The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway (CH&D) was a railroad based in the U.S. state of Ohio that existed between its incorporation on March 2, 1846, and its acquisition by the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

in December 1917. It was originally chartered to build from Cincinnati to

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at th ...

, and then to

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, a distance of ; further construction and acquisition extended the railroad, and by 1902 it owned or controlled of railroad. Its stock and bond value plunged in late 1905 after "financial mismanagement of the properties" was revealed. The company was reorganized as the Toledo and Cincinnati Railroad in 1917.

Acquisitions

The original CH&D was founded by John Alexander Collins, who was born on June 8, 1815 in Staffordshire, England. He came to the US as a child in 1825, and worked as a locomotive engineer until moving to Ohio in 1851 to open the CH&D. Collins remained with the line until 1872, six years before his death in Covington, Kentucky. Collins is buried in Woodland Cemetery in

, where his tombstone details his life and its work. The railway received a charter from the State of Ohio on March 2, 1846 as the "Cincinnati and Hamilton Railroad". The name was changed by the legislature to the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway on February 8, 1847.

Stephen S. L'Hommedieu Stephen Satterly L'Hommedieu (January 5, 1806 – May 25, 1875) was an American publisher and railroad executive and who served as president of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Company. Early life L'Hommedieu was born on January 5, 180 ...

was elected president of the road on July 3, 1848. Work on the road began in 1850, and by September of that year the right of way had been obtained between Cincinnati and Hamilton, with the right of way between Hamilton and Dayton being sought. The road was graded by this time as well, since iron for the rails had arrived. By May 1851, the entire right of way was purchased and grading along the entire route finished. The first trains ran on September 18, 1851: Two special inaugural trains from Dayton met two special inaugural trains from Cincinnati at Hamilton. On May 1, 1863, the CH&D leased the

Dayton and Michigan Railroad Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

in perpetuity and, later, acquired a controlling interest in the

Cincinnati, Richmond and Chicago Railroad The Cincinnati and Richmond Railroad was part of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway system. History The Richmond and Miami Railroad was chartered in Indiana on January 19, 1846 to build from Richmond southeast to the Ohio st ...

, extending from

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. L'Hommedieu retired in June 1870, shortly before his death in 1875, and was succeeded by D. McLaren as president of the road. In 1891, it acquired the Cincinnati, Dayton and Chicago Railroad, while in March of that year it added the Cincinnati, Dayton and Ironton Railroad. In 1886 the CH&D was among the railroads controlled by the financial speculator

Henry S. Ives Henry S. Ives (1859–1894) was an American financier, speculator and stock manipulator, popularly nicknamed by the contemporary press as "The Napoleon of Finance." Ives is best remembered as the principal of a brief but spectacular Wall Street ...

before his spectacular collapse the following year.

The CH&D in Lima, Ohio

The Dayton and Michigan was the second railroad to reach Lima, Ohio, reaching there in 1858. By 1880, they had established a significant shop facility on the north side of town with over two hundred employees. The Detroit and Michigan had a freight depot west of the tracks and south of East North Street, between North Central Avenue (once Tanner Street) and North Jackson Street. Successor CH&D built a larger structure on the site, which continued to be used by the Baltimore and Ohio at least into the 1950s. The passenger depot followed a similar pattern, but was located farther north, between East Wayne Street and the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks.

References

* Morris, J.C. (ed). 1902
1902 Ohio Railway Report
* Full Report
Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs to the Governor of the State of Ohio For the Year 1902

Retrieved on May 16, 2005. * Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway (1914), List of Officers, Agents, Stations, Sidings and Mileage (reprinted in 1996 by Trains & Stuff, Ltd.) *Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs for the Year Ending June 30, 1868, State of Ohio, 1869

External links

Rear 6th and Baymiller, 1913 floodFlood, 1884 6th and Baymiller C.H.& D. StationC. H. & D. Depot, North Side, CincinnatiC.H. & D. R. R. Station, Hamilton, OhioCincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Depot, Oxford, OhioCincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad Records, Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cincinnati Hamilton Dayton Railway 1895 1917 Defunct Ohio railroads Companies affiliated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Transportation in Butler County, Ohio Transportation in Dayton, Ohio Former Class I railroads in the United States Predecessors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Railway companies established in 1895 Railway companies disestablished in 1917 Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Indiana railroads 6 ft gauge railways in the United States 1895 establishments in Ohio

Acquisitions

The CH&D in Lima, Ohio

See also

References

External links