The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad (DT&I) is a defunct railroad that had its beginnings as the Iron Railroad Company, which connected Ironton to the coal and timber reserves in southern Ohio. Through acquisitions and mergers, the DT&I stretched for over 370 miles from Ironton to the automobile manufacturing plants in Michigan.
History
Iron Railroad
The Iron Railroad was a proposed railway to connect Ironton, Ohio to coal, charcoal and timber reserves north of the city.(3) On February 11, 1848 (4)/March 7, 1849,(3) industrial leaders in Ironton, Ohio incorporated the Iron Railroad Company, which was proposed to connect Ironton to the coal, charcoal and timber reserves north of the city.(3) In addition, it would serve as a route to ship finished goods northward and to receive items for transit from the south to the Ohio River.
In 1849-1850, the Iron Railroad constructed six miles of broad-gage from the Ohio River to the Vesuvius Tunnel mines in Lawrence County.(3) The railroad contained timber cross ties and stringers held tight scrap rails from the Little Miami Railroad. Several timber bridges were constructed, supported by stone abutments, along with one tunnel. The Vesuvius Tunnel was opened to traffic in December 1851 and had a length of 956 feet.
In 1858, the Stearns Creek crossing north of Ironton was replaced with a much stronger wrought iron bow-string truss, patented by W.H. Moseley and manufactured in Cincinnati.(4) It remained in service until 1924, when it was removed and placed on exhibition in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
The first trains used locomotives brought to Ironton via boats along the Ohio River.(3) The railroad was eventually extended further north until it reached Center Furnace, 13 miles north of Ironton.(3) No further construction was conducted due to a lack of funds in building a tunnel northward, which would have connected to the Belpre and Cincinnati Railroad (later known as the Marietta and Cincinnati).
Another railroad, the Scioto Valley Railway Company (later a part of the Marietta and Cincinnati) was constructing a railroad from Columbus to Portsmouth, and then along the Ohio River upstream to Ironton. The first train arrived in February 1881.(3) The construction of the railroad delayed an extension of the Iron Railroad due to duplication until June 1903, when an extension was built from Lisman to Bloom Junction, 18.6 miles from its southern terminus, which connected to the Scioto Valley Railway, then known as the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Portsmouth Branch. The extension was built by the Detroit Southern. Trackage rights, via the B&O SW, was obtained on February 4, 1893.
On July 30, 1881, the Iron Railroad Company entered into an agreement with the Toledo, Delphos and Burlington Railroad Company (TD&B), which later merged with its subsidiary, Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad (TC&StL) in 1882, retaining the TC&StL name.(3) The TC&StL was narrow-gauge, and in accepting the agreement, the Iron Railroad allowed the TC&StL to place its rails with a 3-foot gauge within the rails of the 4.10-foot gauge Iron Railroad at Dean to Ironton. The agreement allowed the TD&B to operate its narrow gauge trains into Ironton from Wellston over that route. The route from Dean north to Wellston was abandoned in 1917.
The Iron Railroad and the TD&B merged on October 21, 1881, retaining the TD&B insignia until February 25, 1881, when the line was consolidated with the Frankfort, St. Louis and Toledo Railroad.(3) The Frankfort, St. Louis and Toledo comprised the eastern part of the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad — known as the Cloverleaf Route, which became part of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad — the Nickel Plate Road, and the Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad (first corporation), which comprised of the western portion of the Cloverleaf Route. The name of the railroad after the consolidation was the Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad (second corporation).
On May 5, 1883, the Cincinnati Northern Railway, later known as the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway, was consolidated with the Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis.(3) The railroad now controlled 783-miles of narrow gauge from Toledo to St. Louis, from Delphos to Ironton and from Cincinnati to Lebanon Junction.
