Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Railway

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: Railroads:

The Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern was a small railroad built in the late 19th century. It eventually became part of the larger System.

For many years Lebanon had desired a railroad. The town, located on the Warren County highland (between the Great and Little Miami Rivers), had stagnated while railroads were built in the surrounding towns. It’s hard to underestimate how important railroads were to America’s developing industrial economy in the decades after the Civil War and Lebanon feared it was being left behind.

More than once Lebanon tried to get a spur built off of the Little Miami Railroad. Then the town tried to support the futile Cincinnati, Lebanon, and Xenia road. After years of courting and pleading for a connection to a major line, Lebanon merchants and citizens finally decided to take matters into their own hands. The decision was made to construct a three-foot narrow gauge railroad from Cincinnati, through Lebanon, to Xenia. The Miami Valley Narrow Gauge Railway Company was incorporated on November 7, 1874 and groundbreaking was made on September 1, 1876.

It wasn’t long before financial problems began for the new railroad, a pattern that would be often repeated for the line. Most of the right-of-way from Cincinnati through to Waynesville was purchased and the grading was underway, but raising capital to finish construction became a problem. The company went into receivership and in 1880 it was sold to the Toledo, Delphos, and Burlington Railroad (TD&B).

The TD&B had big plans to expand and develop a large midwest narrow gauge system. Already the TD&B had a mainline into Dayton, and they wished to finish the line into Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Northern was incorporated in 1880 as a subsidiary of the TD&B in order to build a narrow gauge line from Cincinnati to Dodds (a small village 5 miles north of Lebanon). The railroad finally came to Lebanon on February 17, 1881. The TD&B also constructed a connecting line between Dodds and the Dayton and Southeastern Railroad line going into Dayton (at a place which came to be called Lebanon Junction). The two lines combined to form the Cincinnati Division of the TD&B.

The TD&B (later merging to become the TC&StL), however, had their own problems. Over-expansion and cheap narrow gauge construction were becoming problems. Their mainline stretching from Toledo to St. Louis became a reality, but it was severally under capitalized. Maintenance on the line north of Dodds and elsewhere in the system became a nightmare, and the inherent difficulties with interchange would prove disastrous. The TC&StL eventually collapsed and went into receivership in 1883.

While the TC&StL would drag the Cincinnati Northern into bankruptcy, it was actually the most well-constructed part of the narrow gauge system and made enough profit to remain competitive. Through the efforts of Albert Netter and a number of Cincinnati investors they were able to purchase the Cincinnati Division. It would reorganize as the . The line running from Dodds to Dayton was purchased by seperate owners and would reform as the Dayton, Lebanon, and Cincinnati ().

The CL&N operated as a local narrow gauge suburban road for a few more years. Profits alternated between modest and non-existent. The railroad did prove itself in a the Ohio River flood of 1884, being the only Cincinnati railroad to remain in operation during the flood. The CL&N would come to be known as the ‘highland route’ for service during floodtime.

In 1896 the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) purchased the CL&N in order to secure another entrance into Cincinnati in the event of another flood, as well as preventing competing railroad from purchasing the line and using it to compete with the PRR’s Little Miami Division. Shortly before this purchase the CL&N was made standard gauge to appear better to potential buyers.

After purchase by the PRR, the CL&N remained independent as a separate division. The Middletown and Cincinnati (), an independent railroad running from Middletown to the Little Miami Division was also purchased by PRR in 1905. The DL&C, which by this time had built it’s own route into Dayton, was purchased by the PRR in 1915. These two railroad were merged into the CL&N system, creating one standard gauge railroad connecting Dayton, Lebanon, Cincinnati, and Middletown in southwestern Ohio.

Thus the fate of the CL&N would be tied to that of the Pennsylvania, the great “standard of the world”. The CL&N’s independent operation ended in 1925 when the PRR consolidated it’s holdings by forming the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Detroit Railroad. However, this railroad existed mainly on paper as part of the entire Pennsylvania system.

