Eagle Street Yard & Fruit Yard FUTURE SITE OF 10. Not used CORRIGAN McKINNEY CO. O & E apparent. Canals were limited by topog- 11. Central Avenue Freight House CANAL 12. Valley Railway & Shops raphy, water supply and weather, particu- 13. Former Valley Railway Roundhouse larly in winter. Compared to the canal 14. Bridge 400 (Swing Bridge – will later become B&O Bridge 460) FUTURE SITE OF systems, the railroads demonstrated CLEVELAND Key Cleveland, Lorain FURNACE and Wheeling Railway ■ greater fexibility in where they could 1. Roundhouse locate, were less infuenced by drought ER 2. Freight house A RIV HOG and winter weather, and were able to 3. Interchange with the A&GW (Erie) CUYA move passengers and freight economi- Major points of interest of the Valley/CT&V lines in Cleveland fats circa 1896. cally and much faster! (Map by Mike Lytle, graphic by Marsha Stepowany) The Cleveland business commu- nity, even with its canal, began early during the next 20 years Cleveland’s which became known locally as “the to recognize the potential of railroads. population grew from a settlement of 500 fats” and was overlooked by a bustling Cleveland’s frst successful railroad was hardy settlers to a large trading center of business and residential community on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati 12,000 people. the blufs on either side of the valley. Railroad, known as the Bee Line and later The canal followed the Cuyahoga During this period the business and the Big Four, that began construction in River north from Akron and entered political scene in Cleveland came to be the late 1840s and was opened all the way Cleveland along the east bank of the dominated by a close-knit group of entre- to Cincinnati in 1851. river, roughly paralleling it to a location preneurs who owned and operated most It was followed quickly by lines run- about a half-mile south of its mouth and of the local businesses and industries. ning east and west from Cleveland along just “under the hill” from Public Square Tis group of men did business with each the shore of Lake Erie that became parts where a ship lock was constructed to other, invested in and held management of the Lake Shore and Michigan South- permit lake vessels to enter the canal positions in each other’s businesses, ran ern Railroad. By 1890, both the Big Four from the river to transfer cargo directly for and supported each other for politi- and the LS&MS became part of the New between canal and lake vessels. The cal ofce, socialized both during the day York Central System. location of the canal and its proximity and evenings, and supported each other’s Te Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad to downtown Cleveland later became charity and philanthropic interests. was opened from Cleveland to the Ohio important to the Baltimore and Ohio Te canals had brought growth and River in 1852. It quickly fell under the Railroad, as we will see shortly. prosperity to those communities located control of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Te along them. Communities denied access Cleveland and Mahoning Valley Railroad, The Trouble With Canals to the canals for political or physical which opened in 1857 from Cleveland to As the industrial revolution spread reasons began to search for ways to Youngstown and Warren, Ohio, eventu- across the country between 1845 and overcome “the tyranny of distance” that ally became part of the Erie Railroad. 1860, Cleveland grew into a major manu- plagued early settlers in Ohio and other Tese early Cleveland railroads were facturing and trading center largely con- parts of the newly developing western built by men from the Cleveland business centrated in the Cuyahoga River valley, frontier of the United States. community or were supported by and 4 Second Quarter 2014 Activity was brisk on the side of the Columbus Road freight depot. Here a typical crew goes about its duties working at the freight house. At one point cars were lined up abreast so crews using portable ramps could roll cargo from the loading dock through one car and into a second. (CT&V Annual Report 1897) provided investment money by them. A Manufacturing Colossus of the crazy-idea category, but several of A Union Station, used by the Bee Line, After the Civil War our industrial them had merit, obtained support and LS&MS and C&P, was built along the revolution kicked into high gear, and were built. Two of these lines, the Valley lake shore just east of the mouth of the Cleveland, strategically positioned as a Railway and the Lake Shore and Tuscara- Cuyahoga River in 1853. It burned in 1864 growing railroad center and Great Lakes was Valley Railroad, became part of the and was replaced in 1866 by a station that port, continued to grow rapidly. By the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad by the turn was, at that time, the largest structure in end of the 19th century it was one of the of the century. the world under one roof. largest cities in the United States and Te Valley Railway began life as the The heyday of the canals in Ohio also one of its largest manufacturing Akron and Canton Railway in 1869 and was short-lived. Te state-owned canal centers. John D. Rockefeller’s Standard was the brainchild of David L. King, a system became politicized and had cre- Oil Company started in Cleveland and businessman from Akron. King was also ated a heavy debt that was hard to deal grew quickly to be the country’s largest involved with the B&O in an unsuccess- with. Floods, drought and economic oil company. ful attempt in 1870 to extend the B&O ups and downs periodically strained the Te iron and steel industry, attracted westward from Pittsburgh to Chicago system. Revenues from canal operation by the availability of iron ore from the via Youngstown, Akron and Chicago peaked in 1847 and tonnage carried upper Great Lakes and coal from the . reached its highest point in the early eastern Ohio felds, grew rapidly and King’s Akron and Canton Railway 1850s, followed by a rapid decline caused became Cleveland’s largest industry. Te quickly grew into the larger idea of a line in large part by competition from the steel industry in turn attracted businesses not just between Akron and Canton, but growing railroad system. that supplied it or used its products. also into Cleveland. With investors from In 1861 the state government leased Te Cleveland business community, all three communities involved, a com- the canal system to private opera- as well as other entrepreneurs, looked pany with the broader name of the Valley tors. Tey made improvements in the for more and better ways to bring coal, Railway was incorporated on August 21, operation and physical structure, but the the fuel of the industrial revolution, to 1871. Its objective was to build a railroad inherent problems persisted and fnally Cleveland and the ports along Lake Erie. from Cleveland through Akron and in the late 1870s the state was forced to A number of railroads down into the Canton into the eastern Ohio coal felds, take back the now partially dismantled coal felds were proposed. Some never and there were plans to reach the Ohio canal system. got of the drawing boards, or even out River at or near Wheeling, West Virginia. Second Quarter 2014 5 The west end of Clark Avenue yard looking south. In the center foreground is the BIDS (Bulk Intermodal Distribution Services) terminal area flled with covered hoppers and tank cars with loads waiting to be transloaded to trucks. The small gray structure at bottom center is the old west end yard ofce. (Ron Spiga photograph, September 1990)

The old CT&V/B&O roundhouse and machine shop are at the center of the view with a Newburgh and South Shore yard to the left, the BIDS terminal and Clark Avenue yard to the right and part of the large Cleveland steel mill complex in the background. The smaller brick building and gray metal shed were the B&O’s Cleveland storehouse. (RS) 6 Second Quarter 2014