Two rail lines in Cincinnati, Ohio frame today’s Abandoned update: the Little Miami Railroad and theBaltimore and Ohio Southwest Spring Grove Industrial Track.
Two rail lines in Cincinnati, Ohio frame today’s Abandoned update. Covering the Little Miami Railroad — the second railroad in the state and the Baltimore and Ohio Southwest Spring Grove Industrial Track, both present a bit of history that is becoming long forgotten.
Chartered as Ohio’s second railroad, the Little Miami connected Cincinnati to Xenia and Springfield, and later with Columbus. The Little Miami, one of the most profitable railroads in the United States, saw its usage and importance decline after World War II. After consolidations and mergers, the Little Miami was dismantled in 1976, although it was revived less than a decade later as the longest rail to trail in the United States.
The following photographs are from the end of the line at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse east of downtown Cincinnati to the Undercliff Yards. Fellow historian Jeffrey Jakucyk, of Cincinnati Traction History, gave additional background to the railroad, which is penned below.
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- It is severed by Columbia Pkwy. The underpass dates to 1914.
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- The abandoned Torrence Rd. station at Eastern Avenue. All that remains of the multi-story station and crossover is retaining walls and bricked up structures.
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- All that remains of the multi-story station and crossover is retaining walls and bricked up structures.
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- The former Pendleton Yards between St. Andres St. and Delta Ave.
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- The siding was recently removed that served oil storage tanks at St. Andrews St. and Eastern Ave., now Riverside Dr.
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- Undercliff Yards near Beechmont Ave. has shrunk in capacity greatly since the route into Kentucky was terminated.
The Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad (B&O SW) Spring Grove Industrial Track was located in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently out-of-service.
The former single-track alignment split from the mainline at the B&O SW Coleraine Avenue underpass and proceeded south east of Spring Grove Avenue. By 1912, the line extended south to Brashears Street and eventually Monmouth Street, where the track split to service two customers. The rail line served the Crosley Radio Corporation, among others. The industrial track has been out of service for over a decade, with all roadway crossings removed.
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- Office of Coast Survey Historical Map Chart Project, City of Cincinnati, Sheet 35