By this later date competition with the automobile severely hurt passenger traffic. The deathknell for passenger service on the CL&N was the requirement for all trains to use Cincinnati’s new Union Terminal. The last passenger train left Lebanon on February 1st, 1934 almost 53 years to the day since the line was constructed. In the coming decades many of the stations would be torn down to reduce taxes.

By the late 1960’s railroads everywhere were in decline. Competition from the new interstate highway system compounded by legacy tracks and regulation would nearly lead to the death of railroads in the United States. The PRR controlled over 10,000 miles of track, much of it in local light-density lines like the CL&N. 11 miles of track north of Lebanon to Lytle was abandoned in 1952.

In 1968 the PRR and the New York Central (NYC), merged to form the Penn Central (PC). 3 miles of track north of Brecon was abandoned, cutting the line into two sections through till this day. All service through the Deer Creek Valley into the Court Street Depot, as well as from Hageman Junction to the Little Miami Division. was permanently suspended. Today, a Greyhound Bus terminal stands on the former downtown yard.

Yet Penn Central could not stop the bleeding of cash from America’s railroads. When the PC went bankrupt the US government stepped in and formed the Consolidated Rail Corporation (or Conrail for short). Conrail acquired from the PC the CL&N mainline through Norwood into the new industrial parks of Blue Ash, as well as the former M&C mainline from Middletown through Hageman to Mason. It also gained control of short sections of the former CL&C near Dayton and Hampsted. It was up to Lebanon businesses to pay operating expenses for the Lebanon branch and save it from abandonment.

In early 1977, a number of Lebanon businesses banded together and saved the line from abandonment. It would be a historic decision for Lebanon’s future. In 1984, the up and coming regional railroad the Indiana and Ohio () purchased the Mason subdivision from Conrail, including the Lebanon branch. Later in 1986 the would purchase the Blue Ash subdivision. An attempt was even made to reconnect the former CL&N trackage, which failed due to NIMBY opposition in the nearby suburban developments.

The I&O, today owned by Rail America, continues to operate the freight business through Norwood, as well as the online businesses near Mason. In 1985 the I&O began operating an excursion business from Lebanon to Mason. When the I&O was sold to Railtex, this was spun off as the I&O Passenger Corporation owned by Mr. Thomas McOwen. Today the passenger operation lives on as the Lebanon, Mason and Monroe Railroad () under the ownership of the Cincinnati Railway Company.

Photo Gallery

The Blizzard of 1918

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: History Railroads: ,

Much of Ohio is still digging out right now from a couple of major snowstorms that hit last week. In fact, the snow totals for February have broken the previous records over much of the state. That being said, harsh winters in Ohio are not exactly new. I dug out some photos from Narrow Gauge in Ohio showing how the struggled during the winter of 1917-1918.

The blizzard of 1918 struck on January 10th and covered Ohio in 10 to 15 inches of snow. Temperatures dropped to 15 degrees below zero and drifts were 10 to 15 feet high in some places. Things were tough for the railroads all around the state but it was important to keep coal, the predominate home heating fuel, moving to communities.

The area north of Lebanon around Lytle is generally flat territory and the snow formed deep drifts across the tracks. Rail traffic was at a standstill and some of the families in Lytle began to run short of coal and food. The , having acquired the in 1915, first tried to plow the line with a single locomotive. This worked until the engine got stuck in a snow-filled cut a bit north of town. Two more engines were brought in from the Little Miami district to form the triple-header seen above. A wooden plow was also attached the front. Together the three engines were able to make it through the cut and restore passenger service for the first time in eleven days.

Some of these photos are from private collections and printed in Narrow Gauge in Ohio. I apologise for the scanned quality. The others  are currently in the Silverton Railroad Station collection. I haven’t had a chance to visit when they’re open so I don’t know if anything is on display.

A Brief History of Lebanon's Railroads

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: History Railroads: , ,

The following article first appeared on HistoricLebanonOhio.com.

