toledo , st . louis and western railroad
you are here: kc' s toledo, st. louis & western railroad history
1887 new york, chicago and st. louis railroad (nickel plate - nkp )
through truss bridge over maumee river, wabash and erie canal, and us 24 (as of 2009) on toledo, lake erie, and western railroad (formerly toledo st. louis and western aka cloverleaf, nickel plate road, norfolk and western railway) in grand rapids
timber stringer bridge over grass run or lawn run on central railroad of indianapolis (nee norfolk southern, norfolk and western, nickel plate road, toledo st. louis and western aka cloverleaf route, others )
deck plate girder bridge over wabash river on wabash central railroad (nee norfolk southern railway, n & w; , nickel plate road, toledo st. louis and western )
line extends from toledo, ohio, to east st. louis, ill. , 450. 72 miles .
new york, chicago & amp; st. louis: the nickel plate road
on march 27, 1900, it was sold to its bondholders for 12. 2 million dollars. a new company, the toledo, st. louis & western railroad was incorporated and kept the
new york, chicago & st. louis: the nickel plate road | classic trains magazine
delphos, bluffton, & frankfort; delphos & kokomo; toledo, delphos & indianapolis; toledo, delphos & burlington; cleveland, delphos & st. louis; delphos southern railway co. ; delphos northern railroad; delphos & paulding railroad inc .
deck plate girder bridge over wildcat creek on winamac southern railway (nee central railroad of indianapolis, norfolk southern, n & w; , nickel plate road, toledo st. louis and western cloverleaf route), soon possibly trail in kokomo
lost timber stringer bridge over wildcat creek on former nickel plate road railroad (nee toledo st. louis and western aka cloverleaf) in kokomo. small ditch with it' s own steel stringer bridge formerly located at east approach for creek bridge .
bridge over little wildcat creek and also formerly interurban crossed underneath as well. on norfolk southern railway (nee n & w; , nickel plate road, toledo st. louis and western aka cloverleaf, other) in west middleton
the acquisition of the lake erie & western railroad in 1922 united nickel plate with the railroad it had been built to complement forty years earlier .
on oct. 16, 1964, nickel plate merged with norfolk and western .
the nickel plate utilized the cloverleaf to access st. louis. the cloverleaf provided the nkp access from its still - active mainline (now used by ns) to st. louis, and to toledo. the cloverleaf was not built by the nkp as the article states, but was purchased by the nkp in 1922 .
please consult the toledo terminal railway map from 1944 urltoken this map shows the clover leaf yard in toledo just south of south ave. it also shows the clover leaf trackage as it enters toledo and dead ends at the freight house on erie st. the tracks still are in north of western ave. all the way to erie st. and dead end near where the freight house was .
once part of the
cloverleaf
division of the nickel plate road between st. louis and toledo. today a short line rarely uses it to access a business in craigville at the current end of the line .
on june 12, 1886, the toledo, cincinnati & st. louis and two other railroads were consolidated to form the toledo, st. louis & kansas city railroad. this name being too long to be conveniently handled when mentioned, some kind of trademark or
pet name ,
was sought. a new title was given, hereafter known as the
clover leaf
route. this rural and romantic pet name is said to be significant of the fertile country through which the railroad runs, and the good luck that has finally attended it .
were acquired by purchase of entire mortgage indebtedness and capital stock and merged into the general accounts of the norfolk and western railway .
on feb. 23, 1882, the toledo, delphos and bluffton directors voted to consolidate with the toledo, cincinnati and st. louis railroad and use the latter name. the t. c. & st. l' s promoters billed it as
the' little giant line,' the narrow gauge system which aims to consolidate all the three - foot gauge roads into one great and connecting chain, which shall reach from the atlantic to the pacific .
i have a picture of my grandfather on the back of a train and it is called the cloverleaf route from st. louis, mo. to frankfort, in .
i am researching the history of the former railroad on washington street that was torn out this year. it started out as the toledo, delphos & indianapolis, and after many name changes and mergers, ended with the most recent name being the norfolk & western (n & w) railroad .
in 1880, a survey was made from st. louis to fort wayne, indiana, to connect with the lake erie & western railroad, of which mr. brice was president. the survey was purchased by the syndicate and two new surveys made, one from chicago to fort wayne, the other from fort wayne to cleveland, originally intended as an eastern terminus of the road. it was finally determined to temporarily abandon the st. louis branch and instead build from cleveland to buffalo .
single track, on small grade. part of former rail line stretching from toledo, ohio to st. louis, missouri. last train over this segment was in or about 1999, has been dormant since with nearby bridge and road crossing removed .
