I'm surprised Toledo has received little attention in the freight rail thread over in transportation, considering its long history in everything rail.

 

Toledo is America's third busiest rail hub, and by far the busiest passenger/freight rail hub in Ohio. Some of the railyards in Toledo are only matched by Chicago. Toledo was also one of the first metros on the continent to have interurbans (probably the first major city in Ohio). The Toledo-Cincinnati interurban was the longest line in the country for quite some time. The Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway was one of the last interurbans to shut down.

 

With all that said, it's shocking how much has been removed. A massive swath of land stretching all the way from the Andersons grain port to downtown used to be entirely railyards and rail-related businesses. Today, it's mostly gone. International Park in East Toledo was also the site of a lot of rail lines (and shipping activity). That's all gone. Some of the losses can be attributed to the relocation of industrial complexes from the upriver areas to Toledo Harbor, but much has been lost forever, particularly the countless interurbans and passenger rail ines of Greater Toledo.

 

Toledo still easily has the largest rail network in Ohio (which should make a rebirth of passenger rail feasible), but that doesn't make what's been lost any less tragic. Toledo was once served by over 20 railroad companies, and now is down to four (due to mergers and bankruptcies). The fact that Toledo still ranks as one of the top rail hubs tells you just how badly this entire nation has destroyed its rail system. Observe:

 

old station (removed)

 

streetcar line (removed)

 

nice locomotive (LONG gone)

 

Middlegrounds line (removed- now the site of Owens Corning cruise ship HQ)

 

New York Central Rail Station (removed)

 

Nickel Plate Railway (LONG gone)

 

passenger rail in Oregon (removed)

 

Look at all that rail and all that DENSITY (partially removed- some of those rail lines in North Toledo are now the site of I-280)

 

Hocking Valley Railway (removed, I-280 was just built at the time of this photo)

 

Ottawa Beach passenger rail line (removed)

 

FDR on a passenger line in Toledo (removed)

 

rail line by the Maumee River (partially removed)

 

Lake Shore Electric Railway (removed)

 

Wagon Works Depot (removed)

 

South Middlegrounds (already partially removed by the time of this photo- it looks pretty much the same today)

 

Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railway (removed)

 

Airline Junction (still there)

 

Toledo Beach passenger lines (removed)

 

rail yards in East Toledo (removed- now International Park, neighborhood is unchanged)

 

rail yards in East Toledo (removed, but neighborhood is unchanged)

 

New York Central Station (removed- now OC)

 

Wabbash Railway (removed)

 

Toledo-Fostoria-Findlay Interurban (removed)

 

old Union Station (removed)

 

Bethlehem Steel Company (removed, neighborhood partially removed)

 

Union Depot line (removed)

 

Middlegrounds (removed, now OC Carnival cruise ship)

 

Middlegrounds (mostly removed, now OC and wasteland- Carty wants to make it a new metropark)

 

Union Station/Middlegrounds (partially removed, station is still a major passenger hub)

 

Toledo Harbor (all still there, actually MUCH larger today)

 

Downtown Toledo (everything to the right of the creek is gone, almost everything to left is still there, plus a baseball stadium and new infill)

 

Airline Junction (still there)

 

Toledo Beach passenger rail (removed)

 

Toledo & Indiana Railroad (removed)

 

random street car (still there in 1960, but removed today)

 

Wauseon interurban (removed)

 

Rouche de Bouf interurban in Waterville (bridge is still there, but lies unused and derelict)

 

Toledo & Monroe Railway (removed)

 

Ohio Electirc Railway (removed)

 

Maumee interurban in 1880's (removed, my church is still there though)

 

Toledo & Western Railroad (removed)

 

Bowling Green interurban (removed)

 

Metamora interurban (removed)

 

random interurban (removed)

 

Adrian interurban (removed)

 

Toledo Railway & Light Company interurban station (removed)

 

Toledo, Port Clinton, and Lakeside Railway (removed)

 

Toledo Beach interurban (removed)

 

for Coldayman, the STRYKER interurban (removed)

 

"Toledo Tomorrow" (some 1960's urban renewal shit- half the city was given to aliens)

 

Toledo-Port Clinton Interurban (removed- a fitting end to this post)

 

All I got to say is WELL DONE, AMERICA!! :cry:

 

props to Jeff for influencing me to do more "deconstruction" threads.

