The Indiana and Ohio Railway is an American

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that operates of track in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, southern

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and parts of southeastern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. It is owned and operated by

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...

, who acquired the railroad in the 2012 purchase of

RailAmerica RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, was a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada. In 2007, RailAmerica was acquired by Fortress Investment Group. Before that, it t ...

. The railroad's traffic comes mainly from grain, lumber products, metals, and chemical products. The IORY hauled around 62,000 carloads in 2008.

History

The IORY's original line, acquired in 1985, connected

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

and

Monroe, Ohio Monroe is a city in east central Butler and west central Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 15,412 at the 2020 census. Monroe is a part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Monroe was l ...

. The IORY set up a tourist operation known as the Indiana and Ohio Scenic Railway which operated over this line. The tourist train still operates out of

Lebanon, Ohio Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. The first European settler ...

under the ownership of the Cincinnati Railway Company (CRC) under the name

Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad The Lebanon Mason & Monroe Railroad (LM&M Railroad) is a heritage railroad in Ohio. It offers passenger rides out of its depot in Lebanon, Ohio. Route history The train operates on approximately of track between Lebanon, Mason and Monroe – all ...

. Another line, acquired in 1986, runs from Norwood to

Brecon, Ohio Brecon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sycamore Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 408 at the 2020 census. History Brecon was a depot on the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway. In 1894, it was describ ...

. In 1991, the former

DT&I The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad operated from 1905 to 1983 between its namesake cities of Detroit, Michigan, and Ironton, Ohio, via Toledo. At the end of 1970, it operated 478 miles of road on 762 miles of track; that year it carried 1, ...

between

Washington Court House, Ohio Washington Court House (often abbreviated as Washington C.H.) is a city in Union Township, Fayette County, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located between Cincinnati and Columbus. The population grew almost 1.5% from 2010 to ...

and

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

came into the system via a designated operator agreement with the West Central Ohio Port Authority. The system expanded north into Michigan in 1997 when it acquired the remainder of the former DT&I mainline between Diann, Michigan and Springfield. The Indiana and Ohio Railroad merged into the IORY in 1997. It had been formed in 1978 to operate a branch between Valley Junction, Ohio and

Brookville, Indiana Brookville is a town in Brookville Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,596 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of and the largest community entirely within Franklin County. History Brookville was ...

. In 1994, IORY acquired two lines from

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

in Springfield: one between Springfield and Bellefontaine; and one between Springfield and Mechanicsburg. The Indiana and Ohio Central Railroad was the designated owner of these two lines until 2004. In 1996, it was acquired by

RailTex RailTex was a transportation holding company that specialized in owning and operating short line railroads across North America. Based in San Antonio, Texas, the public company was a leader in making unprofitable lines shed by Class I railroads ...

. RailTex was absorbed by

in 2000, and RailAmerica was acquired by

in December 2012.

Fleet

As of July 2022, the I&O's roster consisted of the following, all built by EMD:

References

External links

Indiana and Ohio Railway official webpage - Genesee and Wyoming website
Indiana railroads Ohio railroads Michigan railroads Regional railroads in the United States RailAmerica Spin-offs of Conrail {{US-rail-company-stub