Behind my house runs an old set of tracks that were originally known as The Cincinnati Northern Railroad. It ran from Jackson, Michigan to Franklin, Ohio and had trackage rights into Cincinnati via the B&O (former CH&D) and later the NYC (former Big Four).
The line was merged into NYC sometime in the 1930’s, I believe, and then most of it was ripped up in the early 1980’s.
But I’ve always been fascinated with the line, since I live in Carlisle, OH and it literally runs right behind my back yard before it connects to what is now the CSX Toledo Sub. They kept the track in place from Carlisle to Germantown so that CSX could pick up the occasional freight car from Dupps Corporation in Germantown, who own one or two small red switchers and bring whatever cars they are shiiping to Carlisle and leave them right by the mainline to be picked up by a CSX local. They usually only bring one car, I’m not sure what it is, but I’ve heard it called a “meat grinder”, which I’m guessing is a Dupps product… it’s so big that it probably can’t be shipped any other way.
I’ve read on Railroad.net that the line was actually used to a decent degree up through the early Conrail era in certain parts of Ohio and Michigan. One poster even commented on Railroad.net that sections of the track in Lewisburg, OH were even welded rail.
I’m just looking for any information I can find regarding this long lost fallen flag - from it’s beginning right up until most of it was abandoned and/or torn up.
I also discovered that there was a book written on the company:
Brown, Jim. A History of the Cincinnati Northern Railroad. Sparta, WI: The Little Falls Railroad & Doll Museum, 2003.
Does anyone know where I could find and buy a copy of that book? I would absolutely love to get my hands on that and read all about that line. Online information
Hauck, John W. (1986). Narrow Gauge in Ohio: The Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Railway. Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Publishing Company. ISBN 0871086298.
The Cincinnati Jackson & Mackinaw is tied to Ohio Northern in so many ways. NYC, PRR & B&O were playing all kinds of games in your backyard.
My brothers used to get cab rides up to rockford ohio from celina.then my dad had to go pick them up from G+G house.The bridge is still there over the St.Marys river in rockford but the rail is long gone.They had a derailment in ney ohio and a crash with a wabash train near west unity ohio.Auglaize village has more information on that.
And here’s the site for the Little Falls Railroad and Doll Museum. http://www.raildoll.org/home.htm Dr. Brown worked as a operator for the New York Central on the CN line as a young man. I believe his father was a CN brakeman and conductor. Please forgive me, I really don’t know how I’ve posted this twice when I was simply trying to edit it.
And here’s a link to the museum that Dr. Brown is involved with in Wisconsin. I believe he worked as an operator as a young man on the New York Central CN lines. His father was a brakeman on that line out of Van Wert, OH. http://www.raildoll.org/home.htm
CINCINNATI NORTHERN RAILROAD## Brown, Jim. A History of the Cincinnati Northern Railroad. Cataract, Wis: Little Falls Press, 2003. (This Item is available at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County)CINCINNATI, LEBANON & NORTHERN RAILWAY
Collins, Thomas J. The Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Railway: Memories of the Old C.L.&N Railway, “The Highland Route”, 1882-1932. Norwood, Ohio: s.n., 1970. 22 leaves.
“A new and expanded 2nd edition of _A history of the Cincinnati Northern
Railroad will be available on JPG formatted CD in Mid February. It has
pictures of almost all the depots and interlockers on the line.
For information and ordering, email *raildoll@_centurytel.net*, put CN
in subject line.”