Few people today realise how hard Lebanon tired to get a railroad.

By the late 1870′s Lebanon was stagnating economically. All the available farmland had been settled and no new major industry had located to the town for thirty years. Dirt roads and primitive turnpikes were both slow and the only transportation options in and out of town.

Lebanon, the seat of Warren County, was the last major town in the area not served by a railroad. Steam railroads were incredibly important to economic development in the late 1800′s, and without one the citizens of Lebanon knew the town would remain backwards in comparison to her neighbours.

Efforts were made early on to get a railroad in Lebanon. The first railroad in Ohio, the Little Miami Railroad, ran to the east of town up the Little Miami River valley. When this line was originally surveyed it was planned to run up the Turtle Creek valley through Lebanon and on to Waynesville, but the steep grade required was too much for the early locomotives of the day.

In the 1840′s numerous campaigns were made to get a branch built off of the Little Miami to Lebanon. However, the railroad company responded with little interest to the requests.

By the early 1850′s the residents of Lebanon decided to take matters into their own hands and helped to charter the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Xenia Rail Road Company (CL&X). This company would make considerable progress grading a line from Waynesville through Lebanon to Mason.

A shortage of capital later caused construction to stall and in 1861 the CL&X went bankrupt before rails were even laid. After this failure the city leaders tried again to get a branch off the Little Miami.

Lebanon tried one more time to build a railroad in the 1870′s. The Miami Valley Railway was charted in 1874 to use the old roadbed of the CL&X and run through Norwood to Cincinnati. The line was to be built as a 3-foot narrow gauge. At the time, narrow gauge railroads were thought to be cheaper to construct and operate than their standard gauge cousins.

The Miami Valley Railway would construct its line to Cincinnati through Blue Ash, Norwood, and down the Deer Creek Valley (close to the route of I-71 today). Outside investment from the Toledo, Delphos and Burlington narrow-gauge system helped the project to be completed. After a later reorganisation the railroad would come to be known as the Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Railway () and it is under this name the line is most commonly known today.

The CL&N eventually earned the nickname “The Highland Route” because of its construction on the highlands between the Little and Great Miami Rivers. Most other competing lines were built in the river valleys and the CL&N was often the only line into Cincinnati or Dayton during floods.

In 1881 the first passenger train made the journey from Cincinnati to Lebanon. For many years some citizens would choose to commute to factories in Norwood and Cincinnati on the CL&N.

Some of the heavy industry that was promised with the railroad did come, although not to the same degree as surrounding industrial cities. The Oregonia Bridge company (later bought by Dave Steel) and the Elbinger Shoe Manufacturing Company were two of a handful of industries that would locate to Lebanon after the railroad’s construction.

Many more merchants would benefit from reduced prices that the cheap transportation allowed. Lebanon no longer had to pay more for coal and other raw materials then surrounding towns.

In 1894 the line was made standard gauge and in 1896 the Pennsylvania Railroad gained a majority control. After this point the railroad would be operated as the CL&N branch of the Pennsylvania.

Two other railways were also bought by the Pennsylvania and made part of the CL&N system. The Dayton, Lebanon, and Cincinnati was constructed in early 1880′s as a narrow gauge line connecting Lebanon through Centerville to other narrow gauge railways in Dayton. It assumed its current name when made standard gauge in 1891.

The Middletown and Cincinnati was a standard gauge line connecting Middletown to the Little Miami Railroad. It was purchased by the Pennsylvania in 1902. The Middletown and Cincinnati interchanged with the CL&N at Hageman Junction along US 42 in Union Township.

Passenger service on the CL&N ended in January 1934, shortly after Union Terminal opened and replaced the depot at Court Street in Cincinnati. With the Pennsylvania also owning the Little Miami Railroad, the line was no longer needed as a through route. A segment between Lebanon and Lytle was abandoned in 1952 and another segment between Mason and Blue Ash was abandoned in 1968. The steep line into Cincinnati was abandoned in the early 70′s and only a few short miles now remain of the line that ran north to Dayton.

