The Spring Grove, Avondale and Cincinnati Railway, now defunct, was a one and one-quarter mile long, narrow gauge railroad of

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county i ...

that provided access to the

Cincinnati Zoo The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the sixth oldest zoo in the United States, founded in 1873 and officially opening in 1875. It is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It originally began with in the middle of the c ...

. The company was chartered in February 1881 to build a line connecting Cincinnati, Avondale, St. Bernard, and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in Butler County. However, on May 3, 1881, less than three months later, the company was leased for ninety-nine years to the narrow gauge Cincinnati Northern Railway, which built the line as a spur from a point at its own line, called Avondale Junction, to the zoo. It was a popular route, easily enabling visits to the zoo. On March 6, 1883, the company was merged with the Cincinnati Northern into the

Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad The Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad (TC&StL) was a narrow-gauge railroad based in Ohio. It began as a subsidiary of the narrow-gauge Toledo, Delphos and Burlington Railroad (TD&B), which was opened on July 4, 1875, but in 1882 the two ...

. After that company's bankruptcy and sale at auction, the Spring Grove was sold at auction in January 1886 and became part of the

Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway The Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway (CL&N) was a local passenger and freight-carrying railroad in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, connecting Cincinnati to Dayton via Lebanon. It was built in the late 19th century to give ...

. In September 1888, holders of Spring Grove bonds sued over non-payment. A receiver was appointed in July 1889, all service on the road ceased the following month, and the line was torn up in September.

References

*John W. Hauck. ''Narrow Gauge in Ohio''.

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

: Pruett Publishing, 1986. Defunct Ohio railroads Transportation in Hamilton County, Ohio Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway companies established in 1881 Railway companies disestablished in 1883 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Narrow gauge railroads in Ohio 1881 establishments in Ohio American companies disestablished in 1883 American companies established in 1881 {{US-rail-transport-stub