As other railroads in the Midwest were standard gauge, the delay resulting in transferring freight at connections, the smaller capacity of the cars and financial woes, led the Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis to fall into receivership on June 28, 1884.(4) The Iron Rail Company was organized on July 23, 1884, and was comprised only of the original Iron Railroad north of Ironton to Pedro. As the Iron Railroad was built to a slightly wider gauge than standard, the Iron Railway was converted to standard gauge in a single day on August 6, 1887.
Construction began in May 1901 from Lisman to Bloom Junction.(3)
The Iron Railroad eventually extended to a length of 18.35 miles, after spurs were built to serve limestone quarries, coal mines, kilns and iron furnaces. The railroad remained independent until September 25, 1902 when it was acquired by the Detroit Southern.(4)
Various spurs to serve quarries, coal mines and iron furnaces were built during the 1870s and 1880s to give the Iron a total length of 18.35 miles. For another 18 years, until September 25, 1902 when it was acquired by the Detroit Southern, the Iron Railroad continued its independent existence. Construction of an 18.6 mile extension north from Lisman to a connection with the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern’s Portsmouth to Hamden branch at Bloom Junction has started the previous May by the Detroit Southern. Trackage rights over the B&OSW into Jackson were gained and are in effect today. Service into Ironton began June 13, 1903.
Lines in Michigan
The segment of railroad from Chandler’s Curve, about one mile south of Trenton to Durban, Michigan was once part of the Chicago and Canada Southern Railway (C&CS).(3) Papers were filed in Ontario for construction of the line in October 1870. Between 1871-1873, the C&CS was built from Buffalo to a point opposite of Grosse Isle along the Detroit River via a car ferry,(4) and from there south via Carleton, Dundee and Grosvenor, Michigan to Fayette, Ohio. The western terminus was proposed as Chicago, but the recession of 1873 and the completion of some branch lines led this proposal to be tabled.
The portion of the C&CS that was in the United States was sold to the Detroit and Chicago Railroad on November 23, 1888.(3)(4) The line was then operated by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, later part of the New York Central. But on November 15, 1893, the portion of the line from Chandler’s Curve to Dundee, a distance of 27 miles, was sold to the Detroit and Lima Northern Railway.
Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy Railroad
A line from Springfield, Ohio to Jackson, a total of 109 miles, was constructed as a narrow gauge line by the Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy Railroad (SJ&P), which was incorporated on December 17, 1874.(3)(4)(6) The line was pushed by the citizens of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio, who desired an outlet to the south and east for their finished goods and raw materials from the mines in the hills, such as timber, coal and iron.
The SJ&P was a project of the Dayton & Southeastern, a line proposed from Dayton to Jackson via a rather circuitous route that avoided some of the larger grades due to the hillier terrain near Jackson.(4) Some disgruntled communities that were missed by the Dayton & Southeastern, along with some Springfield interests, formed the SJ&P out of frustration and disappointment.
Construction on the SJ&P began from Jackson north on December 7, 1876, after raising $800,000 in capital in two years.(4) From the west, work began at Springfield extending eastward on March 26, 1877. For a while, the SJ&P operated two unconnected segments, until the last spike was driven on July 18 at Dills, which is east of Bainbriedge. A branch to Eureka, south of Jackson, was completed in June 1878.
The first train that operated was an excursion on August 3, 1878, where the scenery was noted in the more hilly terrain of Ross and Pike counties.(3) The SJ&P was converted into standard gauge in 1879, and on October 11 (4)/November 3 (3), the railroad was purchased at a foreclosure sale by Oliver S. Kelly, who deeded the line to a new company, the Springfield Southern Railroad. The goal was to extend the line from Jackson to a point opposite of Huntington, West Virginia near Rockwood at the Ohio River. Huntington, at the time, was the western terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.