In the early 1980′s the Indiana & Ohio shortline took over the remaining segments from Conrail (a Pennsylvania successor) and began to operate freight service as well as passenger excursions around Lebanon and Mason.

The city of Lebanon has since purchased the 4 miles of line from downtown to Hageman Junction. The city continues to contract through the Indiana & Ohio to provide freight shipping for interested businesses. It also leases the line to the Lebanon, Mason & Monroe (a successor of the Indiana & Ohio Passenger Corporation) for passenger excursions on the weekends.

Today, thousands of visitors a year ride on a roadbed first built in the 1850′s. Few, however, have any idea how hard the town worked to finally get its railroad constructed. For more information about the CL&N in Lebanon, visit my website Ohio Valley Railroads.

Kyle Montgomery

Special thanks to John W. Hauck’s Narrow Gauge in Ohio for the information from which much of this article was written.

Hyde Park Branch to Close

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: News Railroads: ,

According to sources posting on the CincyRails newsgroup the end appears to be near for norfolk & Southern’s Hyde Park Branch. The branch, which runs from Red Bank Road through Hyde Park to Montgomery Road may have seen its last train run on 8/28. The bulk transfer facility at the end line appears to be empty and closed. It was only a few months ago we reported about a car getting hit by the local working this section of track.

The Hyde Park line was originally part of the mainline from Cincinnati to Portsmouth. It was originally built by the Cincinnati and Northeastern, a narrow gauge railroad which eventually reformed as the Ohio & Northwestern. The O&NW had no enterance of its own into the city of Cincinnati, and used trackage rights on both the ’s Little Miami line and the on various times throughout its history.

Around the turn of the century, the successor of the O&NW the Cincinnati, Portsmouth, & Virginia built the Cincinnati Connecting Belt Railway, a line that ran from Idlewild Jct to Ivorydale Yard. This connected the railroads running down the Millcreek Valley on the west side with the railroads running in on the east side. Norfolk Southern filed for abandonment of this line about a year ago, with some of the terminal land being sold to Xavier University and the Right-Of-Way sold to SORTA for future light-rail use (Source).

The terminal of the Hyde Park Branch was in Idlewild where there stood a junction with the CL&N. The 1934 PRR timetable shows that at one time this junction was busy enough to warrant 1949 electric signals. The junction made for some interesting switching, as proceeding from the mainline through Hyde Park to the Connecting Belt required a switchback move in a relatively small yard, all while trying to avoid blocking Montgomery Road.

It’s amazing to look at the old maps and see the amount of industrial customers along the track through Idlewild and Norwood. Today the increasing commercialization of the old industrial buildings in Norwood really put a hurt on this line. Spurs that use to run into industries today dead end into brand new parking lots. Even now before this news no trains would cross Montgomery Road, the rest of the old track standing unused.

At this point I would expect Norfolk Southern to attempt a sale of the ROW to SORTA before fully abandoning the line. At any rate, I wouldn’t expect them to continue to pay property taxes on a forgotten branch line for much longer. This line looks to be another victim in the decline of Cincinnati’s east side railroads. For a detailed tour of the Hyde Park Branch check out its page on Cincinnati Traction History.

Hageman Water Tower

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: History Railroads: ,

Hageman, an unincorporated spot along US. 42 between Lebanon and Mason, has a rich history as a junction along the old . There, near the home of Reverend R.S. Hageman the narrow gauge railroad crossed the standard gauge Middletown & Cincinnati Railroad. When both lines were later purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the junction gained new importance as a crossroads of Pennsylvania’s southwestern Ohio lines.

Such a spot would prove perfect for the construction of a rare double-spouted water tower, pictured above. This photo was actually scanned out of the March 1956 issue of Trains Magazine. The double-spouted design allowed the tower to serve both the CL&N mainline as well as the Middletown Secondary.

