Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad
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The Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad (C&LE) was a short-lived
electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...
railway that operated in 1930–1939 Depression-era
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 ...
and ran between the major cities of
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
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 ...
,
Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...
,
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
, and Toledo. It had a substantial freight business and interchanged with other interurbans to serve
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. Its twenty high-speed "Red Devil" interurban passenger cars operated daily between Cincinnati and Cleveland via Toledo, the longest same equipment run by an interurban in the United States. The C&LE failed because of the weak economy and the loss of essential freight interchange partners. It ceased operating in 1939.


History


Background: The Consolidation

The Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad was legally formed as a corporate entity in January, 1930, by the consolidation of three existing 1929 electric interurban lines: the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton (CH&D); the Indiana, Columbus and Eastern (IC&E); and the Lima-Toledo Railroad (LT). The combination of these three companies created an interurban system that operated a south-north line from Cincinnati through Dayton and Springfield to Toledo, and an east bound line from Springfield to Columbus. The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway was acquired and reorganized in 1926 by Dr. Thomas Conway, Jr., a professor of business at the
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's
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. Believing that he could turn the interurban into a very profitable operation, he made substantial investments in infrastructure and rolling stock, including passenger cars and freight locomotives. He spent $500,000 to purchase the CH&D and then spent $1.5 million on improvements. The interurban's business and prospects improved as hoped, particularly in the movement of freight. In 1929, it handled of freight in Cincinnati. Conway then contemplated the advantages of extending his railway north to
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
connecting to
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
where the C&HD could tap the shipping business of the
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. Thus Conway acquired the Indiana, Columbus and Eastern and the Lima-Toledo as the two teetered at the edge of bankruptcy. These acquisitions gave him the desired access to Toledo. In early January, 1930, the three combined lines were officially incorporated as the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad.


Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad


Financing and rebuilding

Conway had his new Cincinnati and Lake Erie enterprise issue $3.7 million in stock and $3.5 million in bonds and began an extensive 1930 round of infrastructure improvements and equipment purchases. The timing proved unfortunate as this extensive borrowing was added to the already large bond debt of the earlier CH&D, and it came as the United States entered the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, which lasted ten years to 1939. The requirement to make the large interest payments on these bonds when added to the railway's normal operating expenses caused the line to operate at a paper loss every year except 1936. When in bankruptcy court mandated "Receivership," the C&LE had the cash to continue to operate due to the suspension of bond payments. } }The C&LE totaled in length and consisted of three operating divisions. Company offices and the train dispatching center were located in
Dayton, Ohio 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 ...
. The Toledo Division ran from Toledo south to Springfield. The Columbus Division ran west alongside U.S. Route 40 and met the Toledo Division at
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 ...
, and turned south to Dayton. The Cincinnati Division ran south from Dayton through Hamilton to Cincinnati. It followed the old
towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...
of the
Miami and Erie Canal The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that ran from Cincinnati to Toledo, Ohio, creating a water route between the Ohio River and Lake Erie. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845 at a cost to the state government of $ ...
for part of its route. The Toledo Division, formerly the Lima-Toledo, ran parallel to the route of 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 ...
.


Connecting interurbans were essential

At Toledo, the C&LE interchanged with the Lake Shore Electric Railway (LSE) from Cleveland and the Eastern Michigan Railway from Detroit. At Dayton, it interchanged with the Dayton and Western Traction Company from
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. All of these neighboring interurban lines provided important freight business for the C&LE, but all were hurting financially. The Eastern Michigan abandoned operations in 1932 and the C&LE lost its connection to Detroit. The Dayton and Western was so weak that the C&LE, in conjunction with the Indianapolis interurban
Indiana Railroad The Indiana Railroad (IR) was the last of the typical Midwestern United States interurban lines. It was formed in 1930–31 by combining the operations of the five major interurban systems in central Indiana into one entity. The predecessor comp ...
, provided the financial support to keep it operating, but it ultimately failed in 1937. The absolutely essential Cleveland connection ended in 1938 when the Lake Shore Electric abandoned after an unwise freight agent strike. The loss of these connections with the related loss of the interchange freight business, particularly that of the LSE, eventually proved fatal to the C&LE.