a correspondent of the st. marys free press has the following to say :
without having anticipated it, the railroad was suddenly blessed with an incredible well - timed stroke of good fortune. the huge karg gas well completely altered, the destiny of the moribund toledo, cincinnati & st. louis railroad. in february 1886, a few weeks after the great gas well was brought in at findlay, gas was also discovered near delphos. as far as the railroad was concerned, the gas boom created a receptive market for the securities they had to sell. toledo soon became the
glass capital of the world .
looking northeast near the community of waterville. this is the last remaining segment of this line, and is 15 miles long. it is still in use by a volunteer railroad, the toledo, lake erie, & western. photo by aaron m. , october 2008 .
i' m no expert on toledo, having been there maybe four or five timesin my life (living 12 years in cleveland was more than enough), so take this for what it' s worth. first off, the
clover leaf route
, more formally the toledo, st. louis & western, was absorbed by the nickel plate in 1922, and afterward it formed the nkp' s route into toledo. the yard itself appears to have been (maybe still is) sw of the city center at the point where south st. crossed the former nkp track, and also adjacent to prouty, which appears to have dead - ended at the yard .
line extends from st. clairsville, ohio, to barton, ohio, 3. 6 miles .
the railroads would reach big cities such as toledo, indianapolis, st. louis, cincinnati and many other areas. also they would connect to other narrow - gauges that entered the coal fields and stone quarries of ohio and indiana. the toledo, delphos, & indianapolis narrow gauge (three feet width) was estimated to cost $ 8, 000 per mile, built and equipped, versus a standard gauge, (four feet, eight and one half inches width) at least three times that amount .
and other railroads with the various industries at and near toledo, ohio, by means of a belt line or continuous system of switch tracks .
the norfolk & western railway, looking for a way to extend its coal carrying to the midwest, became that ally. the merger of the nickel plate and the norfolk & western could be a benefit to both railroads and develop a strong midwest to tidewater rail system carrying a broad base of commodities .
the delphos, bluffton, and frankfort railroad was incorporated and connected with the delphos and kokomo at the indiana state line and ran to kokomo, being completed on october 1878 .
a 15 - mile segment of the line from waterville, south of toledo, to grand rapids was saved, and is still in use by a volunteer railroad, the toledo, lake erie, & western. otherwise, most of the row has been obliterated by agriculture. ironically, the public utilities commission of ohio (puco) still lists the portion from continental to the ohio / indiana state line as active, though no trackage remains on this segment .
just a quick note - - the article has changed to only reflect the line between saint louis, mo and frankfort, in. sorry for any confusion !
numerous legends have grown about when and how the name
nickel plate
was first applied. the accepted version is that it appeared first in an article in the norwalk, ohio, chronicle of march 10, 1881. on that date the chronicle reported the arrival of a party of engineers to make a survey for the
great new york and st. louis double track, nickel plated railroad .
the crossover from
wannick jct
to walbridge junction was done in the early 30' s. the cities of maumee and toledo paid for most of this update. wabash and nkp paralleled each other. in order to build us - 24 into toledo the railroad needed to be moved. the cities bought the row and made what is now anthony wayne trail aka us - 24. wabash double tracked its mainline and installed ctc to accomadate this surge in traffic .
the nickel plate road (more formally known as the new york, chicago & st. louis railroad) was organized on 3 feb. 1881 by geo. i. seney, columbus r. cummings, alexander m. white, john t. martin, edward lyman, and walston brown. originally the plan called for the construction of a main line from cleveland to chicago, with a branch from fort wayne, in, to st. louis, mo. by the time construction began in apr. 1881, it had been decided to extend the eastern terminus from cleveland to buffalo. an article in the norwalk (oh) chronicle described the new road as a
double track, nickel - plated railroad
giving the new road the nickname by which it became known .
was effected september 30, 1890, under authority of act of assembly of virginia and the general railroad laws of the state of west virginia and kentucky .
organized in december, 1883. originally called
college hill railroad ,
which was chartered in 1874 and opened in 1877 .
incorporated march 23, 1883, under laws of ohio. the line extends from east toledo, ohio, where connection is made with
on may 23, 1879, the toledo, delphos, and indianapolis; delphos and kokomo; delphos, bluffton, and frankfort; and the toledo and maumee were consolidated to form the toledo, delphos, and burlington railroad. on dec. 16, a new baldwin engine left warren, ind. with four coaches at 7 a. m. and arrived in delphos at 1: 30 p. m. , whereupon carey evans led 120 thirsty passengers to ben hoerstman' s narrow gauge saloon. the end of the local management of the t. d. and b. came with tragic suddenness on sept. 2, 1879. on that day, joseph hunt was killed as he stepped between two box cars on the pfw and c sidetrack at delphos .
