Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad
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The Marietta and Cincinnati (M&C) was one of five important east-west
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 ...
s of southern
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; it was later absorbed 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 ...
(B&O). Its original route ran from Marietta through Vincent, Athens, Hamden, Chillicothe, Greenfield, Blanchester, and Loveland. It had two main branches: Blanchester to Hillsboro, which was originally part of the Hillsboro and Cincinnati Railroad; and Hamden to
Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. ...
, originally part of the Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad. The M&C was founded as the Belpre and Cincinnati Railroad (B&C) in 1845 The destination of the B&C was changed from Belpre to
Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Mar ...
, and in 1851 the name of the railroad was changed to The Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad. The M&C reached
Loveland, Ohio Loveland is a city in Hamilton, Clermont, and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Considered part of the Greater Cincinnati area, Loveland is located near exit 52 off Interstate 275, about northeast of the Cinc ...
by 1857. The company entered bankruptcy in 1858, from which it emerged in 1860. The first through-train from Cincinnati, using the tracks of The Little Miami Railroad to reach Loveland, ran on April 9, 1857. An extension of the right-of-way from Marietta upriver to
Bellaire, Ohio Bellaire is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Belmont County, Ohio, Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area, and Wheeling is across the Ohio ...
, to enable a connection across the Ohio River with 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 ...
at
Wheeling, Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contain ...
, had been largely graded with stone culverts constructed by the 1858 bankruptcy. Construction stopped. 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 ...
(PRR) later purchased the right-of-way between Bellaire and Marietta. The Northwestern Virginia Railroad, financed and controlled by the B&O, was built from a junction with the B&O mainline at Grafton, West Virginia to Parkersburg, West Virginia and opened May 1, 1857. The M&C operated a ferry for the 14 miles downriver from Marietta to Parkersburg, so that travelers and freight could be transferred between the systems. With help from the B&O and the Baltimore City Council, the Union Railroad was built from Scott's Landing (Moore's Junction), three miles south of Marietta on the Ohio River, to Belpre in 1860. It was operated by the M&C. This section of track is still in operation (2012) with unit coal trains providing most of the traffic. Between 1864 and 1866, the M&C built its own line from Loveland through Madeira, Madisonville, Norwood, and Spring Grove to a connection with The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad at Winton Place. This line opened on February 18, 1866 The Cincinnati and Baltimore Railway was chartered in 1868 and was built six miles down the east bank of Mill Creek from Spring Grove to downtown Cincinnati. This line was opened on June 1, 1872 and was "transferred on that day, under a contract for a perpetual lease" to the M&C. The Baltimore Short Line Railway was chartered in 1870 to build from Warren's Station (east of Athens) 30 miles to Belpre. It opened on November 15, 1874. It was built to afford lower operating and maintenance costs as well as a shorter route to Belpre. This line followed the Hocking River through Canaanville, Guysville and Stewart. It went through Coolville Station, Torch and Belpre. This became the mainline route of the M&C and later the B&O. In December 1876, service on the "Old Line" from Warren's Station to a connection with the old Union Railroad at Scott's Landing was discontinued. It duplicated the Baltimore Short Line and was considered dangerous, steep and difficult to maintain, as it had many trestles and tunnels. The Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad became the Cincinnati, Washington and Baltimore Railroad on February 16, 1883. On December 20, 1889 the C.W.&B. became The Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad. The Marietta Mineral Railway was incorporated in February 1882 to restore operations on the
"old line between Scott's Landing (Moore's Junction) and Big Run, northeast of Warren's. In October of 1884 trains were put into operation between Flemming Station and Marietta. This constituted 7 miles of the old line to Moore's Junction and three miles of the old Union line to Marietta. The remaining 15 miles to Big Run was put into operation in June 1885."
This section was known for its many accidents. The name was changed to the Marietta, Columbus and Cleveland Railroad (MC&C) in December 1900 and operated to about 1917.Annual Report of The Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs of Ohio. For The Year 1901. pp. 109. The east end operated as the
Marietta and Vincent Railroad Company Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas * Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi * M ...
until abandoned in 1924. The rest of the line from Canaanville westward was acquired and operated for many years by
B&O 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 ...
. The section from eastern Vinton County to Belpre was abandoned in the 1980s and the right-of-way sold off. Today, the portion from
Mineral, Ohio Mineral is an unincorporated community in Athens County, Ohio, United States. Centered on State Route 356, it was established as a coal mining community. It is located on Mud Lick Run, which flows into nearby Hewitt Fork, a tributary of Rac ...
to the end of the now-operating line south of
Zaleski, Ohio Zaleski is a village in Vinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 278 at the 2010 census. History Six Native American mounds, built by the prehistoric Adena culture, were once located at Zaleski. Three have been destroyed, but the ...
is the
Moonville Rail-Trail King Switch Tunnel The Moonville Rail-Trail is a sixteen-mile (25 kilometer) rail-trail in southeast Ohio, located in Vinton and Athens Counties. It is largely embedded in the Zaleski State Forest and passes close to Lake Hope State Park. The tra ...
.
William P. Cutler William Parker Cutler (July 12, 1812 – April 11, 1889) was an American railroad executive and politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Ohio for one term from 1861 to 1863. Early life and educ ...
was an important figure in the development of the M&C. He also was a backer of the Union Railroad and the Marietta Mineral, among other local railroads. Cutler served as General Manager and as President of the M&C for many years.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marietta Cincinnati Railroad Defunct Ohio railroads History of Cincinnati Rail transportation in Cincinnati Marietta, Ohio Predecessors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Railway companies established in 1851 Railway companies disestablished in 1877 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines 1851 establishments in Ohio