The ambitious goal was never achieved.(3)
Ohio Southern
On May 23, 1881, the company name was modified to the Ohio Southern Railroad Company.(3) The Ohio Southern was leased by the Indiana, Bloomington and Western (IB&W) to be a connecting link between Indianapolis to Springfield, Ohio, and the Chesapeake & Ohio who was extending westward. The IB&W, which later became the Peoria and Eastern, reached Springfield but never made it as far as Huntington. In April 1892, the IB&W relinquished control of the Ohio Southern.(4)
In order to provide connections to the more northerly railroads, the Ohio Southern began constructing an extension northward from Springfield to Lima in December 1892.(4) The line was completed on December 28, 1893. An extension to Wellston was completed by the spring of 1894.
The Ohio Southern constructed five branches: (3)
- Coalton to Wellston, at 4.50 miles, completed in 1881. The line from Jackson to Coalton had been completed by the SJ&P in 1878.
- Wellston to Cornelis, at 9.50 miles, completed in 1894. This branch left Wellston going northeast, followed Little Racoon Creek to Ratchford, then went east towards Lincoln Furnace.(1) This line was known as the Cornelia Branch, the Lincoln Branch and the Hanging Rock Branch.
- Springfield Junction to Lima, at 67.8 miles, completed on December 28, 1893.
- Jeffersonville to Sedalia, 7.17 miles, completed in 1895.
- Jeffersonville to Kingman, 23.93 miles, completed in 1895.
Coalton to Wellston Branch
For the segment from Coalton to Wellston, the SJ&P constructed a branch up Horse Creek valley from Jackson to Coalton in early 1878.(2) The line served a coal mine that produced “number 2″ coal which was highly desired. Soon after the railroad was completed, numerous mines came online and the railroad built spur lines into seemingly every hollow to serve the burgeoning industry. Nine total spurs were built between Jackson and Coalton.
The area around Coalton, originally named Eurekaville, had the highest density of mines in Jackson County.(2)
The first spur was 3/4-mile north of Jackson, serving the Cresent Mine.(2) A quarter mile north was the Price spur, which served several drift mines. Another quarter mile north was the Armstong switch. At Chapman Station was a spur that served two mines, which was followed by a spur at Springfield, Ada, Eagle and Hipple. Interestingly enough, the horse watering trough that was located on the south end of Coalton was fed by a water pipe draining out of the former Wilson mine, located alongside the railroad.
In December 1879, the Ohio Southern intersected with the Dayton and Southeastern when it was completed.(2) The lines simply crossed over. In 1882, the railroad was extended eastward towards Wellston. At Glen Roy, the Ohio Southern took the northern route into Wellston via Comet, serving several shaft mines.
Jeffersonville to Kingman Branch
Additional information on this branch can be found at the Cincinnati, Columbus and Hocking Valley Railroad article.
The Waynesville, Port William & Jeffersonville Railroad (WPW&J) was proposed as a narrow gauge railroad between the Little Miami Railroad at Claysville Junction to Jeffersonville, where it would junction with the Dayton and Southeastern.(4) The line would parallel the Little Miami south to Waynesville.(3) Although most investors were related to the SJ&P, no work was completed.
From November 28, 1883 to May 31, 1884, the Ohio Southern held ownership over the WPW&J, and 15 miles were completed from Jeffersonville to Port William by October 1877.(4) In November, the line was reorganized as the Columbus, Washington & Cincinnati (CW&C), and the line was proposed between Columbus and Cincinnati. Under the CW&C, the line was finished to Claysville Junction, now Roxanna, via McKay’s Station.
In March 1884, part of the CW&C was purchased by the Ohio Southern in order to complete a Columbus to Cincinnati route on a different alignment, especially as it descended into the Little Miami valley.(4) The portion of the CW&C from McKay’s Station west to Claysville Junction was abandoned in 1887, and the new alignment would diverge from McKay’s Station to Kingman. The Ohio Southern was only able to complete the segment from Sedalia to Jeffersonville and McKay’s Station in 1895, a distance of 31.1 miles, before they exhausted their funding. The line was built as a standard gauge.(4) With very little of the railroad having been completed, and the portions that were completed being isolated, the Ohio Southern did not generate a profit.(3)
The Ohio Southern went into receivership on May 9, 1895 because the northerly extension of Lima proved to be too much of a financial strain.(4) The railroad went into receivership on May 9, 1895 and was purchased by a bondholders’ purchasing committee on October 15, 1898.(3) The portion of the railroad from Jeffersonville west to Kingman was abandoned on November 18, 1932,(3) just short of a connection at Waynesville at the Little Miami,(4) and the segment from Jeffersonville east to Sedalia was abandoned in 1941,(4) short of a connection to the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus.
