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The Ohio Historical Society unveiled a new historical marker yesterday to honor the recently restored interurban depot in Canal Winchester. The Dispatch has a great article running today (“Depot’s day, 80 years later“) that features a bit of history about this electric fixed-rail system that served the region in a similar manner to a light-rail network. The interurban was a popular, inexpensive and highly utilized system that carried passengers at up to 60mph from Columbus to Chillicothe, Zanesville, Marion, Dayton and all points in between. Unfortunately, the automaker lobbyists killed the system in the 1930s and it only lives on through historical markers.
More info about the Columbus Interurban can be found HERE and HERE.
Near the intersection of state highways 4 and 203 in Marion County, you can see a dark, tall, ancient smokestack rising high above the trees that line the nearby Scioto River. The facility beneath the stack served as one of the power generation plants for the Columbus-Delaware-Marion Interurban railroad line. It’s one of the few remnants of the Interurban’s architecture, and it’s a good reminder that commuter rail is part of Central Ohio’s history.
Here’s an old video of that CD&M interurban.
Very cool to see what used to be and what still is.
The Works (?) in Newark has what I think is one of the old interurban cars on display.
with all my work with playing around with fictitious maps and such based on the railways, i always thought there was more going on, or a history i was missing, and this is it. amazing reading about practical arrangements of lines
If that Columbus to Chillicothe thing was still going on, I would be on that thing nearly every damned day. I think I know at least one other person who might as well ;), her initials are OSULew
I love seeing Hayden Falls on the map!
Wow. The “Roger Rabbit” story of the Midwest! (And I’m sure repeated in many towns and cities throughout the country and the world.) Ah, what a tangled web we weave.
Shall we bring it back, this light electric rail? If we build it, will they ride?
The question of “Will they ride it if we build it?” is no longer relevant. We have learned anywhere in the US, new rail lines bring tremendous ridership across the board.
^Except the WES commuter rail in Beaverton, OR apparently:
http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2010/03/when_will_wes_prove_itself_tri.html