on july 15, 1922, another 453 miles were added to the system by affiliation with the cloverleaf (tstl & w; rr) reaching from toledo, ohio to st. louis, missouri. thus, the nickel plate became a 1683 - mile system of trackage serving the industrial, agricultural, and distributing region between the mississippi river on the west, the great lakes on the north, and the niagara frontier on the east, with close traffic arrangements and service to the new england states and the atlantic seaboard reached through connecting lines .
always wondered what became of the missing link between the northeastern end and neoga. was there any specific reason for the break or was it just for unknown purposes? like so many folks out there i had a grandfather who was an engineer with nprr and worked out of the mattoon / charleston yards / facilities. his usual route was to the st. louis area end and back .
¹ taylor hampton, the nickel plate road - a history of a great railroad (cleveland: the world publishing co. , 1947), p. 333. ² lynne l. white, the nickel plate road, a short history of the new york, chicago & st. louis r. r. (new york: the newcomen society in north america, 1954), p. 11
after foreclosing on the toledo, cincinnati & st. louis the (little giant), it took the courts more than 15 years to unravel the complex, corporate structure. the division south of delphos, after two or three name changes, was absorbed by the cincinnati, hamilton & dayton. they promptly set about to widen the gauge of the dayton to delphos line. the first standard gauge train ran over this section on july 13, 1891. the c. h. & d. line between stillwater junction, near dayton, and delphos was operated as the dayton, toledo & chicago railroad from about 1916 to 1922 when it was abandoned. the nickel plate acquired 3664 feet of this track and a small yard at delphos .
currently the tle & w tourist railroad is seeking funds to rebuild a collapsed culvert that is preventing trains from crossing the 900 - foot maumee river bridge. very nice railroad with scenic views of the countryside .
the lake erie & western railroad gave the nickel plate another gateway - - peoria. the fostoria to frankfort portion became a vital link in the latter day freight operations. the le & w; , largest of nickel plate' s four components, became to nickel plate what it had never been to new york central - - an integral part of a well run railroad .
the main line of road extends from toledo to the ohio river at martins ferry, 217. 5 miles: and from cleveland to coshocton, ohio, 116 miles .
the beginning of the end came july 1883, when a minor creditor petitioned for a receiver. less than a third of the road was ballasted and hardly as much was fenced. along the older part of the system, many trestles were rolled out and unsafe to run trains across. the employees had not been paid since may and in july the 200 shopmen at delphos had refused to continue work without pay. after june 1884, the receiver continued to operate the t. c. & st. l. between toledo and east st. louis. on jan. 6, 1885, all trains were discontinued save for a single mixed run in each direction. all but 20 shopmen at delphos were furloughed .
he new york, chicago & st. louis railroad company (nyc & stl; - reporting mark nkp) had a storied 83 year existence. starting as a single road built with cash, it ended with four districts as a result of acquisitions made over the years. it survived control by the new york central and a joint venture with the c & o; and pere marquette, and evolved into a leader in the delivery of freight with its renowned
nickel plate high speed service
and mighty berkshires. the material offered on this page and related links provide a capsule of this once great railroad. the nkphts hopes you find the information useful in furthering your knowledge and appreciation of the nickel plate road. ¹
a shortline, the wabash central railroad, operates the tracks beyond this line west from craigville to van buren .
editor' s note: bob holdgreve continues to write about the railroad in the delphos area in the 1800s .
the lake erie & western' s sandusky to peoria mainline started in ohio with the fremont & indiana railroad company on april 22, 1853. the fremont & indiana was incorporated to build a line from fremont southwest towards the indiana state line. as years passed, more trackage was laid and through acquisitions the line was completed in 1888 .
incorporated april 17, 1882, under laws of ohio. owned by the village of st. clairsville. this company was originally chartered june 7, 1879. on april 17, 1882, it was leased to the st. clairsville company for a period of thirty years, which company has been operating it since june, 1882 .
the wheeling of 1899 also took control of the cleveland belt & terminal railroad company and the zanesville belt & terminal railway co. , two belt and industrial switching lines in their respective cities .