New rolling stock

Part of Conway's effort to rejuvenate the C&LE involved improving both passenger and freight business. For passenger service, this meant providing new passenger equipment running on faster schedules. To that end, the C&LE ordered twenty lightweight " Red Devil" cars from the
Cincinnati Car Company The Cincinnati Car Company or ''Cincinnati Car Corporation'' was a subsidiary of the Ohio Traction Company. It designed and constructed interurban cars, streetcars (trams) and (in smaller scale) buses. It was founded in 1902 in Cincinnati, Ohio. I ...
and participated in the design. They were lighter due to the use of aluminum and sat lower due to the use of smaller wheels and traction motors. These cars featured
Art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
styling and had a distinctive bright red paint scheme. Half of the cars were outfitted as
parlor car A parlor car (or parlour car outside the United States of America) is a type of passenger coach that provides superior comforts and amenities compared to a standard coach. History Parlor cars came about on United States railroads to address the ...
s with first class seating. To demonstrate the new equipment, the C&LE staged a race between car #126 and an
airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...
. The car "won" after topping out at . The Red Devils operated a daily service between Cincinnati–Toledo–Detroit () and Cincinnati–Toledo–Cleveland (). These were the longest straight through operations using the same equipment on any interurban in the United States. New freight motors were purchased along with freight cars designed to operate on city streets with tight turns at corners.


Overnight freight delivery

C&LE management turned the numerous and prior legacy regional mid 1920s interurban companies' trolley-freight feeble operations into an efficient, high-speed, freight carrier. With the cooperation of neighboring interurbans in Indiana and northern Ohio, it guaranteed next-morning freight delivery to major cities throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. The C&LE’s nightly runs between Cincinnati and Cleveland made it the longest and probably the fastest regional interurban freight carrier in America. To improve freight business, the C&LE guaranteed 5pm 8am overnight 178 mile delivery between Cincinnati to Cleveland, a service that conventional steam railroads could not provide. This enabled the C&LE to secure considerable new business, notably that of a
Frigidaire Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux. Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first s ...
plant near Dayton which had the C&LE construct loading tracks directly into their factory. This freight service operating at night had the additional benefit of not interfering with the daytime operation of the new, fast "Red Devil" passenger interurbans. The C&LE also established interchange freight rates with some steam railroads, a rarity for an interurban. The expanded freight business created tension with local municipalities who did not want freight motors towing multiple freight cars on city streets mixing with automobiles and pedestrians and damaging pavement. There was substantial street damage in both Springfield and Dayton. Springfield sued the C&LE for damages to its brick streets and won, but the railroad was unable to pay or repair the damage it was so broke. The C&LE did not employ protective
block signaling Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...
on its railway due to the cost of installation. It relied on a system of
train order A train order is "an order issued by or through a proper railway official to govern the movement of trains". Train order operation is the system by which trains are safely moved by train orders. It is distinguished from other forms of train opera ...
s, and train orders have the danger of a motorman not paying attention to where he is scheduled to meet an opposing train. The C&LE experienced several head-on wrecks due to this. One in 1932 near Hamilton, and another in 1934 near Springfield, Ohio. There were fatalities. The costs to settle bodily injury and death claims combined with the serious damage to the Red Devils exceeded the cost of installing block signals had this been done in 1930.


Abandonment

Competition with a growing population of automobiles riding on state paved highways plus the dire financial impact of the Depression led to a decline in C&LE passenger business. The reasonably good freight business collapsed as the C&LE's interchange partners went out of business. The C&LE ceased operations in 1939. The innovative Red Devils were sold after abandonment: six to the
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway , also known as the CRANDIC, is a Class III railroad operating in the US state of Iowa. The CRANDIC currently operates of main line and more than of yard trackage in four east central Iowa counties. The ...
(CRANDIC) and thirteen to the
Lehigh Valley Transit Company The Lehigh Valley Transit Company (LVT) was a regional transport company, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that began operations in 1901 as an urban trolley and interurban rail transport company. It operated successfully into the 1930s, ...
. They operated satisfactorily for both interurbans into the early 1950s.


See also

* Red Devil *
Northern Ohio Railway Museum Northern Ohio Railway Museum is a railroad museum located near Chippewa Lake, Ohio, United States. The museum is a non-profit, educational organization. It was established in 1965, granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service in 1966 a ...
*
Ohio Electric Railway The Ohio Electric Railway was an interurban railroad formed in 1907 with the consolidation of 14 smaller interurban railways. It was Ohio's largest interurban, connecting Toledo, Lima, Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati. At its peak it operated of ...


Notes


References

* * * * This is a fully referenced and detailed article on the difficult financial situation faced by the interurban. *


External links


Interurban and Railroad Map: Ohio Railroad Commission, 1918

Video discussion on YouTube of the "Great Race"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cincinnati Lake Erie Railroad Interurban railways in Ohio Defunct Ohio railroads Passenger rail transportation in Cincinnati Railway companies established in 1930 Railway companies disestablished in 1939 600 V DC railway electrification