Detroit and Lima Northern Railway
The Lima Northern Railway Company was organized in Ohio on March 27, 1895.(4) The Lima Northern constructed a line from Lima to Seneca, Michigan at Lima Junction at the Wabash. From there, it reached Adrian over the Wabash.
The Detroit and Cincinnati Railway (D&C) was incorporated in Michigan on March 27, 1896 to construct a line from the state line in Lenawee County, Michigan to Detroit.(4) The only work completed, however, was from the Ohio state line north to the Wabash connection near Seneca by the Lima Northern in 1895 and 1896. The rails were laid by the Lima Northern, not by the D&C.
The D&C reincorporated in Michigan as the Detroit and Lima Northern Railway on February 20, 1897.(3)(4) The D&LN acquired the Lima Northern on May 10. An amendment increased the capital stock and modified the terminus to Detroit and an area three miles east of Morenci, Michigan on April 10, 1898. Another later amendment authorized an extension of the D&LN to Lima as to incorporate the Lima Northern.
On November 15, the Detroit and Lima Northern (D&LN) purchased the Detroit and Chicago from Chandler’s Curve to Dundee. As a result, the D&LN built a 11.14-mile line from South Adrian to Tecumseh, Michigan, and a 5.05-mile line from Durban to Dundee, Ohio. The first train ran over this segment on May 27, 1897, using the depot of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw (CJ&M) at Tecumseh. In August, the D&LN acquired the CJ&M Michigan Division, which had been reorganized as the Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee Railroad (DT&M).
The D&LN also constructed a 13-mile line from Chandler’s Curve to West End Avenue in Detroit in 1898, and acquired trackage rights from Dundee to Tecumseh via the CJ&M.(4) With this, the D&LN had a continuous railroad from Lima to Detroit, and the first freight line ran northbound in May 1898.
On January 8, 1898, the Detroit Northern Railway, which was incorporated on December 5, 1896, sold approximately 3/4-mile of line from the main line of the D&LN at Lima to the Lake Erie and Western Railroad and the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway.(3) Freight and passenger stations were completed. The D&LN began operations over its track between Lenawee Junction and South Adrian soon after.
Back in Ohio, the D&LN had become a partner in the planning of a railroad from Columbus, Ohio to Fort Wayne, Indiana.(4) The Columbus Northwestern Railway (CNW) was incorporated on August 8, 1897, and had completed a 40.7 mile line from Columbus Junction, now Salter’s, to Peoria in August 1898. An additional 17 miles from Columbus Junction to St. Mary’s was finished by November 1. An additional 14.6 miles was leased from the Ohio Southern from Lima to Columbus Junction, which provided a connection to the D&LN. The purchasers of the Ohio Southern, however, did not renew the lease on December 1, 1900, and the DL&NM divested itself from the CNW, thus ending D&LN service into Columbus via the Toledo & Ohio Central.
The Furguson Construction Company began work on an extension of the D&LN on August 21, 1897 from Dundee to Detroit.(4) By using the recently-purchased DT&M between Tecumseh and Dundee, the D&LN now had a southern access route into Detroit. A portion of the former Chicago & Canada Southern from Chander’s Curve to one mile south of Trenton to Dundee was purchased from the Lake Shore & Michigan in March 1898.