on july 1, 1922, the nickel plate road was operating 523 miles of track between chicago and buffalo. on this date the nkp secured control of the properties formerly operated, managed, and controlled by the lake erie & western railroad co. the le & w; added 707 miles of track reaching from sandusky, ohio to peoria, illinois, with two branches in indiana .
delphos merchants were forced to
carry
the railroad men for months at a time. the little giant was all but defunct and in such a sorry state of deterioration that men who accepted a call assumed a terrible risk. mixed trains out of delphos and toledo exchanged loaded cars at the auglaize river bridge one at a time, using empty cars as idlers. the timbers of the bridge were so badly rotted that the railroad did not dare to run even the lightest engines across it .
on march 14, 1872, four leading delphos businessmen organized the t. d. & i. railroad. because of a money panic in 1873, they had to delay building the railroad until april 1877, when the ground was broken in delphos .
the prospect of a nickel plate - norfolk & western alliance put the wabash railroad in the same position as the nickel plate had been; that of a competitive orphan. the n & w; , an expert in the operation of parallel lines since its acquisition of the virginian railway in 1959, made no objections to adding the wabash .
the traffic of the company is largely freight, conveying stone and grain one way and lumber and coal the other .
, whose articles of incorporation were filed with the secretary of state, june 30, 1887. all were organized under the general railroad
the wheeling & lake erie entered into a contract with the big four railroad in 1913 which gave the wheeling trackage rights from wellington to cleveland. this gave the w & le; a much shorter route for cleveland - toledo traffic than before and the wheeling soon was moving its share of freight between these cities. this contract lasted through the nickel plate years .
in 1964, the nkp merged with the norfolk & western (nw). in the early 1970s, a derailment near continental spelled doom for this line; rail was pulled up from grand rapids to douglas in 1975, and from douglas to craigville, indiana, in 1998. (this portion was sold to a shortline railroad in the late 1980s, but service was eventually discontinued by 1998. )
with the ultimate acquisition of the pennsy' s sandusky line as the connection between the nickel plate and the norfolk & western, the akron, canton & youngstown and the pittsburgh & west virginia railroads were forced to ask for inclusion in the new system. after more than four years of hearings and planning, the merger became a reality on october 16, 1964 .
, a new receiver was named in july 1856, and the affairs of the railroad took a turn for the better. repairs were made to the dupont bridge and for the first time in two years the employees were paid in cash .
as told by former president of the nyc & stl; railroad company, lynne l. white. the following is an excerpt from the book
the nickel plate road, a short history of the new york, chicago & st. louis r. r .
printed in 1954. the book is a record of an address given by mr. white to the newcomen society in north america, held in the ballroom of the hotel lawrence, erie, pa. , november 11, 1954. mr. white was guest of honor at this
1954 lake erie dinner .
another second - wave road was the narrow gauge cleveland, canton & southern, also a coal - hauler. an outgrowth of the ohio & toledo and the youngstown & connotton valley railroad companies, this line reached cleveland from canton and kent in jan. 1882, under the flag of the connotton northern railroad. like the others, it was susceptible to economic downswings, and the recession of 1884 - 85 threw the connotton northern into a receivership that produced the cleveland & canton railroad, a standard gauge carrier. the panic of 1893 prompted further corporate reshaping when the cleveland & canton became the cleveland, canton & southern. ultimately, in 1899 the property, which gave cleveland convenient access to east ohio coal fields, found a financially healthy home within the wheeling & lake erie system .
i was in ramsey il today (between vandalia and pana) and noticed a restored, freshly painted nickel plate caboose near the old right of way and, on sitting on tracks on the right of way, a box car. in addition, the tower still stands where a junction once stood with the nickel plate and another railroad .
closed to all traffic. this segment of railroad recently purchased by winamac southern railway, but no trains have been over this bridge in at least a decade .
through northern ohio, already served by four railroads, location of the line developed intense rivalries among cities. three routes were surveyed and communities along each proposed route vied in the raising of public subscriptions to donate rights - of - way. the road' s general offices at cleveland frequently were besieged by delegations hoping to bring about the routing of the line through their communities. during these inter - city rivalries was born the nickname for the new york, chicago and st. louis - the nickel plate road - which rapidly became the name most commonly used .
on 1 sept. 1882 construction was finished on nickel plate' s main line, which ran from buffalo via ft. wayne to chicago—521. 89 miles. in cleveland the nickel plate tracks ran from west to east, entering the city limits in the vicinity of detroit ave. and crossing franklin, lorain, walworth, and scranton avenues before coming to the cuyahoga river. once over the river, the tracks ran through kingsbury run and crossed willson (e. 55th st .), kinsman, adelbert, mayfield, and euclid avenues before leaving the city. depots at euclid ave. and pearl (w. 25th) st. served nickel plate passengers until the depot at broadway and cross ave. was opened on 1 oct. 1883 .
