Preble County, Ohio - Chapter 8: Railroads and Transportation, 1915

Chapter 8: Railroads and Transportation

The Eaton & Hamilton Railroad Company was organized in 1849, under a charter granted by the Legislature to build a railroad from Eaton to Hamilton by the most feasible route. Abner Haines and Joseph Hawkins were the attorneys for the company, composed of Lurton Dunham, of Camden, and Cornelius Vanausdal, Ellis Minshall, Alfred Denny, of Eaton, and some Hamilton men. Vanausdal was the first president, Jesse B. Stephens, secretary, and Josiah Campbell, treasurer. Abner Haines was president the second year, and John Woods, of Hamilton, president the third year. Then David Barnett, of Barnett's station, two miles north of Camden, became president, and continued until near the close of the Civil War. He owned a farm and large mill at Barnett's station, and to his energy and push and belief in the future good of the road the people are indebted, perhaps more to him than any other one man, for the building and completion of the road. The rails were iron, imported from England and cost, delivered at Hamilton, about sixty-five dollars per ton for rails of forty-five pounds per yard. The original subscription was sixty-five thousand dollars, of which forty thousand was from Preble county, but they subsequently rased one hundred and fifty thousand dollars more in Cincinnati, and the road was built to Richmond, Indiana, and put in operation in the spring of 1852.

An Innovation That Came To Stay

When the first passenger train reached Eaton it brought the officers of the road and many of those who helped in its building. It is said that the whole countryside turned out; the village was crowded and it was made a gala day, with bands and speech-making. In 1869 the road was leased to and became a part of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton system, after several years of litigation, under a reorganization scheme, and so continued until about 1890, when it was again leased, in perpetuity, to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and now forms the main line of that company

There has been much talk and two or three surveys for changing the location of the line from Eaton to Seven Mile, but all came to naught. The reasons given for the change are that the road follows too closely the course of Seven Mile creek, there being no less than nine bridges, from one hundred feet to two hundred feet long, across that stream, in a distance of about eighteen miles, some of which are damaged by every big flood. Then some of the grades are very heavy, necessitating what is called doubleheaders on heavy freights. The line is now laid with eighty-five pound steel rails, costing less than half the price per ton of the original iron ones, which were imported, while the steel ones were all made in the United States.

The Dayton & Western Railroad Company was chartered in February, 1846, from Dayton to the state line between Ohio and Indiana, and was completed for business in October, 1853, and finally built the junction with the Eaton & Hamilton line two miles east of the Richmond depot. Both roads used the same line to the depot, and in 1865 it leased from the Richmond & Miami company, that controlled that short stretch, the right to its use in perpetuity. Finally, by various transfers, the entire road in December, 1869, passed into the possession of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago Si St. Louis Railroad Company, and forms a part of the line from St. Louis to Columbus. In 1863 the company leased the right to the Dayton & Union Railroad Company to use its line from Dayton to Dodson, some fifteen miles, and it is yet so used. This road was originally planned to Eaton and Richmond, but was diverted north by certain financial interests, which feared that such a line would be detrimental to their interests. The road strikes the east line of Harrison township, near the middle line of section 34, thence a straight line through Sonora to the south line of section 5, then following the line one mile south of the north county line through West Manchester and Eldorado to nearly the west line of Monroe township. Then it bends and follows the course of Little creek to New Paris, where it unites with the Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central railroad, owned by the same corrl1 pany, and from there to Richmond the line is double track.

The Growth Of The Iron Road

The Dayton & Greenville railroad was chartered and built about the same time as the Dayton & Western, and strikes the east county line about the middle line of section 12 of Monroe township, and runs a straight line through Verona, to about the center of the north line of the northwest quarter of section 1, of said township, Verona being the only stop in the county. . r

The Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw railroad was started about 1883, and was projected to pass through the county seats of all the western counties of the state. The promoters called for subscriptions and right of way along the line of the proposed road, but did not meet with any great response in Eaton or vicinity. As Lewisburg, West Alexandria, Farmersville and Germantown had no railroad and earnestly desired one, they got on a tremendous hustle and raised many thousand dollars to bring the road through these towns. They procured a great part of the right of way, and so earnest were they and so substantial their donations, that the promoters agreed to bend the line at West Manchester, and come that way. Then the people of Eaton woke up and secured the needed help, but it must be recorded to the honor of the promoters, that they kept faith with the hustlers and the road was built through the towns named. It was commenced in this county in 1885 an<3 finished in 1886. About 1908, after being in litigation for some time, it was purchased by the New York Central system and added to and became a part of the Big Four division. It passes through Monroe, Harrison, Twin and Lanier townships.