The water for the tank came from a pump house near Muddy Creek. Today this is just south of the Southwest Golf Ranch. The creek was dammed to form a small reservoir. A steam operated pump would pump water through a pipe up the grade alongside the track and onto Hageman.

In especially cold winters this pipe would freeze and the trains would instead be required to use a smaller tower located next to the pump. Steam from the pump house would help heat that tower and keep the water from freezing. For Middletown bound trains a cold winter would require them to cut off and run engine-light down to the tower.

Shortly before WWII the steam pump was replaced with an electric pump and the position at the pump house eliminated. Both water towers were torn down sometime after dieselization along the Pennsylvania’s lines was complete. Today, you can still see their foundations when you ride the tourist train. The remains of the tower near Muddy Creek is pictured above.

History sometimes turns up in the oddest of places. I had read in one source about the unique tower at Hageman, but never expected to find a photo. I would like to thank Dave Noran for writing Trains in 1956 and Bob Zoellner for providing some of the information used in this article.

Exploring Another Old ROW

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: Then and Now Railroads: ,

A while back I was told that there was some interesting remains along the old Right-of-Way near my house. This was part of the original Lebanon to Dodds section that was torn up in 1952. I finally had some time to follow this up the other day and made some fascinating discoveries back in the woods. It was a short walk to the other side of my neighborhood where the tracks used to run. On the way, I couldn’t help but notice the old grade crossing sign in the front yard of my neighbor (pictured above). This had been there for years and I had wondered for a long time if it had been found along the original rail line.

Eventually I made it back to the tree line. I stumbled through the brush for what seemed like ages looking for any sign of the old route. This wasn’t easy as overgrown as everything was. But soon I spied the familiar sight of cinder ballast on the ground. Thank goodness for me it takes a long while for cinders to disappear. Once I found this I could make out the rest of the ROW. There were not a lot of large trees that have grown up in the intervening time and I could make out most of the path. The DL&C was never exactly over-engineered and the drainage ditches and such you would see on a class one just don’t exist on this light route.

Before long there were more clues that gave the land’s history away. Abandoned ties littered the area, some still in neat rows along the former roadbed. Old rusty barbed wire marked the boundaries of the old farm fields the line pasted through. This segment of the line was originally laid as part of the original Cincinnati Northern (TD&B) line through Dodds. It was graded in the 1870′s and was completed with rail around 1881. Later on it was bought and made standard gauge by the DL&C, eventually being purchased into the system.

I had found the roadbed, but had not completed my goal. I pressed on, looking for the spot where the roadbed crossed a small creek I knew to be in the area. I followed the roadbed south until I finally saw the ground dropping away. The roadbed was on a fill nearly 8 or 10 feet high. Dropping down into the creek, I could see the broken masonry of a bridge abutment. I had found what I was looking for.

I could only imagine the age of this stone. It could easily be 100 years old. Rushing water had knocked much of it down into the bed, but parts still held together without mortar. The creek bed itself had some old pipes laid into it. I’m guessing that was added in later years to help manage the flow of water.

It wouldn’t be the last of my discoveries. Above is pictured one of two former telegraph poles I found along the abandoned ROW. The two bolts show where the cross-beams would have been secured, the iron strap hanging loosely on the side is one of two that would have been fastened as braces to help secure each crossbar. In addition to these I was able to find only 1 spike. I imagine the other spikes were either taken up with the rail or since buried, but I’m guessing it could be over anywhere from 60 to 90 years old.

One thing I found was quite odd. A piece of rail that was not scrapped, but instead was buried vertically in the ground next to a tree. It would not budge and I have no way of guessing how long the buried piece actually is. If anyone has any idea what it could be for let me know.

Near the end of my journey I confirmed my suspicions about the old grade crossing sign, finding this post laying a long the ground. Nearby was an old farm path used for getting from fields on one side of the track to the other. I figure this was the rural path the sign was protecting.

I had followed the ROW to the point where the forest made it impassible and decided to cash out on my success when I could. It was fascinating to explore a roadbed so close to my home. I could almost hear the steam locomotives as they passed a lonely farmhouse 57 years ago; chugging slowly by along the highlands of Warren County.