since the early days of railroading, mergers and consolidations have played an important role in the development of our nation' s rail system. the influence of larger and more powerful carriers always has been a major factor in the growth and stability of the smaller railroads. the greater nickel plate road was a result of the consolidation of the lake erie & western and the clover leaf with the original nickel plate in 1922. each of these roads was, of course, a result of earlier consolidations and mergers .
ok, thanks. i just put information of the line in my area (in illinois), and then the other information i put, about indiana, was just based on maps and stuff i found online, and the ohio portion, i did based on the fact that my grandparents live in that area and i know that rj corman rebuilt some lines in western ohio. i will deifnitely have to ask g @ urltoken to edit this. : )
the portion from sandusky and all throughout ohio that this article references is the lake erie and western, abandoned between sandusky and fostoria. this line was used by the nkp to access peoria, il, and sandusky, oh from its still - active mainline. like the cloverleaf, this line was purchased by the nkp in 1922. norfolk southern does not operate the line from fostoria to sandusky via this route like the article states - - it is obviously abandoned .
the original wheeling & lake erie was incorporated on april 6, 1871 to build a railroad between the ohio river and lake erie. toledo was selected as the northern terminus with a branch to huron. this mainline was completed in 1889. the w & le; never did reach wheeling, west virginia on its own rails, as the mainline ended at martins ferry, ohio, but did reach wheeling via the wheeling bridge & terminal co. , and completed a branch to steubenville in 1891 .
the short - lived toledo central operated on the former cloverleaf between south ave and the former interchange near the toledo zoo. actually, sections of the former cloverleaf are still in place beyond south avenue. if you follow the anthony wayne trail where it passes beneath interstate 75 you can see some rail still in place underneath the overpass. one of the bridges on this route where it crosses over the ns water level route was raised about 12 inches a couple of years ago. and i' m pretty sure that none of this route was ever formally abandoned with the icc or stb. when the toledo central started up a few years ago an article that i read noted that the tc was leasing the track from ns. for whatever reason ns has maintained title to this track and probably the rest of the right of way into downtown .
does anyone have information about a spur line that ran from mellott, indiana, to newtown. my dad used to tell stories about this railroad... following sr 341... but never got any details. in the
history of fountain county, indiana
books there are mentions that there was fierce competition between mellott and newtown for the railroad... but no details .
you note in your page on the cloverleaf division, part 2 that
the nw abandoned the section of the line between frankfort, indiana and metcalf, illinois in the 1960s .
i believe this is incorrect. i grew up in mellott, indiana which was on this stretch of the old nickel plate road / norfolk and western line that ran from frankfort to charleston, il .
was sold at public auction, under foreclosure, of its consolidated mortgage, the underlying divisional mortgages not being disturbed. the property was purchased by ernest r. adee and a. w. krech of new york, and afterwards sold and deeded by them on april 27, 1899, to the wheeling and lake erie railroad company, who took possession may 1, 1899, and have since operated the property. said company afterwards purchased the properties of the
mr. j. w. hunt, the contractor, broke ground on the southern extension of the toledo, delphos, and indianapolis narrow - gauge last monday. a force of hands were put to work on a division of three miles, starting near the p. , ft. w. & c. railroad and extending south. a gang of hands also started out from spencerville to grade the line between that point and mendon. it is intended to run the cars over the road to mendon by the fourth of july. we congratulate out spencerville and mendon neighbors on their immediate prospects of railway intercourse with the metropolis of delphos .
, and consolidated the same with their own properties, and have operated the same since august 14, 1899 .
this unique structure was rare as it not only had a creek it crossed, but an interurban line as well (indiana railroad, frankfort and kokomo traction, others). was supposedly upgraded sometime in the 1980' s for future traffic .
it requires special mention that every farmer can count on 10 - 20 percent additional on each dollar worth of grain or stock he may have for sale, and a ready market for timber, which is now worthless. a farmer living some 10 miles away on the completed line of the toledo, delphos, & indianapolis railway and has experienced the good results, says
let everyone do their duty and this important enterprise will succeed .
a young man was taken sick with the ague while working on the railroad. he went over to kiefersville and got a dose of quinine which he took during his fever. this made him delirious and the whole gang of phillistines at kiefersville decided that the young man must be crazy. instead of judging him a lunatic and sending him to the asylum, they took him before a justice of the peace who fined him $ 10 and cost .