On April 15, the DL&N suspended operations and on June 1, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (LS&MS) purchased the DT&M. The D&LN line to Detroit was completed in May and trackage rights were secured to run D&LN trains over the Dundee-Tecumseh segment of the LS&MS.(4) At around the same time, 4.75 miles between Dundee and Durban were abandoned, which was actually part of the South Eastern Michigan Railway that had merged with the Chicago & Canada Southern on July 11, 1871. Most of the remaining Detroit & Chicago was purchased by the LS&MS.
On July 15, 1898, the D&LN established a northern terminus in Detroit and set up its general offices in the city.(4)
The D&LN went into receivership on September 6, 1898 and would not re-emerge until May 25, 1901 when it was sold to Frederick J. Lisman, who deeded the railroad to the Detroit Southern Railroad, incorporated on May 25, 1901. He had purchased trackage from Delray, Michigan (now a part of Detroit) south and west to Dundee, a distance of 39.4 miles, and from Tecumseh to Lima, and a short branch at Lima, which totaled 138 miles.(4) In addition, the Detroit Southern had purchased the Ohio Southern on June 1.(3)(4)
On September 25, 1902, the Detroit Southern purchased the Iron Railway, and completed the line to Bloom Junction in June 1903.(3) With the trackage rights secured via the B&O SW, a through line from Detroit to Ironton existed, 378.7 miles long, and began continuous service on June 13, 1903. The first passenger train from Ironton to Detroit left the station on June 15, 1903.
Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad
The Detroit Southern was placed into receivership on July 5 (3)(6)/July 16 (4), 1904 and was sold under foreclosure on May 1, 1905 to the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railway (DT&I), incorporated on May 2 (3)(6)/May 5 (4), 1905. Improvements to the 396.9 mile railroad, of which there was 65.68 miles in Michigan and 331.22 miles in Ohio, began shortly thereafter, when 85-pound rails were laid.(4)
On December 17, 1904, the Jackson Herald announced that the new Detroit Southern Shops would be located on a 28-acre site on Athens Street on land that was formerly the Jackson Racing Park.(6) The former shops were located in Springfield, Ohio, which employed 250-350. The rationale on the selection of Jackson for the shops was due to the amount of traffic that the region generated, and the probability that the DT&I would be extended into the coal fields of Kentucky and West Virginia. The new shops were designed to be larger than those in Springfield, with all of the repair work to be completed in Jackson employing up to 500.
A portion of the agreement for the shops was for local citizens to raise $28,000 by public subscription.(6) On December 19, 1904, the first day of the drive, $10,000 was subscribed. Four days later, the subscriptions had totaled $19,525, and by December 22, the entire amount was guaranteed.
The plans called for a,(6)
- 110 by 200 feet machine shop,
- 75 by 100 feet boiler shop,
- 60 by 80 feet blacksmith shop,
- 75 by 145 feet mill,
- 50 to 160 feet passenger car paint shop,
- 70 to 225 feet freight car repair shop,
- 50 by 100 feet store house,
- 49 by 100 feet store room and office,
- 25 by 50 feet oil house,
- and a roundhouse with 18 bays, 83 feet deep.
A contract to construct the shops was let on April 18, 1905 to the Pittsburgh Construction Company.(6) On April 23, crews began removing the grandstand from the race track, and by the following day, track was being laid to the site. By October, inspections revealed that the foundations that were being poured were faulty, and were strengthened by November 15. The roofs were reported to be complete on January 24, 1906, along with the full installation of all doors and windows. Two large boilers, which provided power, had arrived, and foundations for the roundhouse and store room were complete. By July 11, the finishing touches were being added to the shops.
The former DT&I shop in Jackson.
From June 1 to November 25, 1910, the DT&I and the Ann Arbor Railroad operated under one management,(3) via the purchase of 72% of Ann Arbor stock by the DT&I.(4) But the DT&I’s receivership proved this deal to not be financially viable, and the Ann Arbor stock was sold at auction, where it resumed independent operation.