I’ll be on vacation this weekend so don’t expect any new posts. Also, if you email me I won’t be getting back to you until Tuesday at the earliest.

Watch Where You Park

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: News Railroads: ,
Photo from News 5.

There was an interesting news story posted earlier in the week about a car that was hit by a train in Hyde Park. The driver of the car, an employee at Busken Bakery, apparently assumed the tracks near his workplace were abandoned. It was a costly mistake, as it just so happened that Norfolk Southern was running a local down that line today. No one was hurt, but the car was crushed up pretty good.

Photo: Idlewild Yard circa 1917.

There’s an obvious lesson in this about assuming railroad lines are abandoned. That assumption can come back to bite you anywhere when you find that it’s not the case. This line was in fact the old Ohio and Northwestern () mainline from Portsmouth into Cincinnati. Here’s a nice map of where the accident took place. This line (originally narrow gauge) interchanged with the at Idlewild. The N&W’s commuter trains would travel down the to Court Street while their long distance trains would use the Little Miami into the ’s station downtown.

Photo: The end of the line and the remains of Idlewild Yard. Photo courtesy Cincinnati Traction.

With the CL&N abandoned this line’s importance as a through line diminished significantly. Now it’s open to local traffic through Montgomery Road. There’s still a number of fairly active industries, including one at the very end of the line that gets a great deal of tank car traffic. The local that hit the parked car was transporting cars for this business. There is some nice pictures (including the one above) of this end of the line over at Cincinnati Traction History.

In other news the FRA has a website up with details of Obama’s vision for high speed rail. In non-Ohio Valley but still interesting news I found this article about a house located near a railroad branch line. It would be the perfect house if you enjoyed a daily 7 AM train.

CL&N Trackcharts

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: History Railroads: ,

Once again attempting to prove the old saying “better late than never” I’m back with Part 2 of my series on track charts. Today we’ll be looking at some excerpts from a Conrail track chart circa 1985.

The first scan is a little rough but you can see what is basically the right half of the chart featured last week. Not much has changed on the Lebanon Branch besides its owners in the last 21 years. Note the heading at the top that reads “PC Estate Sub”. After the Penn Central bankruptcy this line was deemed impossible to operate at a profit. Instead the government created the concept of the “Light-Density Line” and it was up to the shippers on the line to pay the cost difference. Also notice that no major maintenance occurred on the line since 1955. It’s been no surprised the branch has struggled to remain open. About the only thing that has changed is a drop in track speed to a maximum of 10 mph.

The rest of the Mason Secondary Track is located in the scan above. By this point the 3 mile segment between Brecon and South Mason was out of service but the chart is ambiguous as to whether the rail was still in place. I’m guessing it was, at least in places. On this chart you can also get a little better idea on what spurs have been built since the 1980′s (a lot of development around Stokes for starters) and what spurs have been abandoned in the intervening years (downtown Mason). Compare this to my interactive map of the ex- to see what the line looks like today.

Now we turn to the Blue Ash Secondary track, located above. The far left starts in McCullough Yard and runs North through Blue Ash, ending in Brencon. The Blue Ash Industrial Park made this line a profitable acquisition for Conrail. Once again this is all 10 mph restricted track.

The last segment of the CL&N that made it into Conrail was the other half of the Blue Ash Secondary, running from McCullough through Idlewild to Avondale. This segment didn’t make it to the acquisition and now much of the original ROW has been destroyed by new development in Norwood.

Later this week I’ll be taking a quick look at the ex- segments that made it into Conrail and their respective charts. If anyone has any other particular lines in the Ohio area they would like to see, drop a line in the comments below.

How to Read a Trackchart

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: History Railroads:
LebanonSub

Thanks to my friend Bob Zoellner I recently acquired this track chart scan of the Lebanon Branch. It was published by the in 1964. This was about a decade after the Lebanon-Lytle segment of the was torn up. The rest of the to Court Street was still one continuous track, but by this point it wasn’t used as a through route. Instead Lebanon and Mason were served with trains originating in Undercliff Yard routed up the Little Miami to Hageman.

