Columbus and Xenia Railroad
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The Columbus and Xenia Railroad was a railroad which connected the city of
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 ...
, with the town of Xenia in the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
of
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 ...
in the United States. Construction began in October 1847, and the line opened in February 1850. Connecting with the
Little Miami Railroad The Little Miami Railroad was a railway of southwestern Ohio, running from the eastern side of Cincinnati to Springfield, Ohio. By merging with the Columbus and Xenia Railroad in 1853, it created the first through-rail route from the important man ...
, it created the first rail route from
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 ...
to Columbus.


Formation and fundraising

The Columbus and Xenia Railroad (C&X) was chartered on March 12, 1844. Among its early leaders was William Dennison, the future
Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
. The Little Miami Railroad linked Cincinnati and Xenia in 1845, and the C&X was intended to link Columbus to Xenia—creating the first rail link between Columbus and Cincinnati. In its charter, the C&X was authorized to issue $500,000 ($ in dollars) in stock, but the incorporators had difficulty raising funds and initiating construction. Two years later, the state authorized Greene County to purchase $50,000 ($ in dollars) of company stock, and the town of Xenia to purchase $5,000 ($ in dollars) of company stock. The following year, the state authorized Franklin County and the city of Columbus to purchase $50,000 ($ in dollars) of company stock each. The General Assembly also amended the C&X's charter to permit it to seek loans up to $300,000 ($ in dollars). Greene County was authorized to purchased another $50,000 ($ in dollars) in stock, and Xenia to purchase another $6,000 ($ in dollars) in stock. Madison County was authorized to purchase up to $20,000 ($ in dollars) in stock. By April 1845, the company had raised just $200,000 ($ in dollars). With funds still in short supply, no survey of the route had been made by February 1847. The state legislature amended the company's charter in February 1848 to permit it to increase the stock by $1 million and to obtain loans in any amount necessary to complete the road.


Construction


Selecting the route

The C&X now had enough funds to begin construction of the line, but not enough to complete it. The company was now faced with selecting a president who not only had to be an able fund-raiser but who also could oversee construction of the line without incurring any cost overruns.
Alfred Kelley Alfred Kelley (November 7, 1789—December 2, 1859) was a Banking, banker, canal builder, lawyer, railroad executive, and state legislator in the U.S. state, state of Ohio in the United States. He is considered by historians to be one of the mo ...
agreed to become president of the railroad in spring or summer of 1847 at a salary of $500 ($ in dollars) a year. Kelley, a
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. ...
lawyer, had been elected the first mayor of the newly-incorporated Village of Cleveland in 1815. As a member of the
Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...
, he championed the construction of canals, and as a Canal Commissioner oversaw the construction of the
Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It also ...
. Known as the "father of the Ohio and Erie Canal", Kelley was one of the most dominant commercial, financial, and political people in the state of Ohio in the first half of the 1800s. One of the ablest bankers and financiers in Ohio, Kelley personally went to New York City to sell C&X bonds, and raised enough money to not only complete construction of the railroad but also to buy
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s and
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
to equip it. Kelley had accompanied the surveyors when they located the route of the Ohio & Erie Canal, and now he and
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
Sylvester Medbery traveled along the likely routes surveying them together. Kelley personally approved the route of the C&X.


Grading and tracking the line

Construction on the C&X began when contracts were issued in October 1847 for grading of the line from the west bank of
Scioto River The Scioto River ( ) is a river in central and southern Ohio more than in length. It rises in Hardin County just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets t ...
in Columbus west to Georgesville. The west of Georgesville went under grading contract in September 1848, and the last to Xenia were under contract two months later. Grading was expected to be complete by February 1, 1849. Work constructing the
track bed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ballast a ...
began in February 1849. This would allow the line to open in October 1849. The track bed was finished in mid-June, and railroad officials hoped to have the line to open in October. Because bridging the Scioto River would take time, the C&X began construction in July 1849 of a temporary depot on the west bank of the river in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus. This was a two-story brick structure long and deep. For the actual track, Kelley contracted with Sir John Guest & Co. of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
for T rails. The C&X was one of the first railroads in Ohio to used T rails instead of strap rails. The of rails did not arrive in Cleveland until July 1849, delaying the laying of track until the fall.


Opening the road

A locomotive was shipped via canal and rail to Columbus, where it assisted with the laying of track. Mild winter weather allowed track to be laid more quickly than expected. With only of track left to lay on February 9, 1850, the company rushed to write rules and regulations for operating its road and to hire conductors and track workers. Tracklaying was complete on either February 19 or February 21, 1850. The first test train ran over the track on February 22. Passengers, which included railway officials, civic leaders, and businessmen, traveled while seated on a
flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...
. The journey took 3 hours and 5 minutes. The Columbus and Xenia Railroad began regular service on February 27, 1850. The train was pulled by the ''Washington'', a locomotive built by the Bolton Works of Cincinnati. There were no passenger or freight stations between Columbus and Xenia, only halts. The halts were incomplete; there were no platforms, shelters, or signals, just wide mudflats. On March 2, members of the Ohio General Assembly rode the line in a special train to celebrate the road's opening. Although the cost of constructing the road had been estimated at $600,000 ($ in dollars) in May 1849, the final cost proved to be $1.4 million ($ in dollars). The C&X bridge over the Scioto River opened on December 14, 1850. This allowed the railroad to reach its permanent freight and passenger station, located on High Street at Naughten. This large,
barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...
-like structure covered three tracks, all of them at-grade. The location of the station had been controversial, as both sides of the river wanted the station. The 1851 station had several small additions made to it in the early 1860s, to accommodate train traffic during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. A new
Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
was built north of it in 1875, and the 1851 station demolished. The C&X built a brick building on west side of High Street (across the street from the depot) as its corporate headquarters in 1853.


Expansion and merger

In 1853, the Columbus and Xenia Railroad and the Little Miami Railroad entered into a contract to operate as one line. This joint operating agreement ended in 1869, at which point the C&X agreed to permanently lease itself to the Little Miami Railroad. A year later, the Little Miami (and its leased lines) were leased to the
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...
, which eventually became a part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
.


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


For further reading

*Steiner, Rowlee. ''A Review of Columbus Railroads''. unpublished manuscript. 1952. (Available from the library of th
Ohio Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbus Xenia Railroad Defunct Ohio railroads Companies affiliated with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway companies established in 1844 Railway companies disestablished in 1943 4 ft 10 in gauge railways in the United States