Valley Railway


The Valley Railway was a shortline railroad which operated between the city of Cleveland and small town of Zoarville in the U.S. state of Ohio. The railroad was founded in 1871, but the first segment of track did not open until 1880 and the line was not completed until 1884. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad obtained a controlling interest in the Valley Railway in 1890. The line went bankrupt in 1895, and was subsequently reorganized as The Cleveland Terminal and Valley Railroad Company. The B&O took over operation of the CT&V in 1909, and the company was merged with the B&O in 1915.
Traffic on the road declined significantly after the 1920s. CSX, the B&O's successor, abandoned a third portion of the line in 1984.The National Park Service acquired the line three years later. Since 1975, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad has operated seasonal tourist excursion trains on this portion of the line. CSX sold about of track south of Canton to the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway in 1992, and the track between Akron and Canton to Akron's METRO Regional Transit Authority in 2000.
CSX continues some freight operations on the remaining track, which is referred to as the Cleveland, Terminal and Valley Subdivision. The Valley Railway Historic District encompasses the former Valley Railway from Independence to Akron. The railway also passes through or is adjacent to a number of other sites listed on the National Register.

Founding the company

The goal of the Valley Railway was to link the industrial centers of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, with the coal fields of Stark and Tuscarawas counties.
The genesis of the railroad is somewhat unclear, however.

Possible antecedent efforts

Railway historians Sam Tamburro and Juliet Galonska have written that David L. King, a wealthy attorney in Akron, obtained a state charter for an "Akron and Canton Railway" in 1869. This charter was turned over to the Valley Railway in 1871. Ohio state historian Simeon D. Fess, however, mentions no charter for the Akron & Canton effort. Rather, he says Akron and Canton residents attempted to persuade the B&O to build a line between those two cities. They raised $300,000 in 1870 for the purchase of land and for construction. But when the railroad declined to build the line, the citizen-investors turned this money over to the Valley Railway in 1871.
Akron area historian Samuel A. Lane also discusses the fundraising attempt. He notes that King was a primary backer of the effort, but mentions no charter. Lane says the effort to build a railroad ended in the spring of 1871 for reasons which were unclear. The idea, however, gave rise to the Valley Railway. Canton railroad historian Craig Sanders also claims that area residents obtained a state charter for the Akron & Canton. However, Sanders says the line began construction 1873, and then ran out of funds. The route must have been different from the Valley Railway's route, as Sanders says both were being built in 1873.

Formation of the Valley Railway

Whether there were antecedent roads or not, the Valley Railway Company was incorporated in the state of Ohio on August 21, 1871. The incorporators consisted of Henry Chisholm, co-founder and primary investor in the Cleveland Rolling Mill ; James Farmer, president of the Ohio National Bank; Samuel Augustus Fuller, founder of the Union Iron Works ; David L. King; Nathan P. Payne, a Cleveland coal dealer; and Warrick B. Price, Midwestern real estate developer and former secretary and treasurer of the Milwaukee and Beloit Railroad and the Aetna Iron and Nail Company. The state-issued charter permitted the railroad to construct a line from the city of Cleveland on the shore of Lake Erie south-southeast to the village of Bowerston, Ohio.
The sale of Valley Railway stock began in January 1872. The intent was to sell $150,000 in stock in both Akron and Canton, and $500,000 in stock in Cleveland. King, the chief organizer of the corporation, raised $191,700 from Akron area investors. Sales fell far short in Cleveland, even after the Cleveland Rolling Mill bought $50,000 worth of stock.
The company was finally organized on April 24, 1872. Its directors were Farmer, King, and Payne, as well as George Cook, James A. Saxton, John Frederick Seiberling, and Andros B. Stone. The newly-constituted board on May 6 elected Farmer president, King vice president, and incorporator Warrick Price the secretary and treasurer.

Constructing the Valley Railway

The board of directors appointed P.H. Dudley, engineer for the city of Akron, as chief engineer of the Valley Railway. Because the intent of the railroad was to carry very heavy loads of coal to Akron and Cleveland, the board of directors mandated that the route follow a downhill grade between the two cities and that track curves be extremely wide and easy. The board contemplated building a narrow-gauge railway because it would be cheaper. Pressured by King, the board instead opted for the more expensive standard gauge in order to better link with other railroads.