The DT&I went into receivership on February 1, 1908.(3) The sale of the Northern Division, from Delray, Michigan to Lima, Ohio, and the Southern Division, from Bloom Junction to Ironton, Ohio, was held on June 28, 1913.(4) The Ohio Southern Division (also known as the Middle Division) from Lima to Rockwood, in Lawrence County, Ohio, was sold on April 27, 1913. The on the following March 2, the above divisions were merged back into the DT&I, which was organized on February 21, 1914.(3)(4)
Under the new incorporation, new, heavier rail was installed, and all of the trestles in Michigan, and some in Ohio, were rebuilt.(4) In addition, new ballast and fences were laid and built. The DT&I also purchased the 22.28 mile Toledo, Ann Arbor & Jackson interurban electric line, which was to connect Jackson and Ann Arbor, Michigan with Toledo, Ohio and Detroit. Only the portion of the Toledo and Detroit line from West Toledo to the junction with the DT&I at Dundee was saved, although grading towards Ann Arbor had been completed. The self-propelled McKeen motor vehicles on the parallel Ann Arbor Railroad defeated plans for the interurban to enter Ann Arbor.
The Toledo-Detroit Railroad Company, which owned a line between Toledo and Dundee, Michigan, was controlled and operated by the DT&I via stock ownership. Portions of the line had been constructed as an interurban electric line in 1905-1906.(3) The DT&I operations lasted from May 1, 1916 to December 29, 1931, after which the line was sold to the DT&I.
Between January 1, 1918 and March 1, 1920, the DT&I was operated by the United States Railroad Administration.(3) During this time, maintenance on the DT&I was kept to a bare minimum,(4) and the DT&I was unable to afford to provide any continued maintenance on the line due to very high traffic levels, failing infrastructure and bad equipment.(5) In 1920, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ordered the DT&I to rebuild the Rouge River bridge in Dearborn, Michigan to provide lake access to Ford’s automobile factory. The DT&I, however, lacked the resources to do so.
Henry Ford’s involvement
Henry Ford could not afford a delay on the lack of a reliable crossing over the Rouge River.(5) On July 10, 1920,(4)(6) Henry Ford purchased the DT&I for $5 million so that he would have a reliable source of transportation from his factory. Ford inherited 455 miles of main line and 155 miles of branch lines, 80 locomotives, 2,800 freight cars and around 12 passenger cars.(4)(6) Ford immediately began improvements along the DT&I due to the deplorable conditions that existed due to the federal government control.(3) Improvements included new ballast, ties and heavy rail, ditching, bank widening, bridge and culvert replacements, double-tracking near Detroit, and the rebuilding of locomotives, cars, machinery and physical structures. Obsolete buildings were removed and the right-of-way was cleaned. In addition, new cars were purchased and wages were raised to employees.
Henry Ford became president of the DT&I in March 1921, and made frequent trips along the railroad, often sitting in the locomotive.(4)
Ford organized two new organizations to construct additional railroads.
- The Detroit and Ironton Railroad Company, incorporated on June 29, 1920 as a subsidiary of the DT&I, constructed a double-track railroad from Ford’s plant in Dearborn, Michigan 13.5-miles south to the DT&I three miles north of Flat Rock Station.(3)(4) The work included a new classification yard at Flat Rock.(4) After this line began operations, the former line via Dundee to New York Central to Tecumseh was abandoned, and the line from Malinta north to Tecumseh became known as the Tecumseh Branch. The former line was 76.2 miles long, and contained sharp curves and steep grades, whereas the new line had two gentle curves and grade separations at major junctions.
- The Ford Transportation Company, incorporated on June 25, 1923, constructed a large terminal yard near Flat Rock, Michigan, which comprised of 25 miles of tracks, car repair facilities, track scales and a water station.