A track chart provides a wealth of information about the physical plant of a railroad’s route. The first line at the very top has the milepost markers. These are the miles from Court Street, before the renumbered the Mason Sub. Between these markers are the number of “feet” in that particular mile. Often because of the inaccuracy of survey techniques in the late 19th century and improvements to the route itself, the number of feet in each mile is not 5,280. Instead it can vary 5,246 all the way to 5,288. This could be an important fact for a hypothetical maintenance guy attempting to buy replacement rail by the foot.

Speaking of rail, the second line shows when the rail was last replaced on that segment of track. No, the ’09 does not mean rail was replaced this year, but instead signifies the rail as last being replaced in 1909.

The only other line on the top is when the line segment was last reconditioned. This can include new ties or ballast. This varies from 1935 near Mason to 1955 in the short section just north of Turtlecreek Bridge.

The lines below start to describe the physical layout of the track itself. The upper half describes the grade of the line and also lists elevation above sea level. For the curious the highest grade on the line near Lebanon is 1.45% near Hageman. However, compared to the rest of the CL&N this is pretty light. The track up the Deer Creek Valley had grades of 3.5%!

Finally we see the track itself. All grade crossings (public and private) are listed as well as bridges and culverts. Active spurs are shown in the chart including the old line that crosses at Hageman. At the very bottom the curvature of the line is listed in degrees of curvature and speed restrictions are also listed (the maximum speed on the entire) subdivision was 20 mph.

So hopefully you now have a basic idea of how to read a track chart. Next week, I’ll be comparing this 1964 chart with one I have from the Conrail years. I’ll end this post with a hint, not as much changes as you might expect.

Mason-Montgomery Then & Now

Author: Kyle Montgomery
Category: Then and Now Railroads: ,

While browsing the ’s Facebook page I saw this photo that was taken of Engine #55 crossing Mason-Montgomery Road heading north during the past Easterbunny Excursion (click for map). I was immediately struck by how similar it was to a shot I had seen taken the a hundred years or so earlier.
The above photo is from the Harry Palmer Collection and scanned from John W. Hauck’s Narrow Gauge in Ohio. It was taken in the early 1900s. CL&N number 6 is leading a passenger train timetable south over “North Section Bridge” in Mason. Number 6 was an ex- 4-4-0 and this was about the average passenger train length for the time.

North Section Road was eventually renamed Mason-Montgomery Road. You can see the embankment is similar to the later photo, taken from the opposite side. This was (still is) one of the few grade separated crossings on the CL&N and one of the only on the northern segments. At one point a couple of streets near Eden Park were grade separated and there was one similar bridge over Washington Street on the .

The original bridge in the photo is a simple deck bridge sitting on concrete abundments. It’s hard to tell but it probably had a ballasted deck. The road intersects the railroad grade on an angle, but the original bridge was built parallel with the railroad. A passing motorist would have had to turn to the right and then back to the left to go under the bridge. There’s a small sign on the bridge that is too blurry to make out. It is probably either a clearance warning or a “CL&N” sign advertising the owner of the rail line.

Today the bridge over Mason-Montgomery Road has been rebuilt as a longer and more modern span similar in style to modern highway bridges. This was probably done when the roadway was widened to its current width. The tree in the old photo was most likely cut down at this time. Additionally the road was rebuilt to pass under the rail line on its original angled alignment and was probably lowered to provide additional clearance under the bridge. Today the passing motorists gets a little over 13 feet of clearance between the road surface and the bottom of the bridge.

In the past Mason was nothing but a small Warren County farming village Today this is not the case, and a housing development lies just to the right of the second photo. However, one thing that has been a constant is the passing trains. For over one hundred years passengers have crossed that bridge. Hopefully they still will be for at least a hundred more.

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