Very interesting.  Some of those aerials of Toledo were really amazing though.

Props to C-Dawg for some great photo research!  Great old pix, but all the more sad, as you rightly point out, to see what we've lost in both rail-based infrastructure and rail service.

 

This is also why we need to be moving the Ohio Hub plan into the Environmental Impact Study phase of the planning process. One thing that will do is allow a detailed inventory of what we have left for rail corridors and even abandoned (but still useable) railroad rights-of-way. Don't get me wrong; I'm an advocate for rail trails for recreational use, but we need to put a freeze on rail corridor losses before we lose the opportunity to build the Ohio Hub system.  We've already come close in a couple of cases and there is reportedly another threat along the 3-C Corridor between Springfield and Dayton that would further narrow that corridor with a bike trail.

 

If Ohio is to have the option of rail in the future, we need to be acting now to preserve that future.

 

Again.... nice work C-Dawg!

Excellent thread about some tragic losses.

 

Noozer, I agree with you about rail-trails, I think. I thoroughly enjoy riding them, and at least their construction has preserved ROW from encroachment by subdivisions and strip malls. In most cases, I'd gladly relinquish them in favor of reinstalling track and restoring rail service that would provide alternatives to car and truck traffic. I think restoration of rail service over some of those corrirdors could be executed in a way that would include recreational trails, too.

 

Some of rail-trail creation (maybe a lot) has taken place under a rail-banking provision that specifically designates the recreational facility as preserving the right-of-way until the time when it may again be needed for rail service.

 

I'm pretty sure this particular Nickel Plate Berkshire locomotive has been preserved and is on display. It ran in excursion service for some time after the end of steam on the Nickel Plate; the cars in the background indicate that this photo was taken during that era. I think it's in Lima? I believe it served as an organ donor for some components like air pumps used in the restoration and rebuilding of NKP 765.

 

Great photos!

Wow great aerials... 

Let's all organize a Trails to Rails movement.

 

 

<img src="http://66.213.36.5/images/ndrive/Z000/Z00030/Z0003090.jpg>

 

The Toledo & Indiana Railroad connected Toledo, Ohio with Holland, Wauseon, Stryker, and Bryan. Power station and repair shops were at Stryker, near the end of the line. It had 52 miles of track and ran along the New York Central Steam Road. Cars ran until 1939.

 

Source: "Curved Side Cars built by Cincinnati Car Company", Wagner

 

The Cincinnati Car Company, of course, is also gone.

amazing what was lost when you talley it all up like this. ugh. nice work c-dawg.

 

i yelped out loud at that early 1960's urban renewal plan rendering. that just....leaves ya speechless.

Let's all organize a Trails to Rails movement.

 

Awesome!

""Toledo Tomorrow" (some 1960's urban renewal shit- half the city was given to aliens)"

 

How much of this was realized? There isn't an urban expressway along the river thankfully. The airport ramps shown in the aerial, was there an airport there that was planning an expansion, or was that a "new" airport smack dab in the middle of town?

 

(Sorry, no detailed map handy.)

Lotsa trains!

""Toledo Tomorrow" (some 1960's urban renewal shit- half the city was given to aliens)"

 

To tell the truth, I think more damage was done after the urban renewal/highway craze of the 1950's/1960's than during it. A significant amount of damage was done during the 1970's, 1980's, and even the early 1990's. Summit Street was basically leveled for the massive Seagate, Portside, and Promenade Park projects. A hell of a lot was lost downtown during the 80's, and the modern skyscrapers just don't make up for all the retail and small businesses that used to be in their place. :|

 

The Glass City may have built itself a sexy waterfront skyline, but in doing so, it destroyed the heart and soul of Summit Street. All we have to show for it are some corporate skyscrapers and a riverfront park (it's a great park, but a little too much was torn down).

 

 

totally, totally agree.

 

wasnt worth it just to see mitch ryder come down every weekend for rallys by river. heh.

 

thanks a lot donna owens.