we took a look over the line of the toledo, delphos and indianapolis narrow - gauge between delphos and fort jennings last friday. we confess to an agreeable surprise at finding the construction of the most substantial character. in a distance of five miles, the line crosses the wagon road (fort jennings road) no less than five times, and at all the crossings, permanent and durable cattle - guards have been placed. the bridges are in position and present the most solid appearance. the work is going ahead in a gratifying manner, and soon the sound of the locomotive will be heard in the timber regions north of us .
the lake erie & western, itself, became part of the new york central system in 1900. the le & w; was operated as a separate entity throughout its association, never integrated into nyc operation. after the van sweringens acquired the nickel plate, the new york central sought to unload the le & w; , so the nickel plate and the le & w; were finally united .
, and extension to zanesville, consolidated the same with their other properties, and have operated it since july 1, 1900 .
re: daniel' s inquiry about a spur route from mellott to newtown - - i have quite a few articles on the history of mellott and newtown and have never seen anything about it. there is a story about james whitcomb riley coming for a visit to newtown and rode a
hack
from the depot in mellott to newtown. there was a bit of animosity in the early days between newtown and mellott because the railroad went through the area which is now mellott in the early 1880s and bypassed the already existent town of newtown .
afterwards issued $ 500, 000 of bonds to lay a second track and purchased equipment. the wheeling and lake erie railway company subsequently purchased and retired $ 224, 000 of said bonds. the
when the td and b moved its general offices to toledo in nov. 1880, delphos began a determined campaign to secure the road' s main repair shops. when bluffton, indiana' s bond issue failed to get past the voters, the delphos city fathers got the shops by granting the td and b 12 acres of land and $ 30, 000 cash. in august 1881, the td and b completed a new 10 - stall roundhouse and a 60x90 foot blacksmith shop about a mile north of the pfw and c depot. during the summer of 1882, a 130x80 foot machine shop with six pits was added. by late 1882, the shops were employing more than 200 men .
starting north from dupont, the t. d. and i. co. have laid and ballasted as fine a new road as any human desires to lay eyes on. the almost impenetrable forest on both sides of the track are the densest imaginable, and beggar description; verily, the thickest woods on earth. how a company of men could gather grit enough to build a railroad through such a country should astonish all .
delphos alone has raised over one hundred thousand dollars. her enterprise and pluck has made a young and thriving city out of a mudhole .
in 1901, the adena railroad bought the bellaire & valley junction railway, a proposed twenty mile line extending from adena south to neff, ohio. the w & le; , through the adena, completed this line and placed it in operation on february 1, 1903. this line was operated by the wheeling and the nickel plate with equipment of the parent company .
by october 1886, six construction trains were used between frankfort indiana, and toledo. more than 600 men were employed, spiking 615 pound rail to new white oak cross - ties. spikes were driven at the outer ends of the ties so that one set of rails could be quickly moved into place when the time came to widen the track from narrow - gauge to standard. many trestles were rebuilt and new iron bridges were erected. at dawn on sunday june 26, 1887, construction trains steamed out of delphos, toledo and frankfort. more than 2, 000 men working in gangs of 40 undertook the work of changing the gauge to standard. blessed with perfect weather, they had the entire job done by nightfall. the first standard - gauge passenger train left delphos for frankfort at 5 a. m. on june 27 .
railroads. while water traffic on both lake erie and the ohio & erie canal did much to develop cleveland, it took the appearance of the railroad to make the community' s industrial takeoff a reality. from the 1860s to the 1960s, railroads served as the principal transporter of goods and people to and from the forest city. not long after the steam locomotive made its 1829 american debut, clevelanders realized the potential for this novel transportation form .
the wheeling & lake erie' s history began with the organization of the carroll county rail road on march 9, 1850. this ten mile horse - car line eventually grew into a five hundred mile railroad that formed a cross in northern ohio. from the original carroll county, the line extended west to canton by 1880. then it was built north to reach cleveland in 1881, the same year the nickel plate was built. the connotton valley, as it was now known, then turned south, where it reached coshocton in 1883. it later reached zanesville as a standard gauge railroad, now called the cleveland, canton & southern railroad. the c. c. & s. ; became part of the wheeling on august 5, 1899 .
was effected may 9, 1882, under authority of the general laws of west virginia, and of acts of assembly of virginia, approved march 7, 1872, and various supplements thereof and also act of february 15, 1882 .