Initial construction efforts

The route was surveyed and land purchased during 1872. On February 3, 1873, the railway contracted with Arthur L. Conger and Nicholas E. Vansickle to build the railroad. Ground was broken in Springfield Township in Summit County in March 1873. The work initially proceeded very swiftly. By mid-August, two-thirds of the line had been graded, contracts for all the bridges had been let, and some bridges had even been partially completed. A financial panic hit in September 1873, creating worldwide economic havoc. The Panic of 1873 forced the railroad to indefinitely suspend construction on May 14, 1874.
By fall 1874, the railroad had run out of money and incurred debts of $150,000. To resolve the impasse and get construction going again, David L. King agreed to accept the position of president of the railway. He demanded, however, that the members of the board of directors personally assume financial responsibility for paying off the company's liabilities. The board agreed, and King was elected on September 25, 1874. To raise funds for construction, King traveled to Europe in February 1875, but failed to sell any bonds. Two years passed before King was able to interest bankers and investors in Cleveland and New York City to purchase the $6.5 million in bonds the railroad needed to complete work.
Walsh & Moynahan, new contractors, were hired, and work resumed on August 7, 1878. Once grading was complete, track began to be laid. The first rail was laid near Old Forge in Akron on October 26, 1878. From Akron, rails were laid north toward Cleveland and south toward Canton; in Cleveland, the company began laying rails south to meet the line coming up from Akron.

Completing the line to Canton

Work was once again suspended on January 25, 1879, in a dispute over the quality of work provided by Walsh & Moynahan. A new contractor, the firm of Strong & Carey, was hired, and work resumed on June 3, 1879. When the Valley ran low on cash again, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway loaned it about $250,000 to finish the track.
The line between Cleveland and Canton was completed on October 27, 1879. The first train ran on the line on January 28, 1880. Regular freight and passenger traffic began running on February 2, 1880.

Completing the line to Bowerston

Work on the remainder of the railroad slowed appreciably. The Valley Railway crossed the Pennsylvania Railroad's Fort Wayne Line in Canton, and followed the valleys of various streams and creeks to reach Mineral City, Ohio, which it did on July 15, 1882. There, it crossed the Pennsylvania Railroad's Tuscarawas Branch. It reached Valley Junction a few months later. Track work beyond Valley Junction was delayed because the Valley Railway had yet to negotiate trackage rights with the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad. An agreement was finally reached in late 1882, and became effective January 1, 1883. The remainder of the line was completed swiftly, and in 1884 the Valley Railway between Bowerston and Valley Junction was completed—linking the Valley Railway with the W&LE and points east.
At the time of its completion, the Valley Railway had of main line track, of branch track, of siding, and a spur from Mineral City to a nearby Sieberling-owned coal mine. It linked northeast Ohio's three largest cities, creating a regional transportation corridor.

Valley Railway operational history

Depots

The Valley Railway originally built 16 depots. North to south, these were located at:
In 1884, Akron granted permission for the Valley to build a spur into the heart of the city. On this spur the railroad built a new, larger passenger depot at the intersection of Canal and West Market Streets in 1887. The railroad continued to use the old station at Howard and Ridge Streets until 1971.

Track bed lawsuit

A portion of the Valley Railway's route followed the bed of the abandoned Ohio and Erie Canal. The canal bed was originally owned by the state of Ohio. The railroad asked the Cleveland City Council if it would lease the canal bed to the company, and the council agreed to do so on March 24, 1879. On October 31, 1879, pursuant to previously enacted state law, Governor Richard M. Bishop transferred title to that portion of the canal within the city limits to the city of Cleveland. On November 4, 1879, the city formally leased the canal bed to the Valley Railway for 99 years. Although the value of the land was estimated to be $280,000, the city agreed to a one-time payment of $265,000, payable in Valley Railway corporate bonds. The railway filled the canal with ballast to create the track bed.
The state of Ohio was displeased that the city had leased the canal bed, and challenged the lease in 1879. A special joint committee was appointed by the Ohio Senate that year to examine the issue, but concluded that the city properly held title to the canal bed and could do with it as it wished. The joint committee's report was subsequently adopted by the Ohio Senate. This did not put an end to the dispute. In late 1895, Ohio Attorney General John K. Richards announced that, in his opinion, the lease to the railroad was illegal. The state then sued to recover the canal bed and evict the railroad. The state legislature adopted a resolution later that year in which it expressed its opinion that the transfer of title to the city had been proper under state law.
Discussions among the city, state, and Valley Railway continued until 1908. That year, an appraiser once more found in favor of the railway. Frustrated, the state attorney general filed a motion in state district court in early March 1908 demanding title to the canal bed. In October of that year, the railway filed a demurrer in the case. The case dragged on into 1910. The 1896 legislative resolution became an issue before the courts, with the state attorney general arguing that a resolution was inadequate to affirm the city's title to the canal bed. Only a bill could have confirmed title, the state argued in March 1910. The district court held for the state of Ohio. The railway appealed, and an appellate court held for the state of Ohio. The railway appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio. In late January 1912, the Supreme Court of Ohio held in favor of the railway.