Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway (1846–1917)

The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway (CH&D) was a railroad based in the U.S. state of Ohio that existed between its incorporation on March 2, 1846, and its acquisition by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in December 1917. It was originally chartered to build from Cincinnati to Hamilton, Ohio, and then to Dayton, a distance of 59 mi (95 km); further construction and acquisition extended the railroad, and by 1902 it owned or controlled 640 mi (1,030 km) of railroad. Its stock and bond value plunged in late 1905 after "financial mismanagement of the properties" was revealed.[1] The company was reorganized as the Toledo and Cincinnati Railroad in 1917.

Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad
Overview
LocaleOhio
Dates of operation1846–1917
SuccessorBaltimore and Ohio Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gaugeoriginally 4 ft 10 in (1,473 mm) Some predecessor roads 3 ft (914 mm)
Not to be confused with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, an Ohio interurban of exactly the same name which existed between 1926 and 1930.
Interior of a Pullman dining car on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway, 1894
Map of the C H and D RR in 1873
Map of the C H and D RR in 1873, D and M RR is in red; C H and D in yellow.
Trust certificate of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad Company, issued 8. June 1883

Acquisitions
Map of the CH&D in 1896

The original CH&D was founded by John Alexander Collins, who was born on June 8, 1815, in Staffordshire, England. He came to the US as a child in 1825, and worked as a locomotive engineer until moving to Ohio in 1851 to open the CH&D. Collins remained with the line until 1872, six years before his death in Covington, Kentucky. Collins is buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, where his tombstone details his life and its work.

The railway received a charter from the State of Ohio on March 2, 1846, as the "Cincinnati and Hamilton Railroad". The name was changed by the legislature to the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway on February 8, 1847.[2] Stephen S. L'Hommedieu was elected president of the road on July 3, 1848.[3] Work on the road began in 1850, and by September of that year the right of way had been obtained between Cincinnati and Hamilton, with the right of way between Hamilton and Dayton being sought. The road was graded by this time as well, since iron for the rails had arrived.[4] By May 1851, the entire right of way was purchased and grading along the entire route finished.[5] The first trains ran on September 18, 1851: Two special inaugural trains from Dayton met two special inaugural trains from Cincinnati at Hamilton.[6]

On May 1, 1863, the CH&D leased the Dayton and Michigan Railroad in perpetuity and, later, acquired a controlling interest in the Cincinnati, Richmond and Chicago Railroad, extending from Hamilton to Richmond. L'Hommedieu retired in June 1870, shortly before his death in 1875,[3] and was succeeded by D. McLaren as president of the road.[7] In 1891, it acquired the Cincinnati, Dayton and Chicago Railroad, while in March of that year it added the Cincinnati, Dayton and Ironton Railroad.

In 1886 the CH&D was among the railroads controlled by the financial speculator Henry S. Ives before his spectacular collapse the following year.

The CH&D in Lima, Ohio

The Dayton and Michigan was the second railroad to reach Lima, Ohio, reaching there in 1858. By 1880, they had established a significant shop facility on the north side of town with over two hundred employees.[8] The Detroit and Michigan had a freight depot west of the tracks and south of East North Street, between North Central Avenue (once Tanner Street) and North Jackson Street. Successor CH&D built a larger structure on the site, which continued to be used by the Baltimore and Ohio at least into the 1950s. The passenger depot followed a similar pattern, but was located farther north, between East Wayne Street and the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks.[9][10][11]

See also

References
  1. "C., H. & D. holders on verge of panic". New York Herald. 8 December 1905.
  2. Ohio Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs (1870). Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs of the State of Ohio, With Tabulations and Deductions From Reports of the Railroad Corporations of the State, for the Year Ending June 30, 1869. Columbus, Ohio: Columbus Printing Company, State Printers. p. 53.
  3. Cincinnati Commercial (2 June 1875). "Death of S.S. L'Hommedieu". Richmond Weekly Palladium. p. 1. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  4. "Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad". The Portsmouth Inquirer. September 9, 1850. p. 1.
  5. "Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad". The Portsmouth Inquirer. May 19, 1851. p. 1.
  6. Warring, George E. Jr. (1887). Report on the Social Statistics of Cities. Part II: The Southern and the Western States. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 397.
  7. "MISCELLANEOUS". Daily Alta California. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 28 June 1870. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  8. R.H. Harrison (1880). Atlas of Allen County, Ohio. R.H. Harrison.
  9. Insurance Maps of Lima Ohio (Sanborn Maps). Ohio Web Library: Sanborn Map Company. 1950 [1911]. p. 29.
  10. Lima, Ohio (Sanborn Maps). Ohio Web Library: Sanborn Map and Publishing. 1887. p. 4.
  11. Lima, Ohio (Sanborn Maps). Ohio Web Library: Sanborn Map and Publishing. 1911. p. 29.
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