, under deed dated october 6, 1896. the property and franchises of the
, under deed dated november 12, 1896. the property and franchises of the
ramsdey tower still exists as a museum. the tower protected the crossing of the illinois central gruber line and the cloverleaf division of the nickel plant, at ramsey. there are a boxcar and caboose beside the tower, but otherwise no tracks survive. the tower was the pattern for a new replica tower, the dick stair memorial tower at monticello railway museum, monticello, il that tower contains the interlocking machiones from gibson city and smithshire, illinois, and when completed, will operate nearby switches near the station at the museum. dick stair was a longtime operator for illinois central cahmpaign interlocking, once the sixth largest interlocking plant on the railroad. it controlled several station tracks as well as crossings iof illinis central, peoria and eastern, wabash and illinois terminal .
the lake shore & michigan southern, later a part of the new york central system, quickly realized the value of the nickel plate road as a competitor, purchased the road and held controlling interest in it until july 1916. the van sweringen brothers were looking for ways to expand their real estate business in cleveland and bought the nickel plate to acquire a right - of - way for a new traction line. the vans soon found how nice railroading was and in a matter of a few years became very powerful railroad barons .
i posted this question in another area on this forum yesterday, but this one seems more appropriate. while doing some family history research a few months ago in toledo, i discovered that a relative of mine had been hit by a train and killed at the
cloverleaf yard .
it was in the early 1900s and they lived on lorain street at the time. is there anyone out there who can tell me what this is, a little bit about what it was used for at the turn of the last century and whether i can still find the area the cloverleaf yard is in present day? thanks in advance !
section 6 - if at any time, the tracks, switches and siding shall be abandoned, such tracks and all other improvements made on the street shall become the property of the village, and to be disposed of as the common council may desire .
pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in the american midwest, including ohio, indiana, illinois, michigan, wisconsin, minnesota, iowa and kansas .
near willshire we met an old - fashioned drove of hogs, destined for decatur, ind. , nine miles away, for shipment to cincinnati. one driver told us that he had bought 13, 000 hogs this season. what work, time and expense it takes to drive these fat hogs from nine to 16 miles over these roads, say nothing of the improper language used, not becoming a civilized christian nation, while 100 narrow - gauge cars could convey them to toledo, a better market than cincinnati, in less time and less expense than it takes to drive them to the nearest standard gauge railroad point. adam strobinger, our landlord at willshire, informed us that when the roads are half way passable, from 18 - 20 teams in a string, loaded with grain, can be daily seen passing his house for decatur .
early in april 1881, major henry l. merill, an experienced railroad builder, assumed charge of construction. contracts were let for 45, 000 tons of steel rails at $ 65. 00 per ton. right of way was secured as fast as the surveys were made. the first rails were laid between arcadia and mccomb, ohio, and the road was practically finished by september 1882. the first train was run over the road october 22, 1882 .
in 1949, the nickel plate leased the long sought wheeling & lake erie railway, which it had controlled for a number of years. the wheeling gave the nickel plate a financially stable railroad that was a consistent money maker. with the addition of the w & le; , the stage was set for nickel plate' s spectacular operational and financial performance of the 1950' s .
and the property turned over to them july 1, a. d. , 1902 .
to herald editor - you and your many readers have expressed a desire to know something concerning the country between dupont and holgate. allow my feeble pen to present a few sketches .
this company was organized by trustees appointed by the village of mt. gilead under the laws of ohio, authorizing cities, towns and villages to build and operate, or lease railroads, passed april 6, 1879, march 20, 1880, and march 11, 1881 .
in 1882, the nickel plate recognized f. r. loomis, owner and editor of the norwalk chronicle, as originator of the term and issued him complimentary pass no. 1 .
the constituent companies were consolidated by agreement, dated april 8, 1881, under the general laws of the five states named, to which reference is made as follows: in new york, chapter 917 of the laws of 1869, entitled an act authorizing the consolidation of certain railroad companies; in pennsylvania, an act supplementary to an act regulating railroad companies, approved the 17th day of february, a. d. 1849, approved march 24, 1865; in ohio, sections 3380 to 3385 of revised statutes; in indiana, section 3971 of revised statutes; in illinois, chapter 32 of revised statutes, sections 50 to 57 .