To improve access to his factory along the Rouge River, Ford began building the Dearborn branch on August 8, 1922. Work was later turned over to a contractor, who completed the 13.6 mile, double-track line from the plant to the Detroit & Ironton junction on October 1, 1923.(4)
The electrification of the DT&I was an idea that Henry Ford had envisioned, not only from the Rogue River plant to Ironton, but beyond into Kentucky to the junction of the electrified Virginian Railway.(4) On June 1, 1925, trial runs were made on a 17 mile stretch of the DT&I that featured concrete arches which held power lines. Two dark green and red articulated, motor-generator electric locomotives were used, and were designed by Ford engineers with Westinghouse electrics. Each unit weighed 785,600 pounds, and had a tractive force of 250,000 pounds. A 2,200 volt AC current was converted to 600 volts DC for the traction motors, with power deriving from the Ford Highland Park factory, with supplementary power later coming from the Rogue River plant. The top speed of the line was 43 MPH.
The electric vehicles were put into full use in 1926, although the electrification pursuit was later abandoned in 1930.(4)
On June 27, 1929,(4) the securities of the DT&I were purchased by the Penroad Corporation, a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, for $36 million, but no changes were made in the owning and operating the DT&I.(3)(4) Ford profited $31 million from the sale.(4)
The two companies were operated by the DT&I until December 29, 1931, after which they were sold to the DT&I.(3) The only exception was the tracks of the B&O SW between Jackson and Bloom Junction, Ohio, a distance of 23.4 miles, that the DT&I had trackage rights to.
Of side note, the DT&I had purchased the telegraph lines along its railroad from the Western Union Telegraph Company on June 15, 1923.(3) The lines were rebuilt with copper wires, and telephone dispatches and communications were put into operation.
On December 23, 1929, the Toledo-Detroit Railroad merged with the DT&I, which was a wholly-owned subsidiary since its purchase 15 years prior.(4)
Mergers and abandonments
The Penroad era saw several notable track abandonments. In 1929, the 17 mile Wellston branch was abandoned after most of the coal mines in the region were exhausted.(4) This was followed by the removal of the two mile branch the Iron Railroad had constructed from Bartles to Dean in 1930. A 4.9 mile portion of the former mainline from Durban, Michigan to the New York Central connection was dismantled in May 1930. That year also saw the demise of the electrification program, when the two electric locomotives were scrapped. Many of the concrete supports were removed in 1947 for a rip-rap project at Mosquito Lake in southern Ohio.
On August 22, 1951, the first regular diesel-powered locomotives began running between Springfield and Flat Rock, with additional diesels being delivered for runs elsewhere on the DT&I.(4)(6) On Christmas Eve, 1954, all steam power ended on the line.
In November 1931, the DT&I requested to the ICC that all regular passenger service end.(4) Passenger service between Jackson and Ironton ceased September 18, 1932.(6) The final passenger run was not until May 8, 1954, when a mixed train, consisting of both freight and passengers, left Springfield for Jackson.
The former DT&I passenger depot in Jackson.
On March 3, 1958, the DT&I abandoned a portion of the Tecumseh branch following the completion of the Malinta cut-off, from Lear at the junction of the D&LN, to Page.(4) The DT&I utilized nine-miles trackage rights over the Wabash.
The sale of the Wabash-controlled Ann Arbor Railroad was proposed on February 27, 1961, which was approved by the ICC on August 29, 1963.(4) Trackage rights were then obtained from the DT&I over the Ann Arbor from Diann, south of Dundee, into Toledo,(5) a distance of 19.8 miles. A portion of the Toledo branch, the former Toledo-Detroit Railroad line from Petersburg Junction to Lambertville, was abandoned in December 23, 1965.
In 1966, a $4.5 million Flat Rock yard improvement project took three years to complete, and included a 36-track classification yard with semi-automatic retarders.(4) On February 14, 1966, the DT&I began operations on parallel B&O trackage between Leipsic and South Cairo, Ohio, approximately 21 miles north of Lima. The DT&I also abandoned 17.33 miles of former D&LN trackage in Michigan.
