Like most any railroad, it's pretty straight and flat. That said, when the portion from Milford was surveyed toward Lebanon and Waynesville in the 1840s, the grade of just under 1% was too steep for the locomotives of the era. So the rails were laid to Morrow, Fort Ancient, and Oregonia to Waynesville. These are now the familiar place names along the North Country Trail. Although eventually merged into Conrail, the road operated until 1981.
Here is the through-truss bridge across the Little Miami River
And a highly typical Fleming Through Girder Bridge over Gladys Creek. (the wood rail on the inside is for the trail.)
The Little Miami RR was only the second railroad built in Ohio. The first was far to the north, the Erie & Kalamazoo. Most people in Ohio were satisfied with canal travel. Railroads were seen as a means to connect towns that weren't on canals. But onstruction of the LMRR began in 1837 because water routes were not available in winter months when they froze.
I guess we can assume it had reached Spring Valley by 1844, since this mill is oriented to the rail line.
You can almost always find where a rail line went through a town by looking for businesses oriented off the orthoganal street grid. Street on the right, rail grade on the left. This building is also in Spring Valley although I don't know what it used to be.
The line was extended to Xenia by 1845. Here is the beautiful Xenia station.
And this building, just south of Yellow Springs, has been identified for me as the Miami Powder Mill, maker of gunpowder. It was located at a small settlement called Goes Station. It has been closed since 1925, but clearly the building is being maintained. I couldn't detect that it had a siding, but the building was very close to, and oriented to the tracks.
Today was cold. As soon as the temperature rose a little bit a biting wind came along as well. I hiked fast! I was warm, but I didn't take long breaks.
Miles today: 17.1. Total miles so far: 602.2 OVER 600!
BONUS SECTION: Just fun.
Nancy brought pasties that were made in Marquette, MI. Who eats pasties in Ohio? We do!
And this is for my duck-loving friend, Diana.
 | See Yellow Springs |
9 comments:
Congrats on reaching the 600 mark!
Hi Joan. Great pics and written info. Yrs ago a tornado hit Xenia pretty hard. Do you know if the Xenia station you pictured is the original building, or a rebuilt after the tornado?
You’re a true inspiration to us.
Loved your buildings that you included here. I adore those!
I bet I haven't walked a total of 600 miles in the past thirty years. To the point, thanks for the picture of the Xenia station. I have never been there but several years ago I lived in Converse, Indiana. The original name of the town was Xenia but to avoid confusion when the RR went through the name was changed since Xenia, Ohio evidently had first dibs.
Excellent!
Wow 600 miles. Way to go.
Fascinating history! I've studied 29th century railroads in Ontario a bit.
Love the train bridges and history - thanks for blogging, Joan. Pasties from Marquette are the best (my former hometown) - especially from Jean Kay's. 😊 April
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