were acquired by purchase at foreclosure sale september 24, 1896. the property and franchises of the
© copyright 2002 - 18, james baughn and contributors. this page' s url is urltoken
the maverick clover leaf got along famously with the interurbans. lacking branch - line feeders of its own, they filed joint passenger tariffs with a number of traction lines and capitalized on their low fares. in january 1905 the dayton and troy electric inaugurated its
clover leaf special ,
a daily run between dayton and delphos by way of troy, piqua wapakoneta and lima. it left dayton each afternoon at 5: 18 and covered the 95 miles to delphos in 2 hours and 34 minutes. this was then the fastest long - distance interurban run in the united states .
wednesday evening, jan. 23, prompted by business and a desire to see the country, we took a trip by buggy along the proposed delphos and kokomo narrow - gauge to willshire .
the section between neoga and coffeen was abandoned before 2001. i' m 18 and i dont remember it at all. it was already gone when my family built my house in' 97 or' 98. my grandpa actually bought a section of it and we use it for farm work .
receiver appointed february 1, 1879. sold under foreclosure, october 29, 1879, and reorganized as
the line of road is, as given above, from dobbs to lebanon junction and to lebanon .
after attending to our business and a good long talk - mostly narrow - gauge - and a good night' s rest, we started for home. when a mile out of town, our buggy broke down, compelling us to go back to willshire on foot, where we procured another buggy and again proceeded on our way, arriving safely at van wert without any more misshape, being well satisfied with what we saw and heard - outside of the mud and the voice of the driver .
again sold under foreclosure june 27, 1885, and the existing corporation was organized august 1, 1885 .
the nkphts logo and the name
nickel plate road
are registered trademarks of the nkphts, inc .
this company was incorporated february 12, 1889, and opened in september of the same year. it is 7. 20 miles in length, extending from the works and grounds of the united states cast iron pipe and foundry company at addyston, ohio, to the ohio river at cincinnati, connecting with the tracks of the
the thermometer was low the next morning and the roads were bare and rough. we proceeded to mr. lockard' s stable and procured a first - class rig, and off we went, striking for the ridge road, but before we reached the corporation line we felt that, hopping to one side of the road to the other over clods of frozen dirt, would be too much, and as luck would have it, one of the tugs slipped out of the single - tree when we turned around, so we put up the horses in time to take the 11: 30 train as far as van wert, at which place we procured a team and was soon again on our way. we arrived at willshire at dusk, tired and muddy .
incorporated september 27, 1887, under the laws of new york, pennsylvania, ohio, indiana and illinois .
dont forget about the section between delphos and landeck oh. still very active, serving d & d grain .
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from van buren west is still basically there, just overgrown and unconnected. a small segment in marion to marion' s belt at michaelsville is or will so be abandoned and pulled up (i know within marion, alongside the old nyc line it is gone, but depot remains at sr 18 with historical plaque). from the marion belt to kokomo is still active by central railroad of indianapolis (cera). trackage from kokomo to frankfort is still there mostly, but out of service from kokomo to at least the howard and clinton counties line. a bridge and a crossing have been removed on kokomo' s west side. ns still services a business in michigantown and uses the line east of here towards howard county for storage. another small segment from the frankfort yard west for about maybe a half mile is still there to service some business' s. it was pulled west of there within the last 10 years or so .
dunkirk, n. y. , to indiana - illinois state line, 494. 72 miles. the line in ohio, from boundary line between pennsylvania and ohio to boundary line between indiana and ohio, 239. 49 miles .
the road is only two and one - half miles in length, from mt. gilead to edison, connecting with the
i live in newtown, indiana, about 10 miles north of mellott. i have family in mellott and visit there often. i often times sit on my grandmas front porch and wonder what it was like to see trains roll through mellott .
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along the road we found a most beautiful country - rich farming lands, large clearings, and farms with brick residences and large barns. the corn shocks were tall, indicating the richness of the soil; lots of fat hogs and herds of sheep and cattle. the woods were lined with valuable timber, valuable if on a line of a railroads which could convey it to a market, but worthless without it. large tracts of white oak, elm and hickory, were deadened, to prepare them for the log heaps and a ready destruction by fire. we saw woods with butts enough on them to readily pay for the land if they could be easily brought to our factories or factories could be located there near a shipping line.
the toledo , st. louis and western railroad , often abbreviated tstl & w and commonly known as the clover leaf , was a railroad company that operated in northwestern ohio , north central indiana , and south central illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries . 
the toledo, st. louis and western railroad, often abbreviated tstl & w and commonly known as the clover leaf, was a railroad company that operated in northwestern ohio, north central indiana, and south central illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
the toledo, st. louis and western railroad, often abbreviated tstl & w and commonly known as the clover leaf, was a railroad company that operated in northwestern ohio, north central indiana, and south central illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.