About 1861, the Richmond & Covington railroad was chartered to build a railroad from Covington through Greenville to Richmond, Indiana, and was completed during the Civil War. It comes into this county in section 4 of Jefferson township, and runs southwesterly in the Whitewater valley to New Paris, from which point to Richmond it used the tracks of the Dayton & Western Railroad. Some three or four years after the war it was leased to and became a part of the Columbus, Chicago & Central Indiana railroad, and in 1883 it was leased in perpetuity to and became a. part of the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis system of the Pennsylvania company, joining the main line from Columbus to Chicago at Bradford junction. Some of their fastest trains are run over this line, notable among them being the limited mail. From New Paris to Richmond it is double track, and at New Paris is a switch tower and watchman on duty. It was a hair-raising experience to the writer, a year or more ago, to stand in the tower and look up and down the valley over a mile in each direction and see two great trains loaded with human freight rushing towards each other at fifty miles per hour, as if each tried to reach the junction first, but the levers worked and there was a rush and roar, followed

The Dayton & Western Traction Company in 1897 projected a line of electric interurban railroad from Dayton to Eaton, along the north side of the right of way of the Dayton and Western turnpike, which for years had been unremunerative. Dr. J. E. Lowes, of Dayton, the promoter, conceived the idea of buying the turnpike stock, which he did for a nominal sum; then he granted to the traction company the right of way, then asked for the county commissioners to appraise the bridges and road, which was done, and he sold the bridges to the county, and the turnpike became a free road. In 1897-98 the road was constructed, and the first passenger car reached Eaton on July 3, 1898. Oscar Sheppard was the attorney in this county who assisted in the building of the road. Doctor Lowes sold the controlling interest in the road about 1900 to Valentine Winters, of Dayton, who, in 1903, built the line along the north side of the turnpike to Richmond, laying a spur track from New Westville to New Paris, a distance of two and one-half miles. The line was surveyed and constructed under R. K. DeMotte and A. L. Reid as the engineers. In 1906, it was leased in perpetuity, or ninety-nine years, renewable, to the Indiana, Columbus & Eastern Traction Company, and is doing a fair business, operating cars each way every hour from 6 :oo A. M. to 1 1 :oo P. M. every day, its passenger traffic being far in excess of the steam railroad, together with a considerable freight traffic.

Competition And Expedition

In 1896, an interurban electric railroad was projected from Dayton through Greenville to Union city, which practically parallels the Dayton & Union railroad (steam), heretofore described. A company was formed and the road built, passing through this county, across section 1 of Harrison township, through Verona, there being not to exceed about one mile of road within the county, and lying just northeast of and parallel to said steam railroad. It changed hands a time or two and finally about the same time as the Dayton & Western Traction line through Eaton, it passed into the hands of the Ohio Electric Railroad Company, the present owners. It was completed in this county in 1897.

In the early fifties the Louisville & Sandusky railroad was projected through this county. Starting from Eaton, northeast through Euphemia and Lewisburg, much work was done, miles of grading and at Banta creek abutments some forty feet high were built, and at Euphemia great stone arches to carry the road over the streets, and a very high grade built through a part of the village. Some one hundred and fifty thousand dollars or more was spent in this and adjoining counties, but the company became embarrassed and in 1855 the panic finished the company. Since then nothing has been done, except the people along the line have removed much of the stone and again smoothed out the ground for farming.

Then another road, called the Evansville, Bellefontaine & Lake Erie, was projected and surveyed across the county from the northeast part, through Eaton to the southwest part of the county, and some work done in other counties, but none in this. It died young.

There have been other surveys for proposed lines across the county, and some of them may yet be built, but all seem to be under a total eclipse at present. No railroads of any kind touch Gratis, Israel or Dixon townships at this time.