The Ann Arbor Railroad entered into receivership as a result of a large amount of money that was owed to the Pennsylvania Company, the principal stockholder of the DT&I.(4) While the Ann Arbor was under the control of a court-appointed trustee, the DT&I continued operating with Ann Arbor as a contractor. The railroad, however, was a drain because it involved the high cost of the Lake Michigan car ferry operation, the lack of traffic due to other cross-lake routes, and increased car lengths that made the ferries even more costly and unreasonable. There was also a lack of traffic originating in Ann Arbor.
In 1970, the Pennsylvania went into receivership and was later absorbed into Conrail, which resulted in the DT&I being sold off.(5)
In early 1975, there were proposals floated to abandoned all DT&I trackage south of Lima as a method of restructuring railroads in the Midwest and Northeast.(4) While this radical proposal failed, the consolidation of the railroad companies progressed further, especially once Conrail was put into service. Within a few years, the DT&I could be spotted via Conrail trackage rights, in Cincinnati via Springfield and South Charleston.
In 1977, the DT&I’s independence was threatened by a proposal from the Norfolk and Western (N&W) and the Chessie System.(4) An initial offer of $23.625 million was countered by the Grand Trunk Western (GTW), who requested to purchase N&W’s half-interest in the Detroit & Toledo Shore Line. On July 23, 1979, the courts gave approval for the GTW to purchase the DT&I, which was confirmed by the ICC on December 3, 1979. The ICC stated that the merger would retain competitiveness between Cincinnati and Detroit, and allowed the GTW six months to make a final agreement with the Pennsylvania on the sale. The DT&I officially became part of the GTW on June 24, 1980.(6)
Unfortunately, deferred maintenance and a lack of business led to the abandonment of the former D&LN Wauseon-Tecumseh main line in May 1978.(4) The N&W assumed operations on the Adrian-Tecumseh to serve a Fisher Body plant, but south of Adrian, the line was dismantled.
In 1982, with most major industries having been shuttered and mines closed, the DT&I Ironton Branch was abandoned south of Bloom Junction.(5) The line from Washington Court House to Waverly was also abandoned that year, when trackage rights were secured over the B&O and C&O railroads. In December 1983, the merger of the GTW with the DT&I was finalized. Under the GTW, the DT&I locomotives were painted in the red and blue paint scheme of the GTW, but retained the DT&I logo. The railroad shops at Jackson were closed on March 27, 1984,(6) and the line from Jackson to Waverly was abandoned, as well as the trackage rights that were secured just two years prior.(5)
The GTW sold the former DT&I trackage from Springfield to Washington Court House to the Indiana & Ohio (I&O) in 1990.(5) The GTW continued to operate the former DT&I from Flat Rock to Springfield until February 15, 1997, when most of it was sold to the I&O. The line south of the Ann Arbor Junction at Diann, Michigan was included.
Gallery
Sources
- Ohio Genealogical So Jackson County, Ohio Genealogical Society. “Mines of the Eastern Hill Coals.” History & Families of Jackson County, Ohio. Paducah: Turner, 1991. 35. Google Books. Web. 23 Aug. 2010. Article.
- Ohio Genealogical So Jackson County, Ohio Genealogical Society. “Mines of the Famous 2 ‘Quakertown Coal.’” History & Families of Jackson County, Ohio. Paducah: Turner, 1991. 33-34. Google Books. Web. 23 Aug. 2010. Article.
- Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Company. “HISTORY OF THE DETROIT, TOLEDO AND IRONTON RAILROAD.” DT&I Modelers Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2010. Article.
- Pletz, William C. “The Railroad That Went No Place.” Inside Track 1979: n. pag. Web. 24 Aug. 2010. Article.
- Landrum, J. Erik. “A Brief History of the DT&I .” Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Historical Web Site. N.p., 7 Jan. 1998. Web. 31 Aug. 2010. Article.
- Ervin, Robert. “The D T & I Car Shops.” Jackson, Ohio. Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, 201. Web. 31 Aug. 2010. Article.
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