Editor’s Note: This article is the first in a three-part series exploring passenger rail’s past, present and future. Written by All Aboard Ohio intern Samuel Roberts, the series begins with a look at Ohio’s rich railroad history before turning to passenger rail today and what may lie ahead.

It may be hard to believe but before the 1960s a traveler in Columbus, Ohio could board a train and travel as far as San Francisco, California without the fear of exorbitant gas prices or driving fatigue. This vision of easy and convenient transportation is a stark contrast to the fact that today Ohio is recognized as being rather limited as far as passenger rail transportation goes. 

This great lack of efficient transportation can only be framed as a great irony and a statewide embarrassment given the large role the state of Ohio played in the development of early American rail in the 19th century, from popularizing the “common carrier” business model in the states to delivering troops and supplies to the front during the Civil War, Ohio was effectively the epicenter of railroad development in the 19th century United States.

(above: One of the many early passenger carriages built to ferry settlers from Baltimore to the Ohio River valley in the early 19th century. Preserved at the Baltimore and Ohio Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.)

Humble beginnings: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

The establishment of the state of Ohio in 1803 created a large amount of demand for settlers and businessmen to expand into the new addition to the American Republic. With the construction of the Erie Canal connecting nearly every state between New York and Ohio created an untold amount of capital for traders and investors. As the railroad mania of the United Kingdom in the post-Napoleonic period spilled into the eastern United States, it was only logical that a railroad connecting the new state to the remainder of the republic would emerge to compete with the canal business. And thus, the first railborne common carrier within the United States was created for the purposes of creating a cheaper transportation option into the State of Ohio: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

Ground was broken on the B&O railroad on Independence Day of 1828. Two years later, with miles of track complete, the first steam locomotive built in the United States entered service on that very line. Other milestones the B&O were responsible for was the first railside telegraph line and the construction of America’s first railroad infrastructure such as the Carrollton Viaduct.

Despite the original intentions for the railroad to reach the state of Ohio, the B&O ironically didn’t reach the Ohio River until 1852. The time it took for the B&O to reach Ohio gave other competitors the opportunity to capitalize on transportation within the new state.

Columbus makes history.

As the B&O was working westward from the east coast, those brought to Ohio by the Erie canal or via the horse drawn road vehicles became enthralled with the idea of connecting the up-and-coming towns of the new state by iron rails. Future governor of Ohio William Dennison was among these trailblazing businessmen, founding the Columbus and Xenia Railroad chartered in 1847. A much larger line connecting Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland began construction in the same year. (The railroad was later expanded to run to Indianapolis, Indiana.)

Another vastly important railroad created in Ohio at this time was the Central Ohio Railroad, built to connect the growing metropolis and rail hub of Columbus with the railroads operating on the east coast. Despite the importance of this railroad, many passengers and operators despised the CORR for its hastily constructed tracks which made derailments an unfortunately common occurrence. The line would later be partly rebuilt to greater standards after the CORR was absorbed by the larger B&O railroad, which was greatly living up to its namesake of expanding into Ohio by the mid-19th century, eventually becoming one of the most dominant passenger carriers in the state by the end of the century.

Columbus now had expanded into a modern American city, but it had the rather unique problem of having so many railroads operated by so many different companies all flowing through it.

The solution was something rather unthinkable at the time: a single train station which allowed passengers access to all of these rail lines. Something often referred to today as a “Union Terminal" for its symbolic union of multiple railroad lines.

The first union station, not only in the United States but the first in the world, was built in the Short North district of Columbus to service these railroads. The station proved to be highly popular with passengers travelling both within Ohio and throughout the Midwest, and as the rail lines expanded the East and West coasts became accessible to Columbus-based travelers.

The station was so popular that it was rebuilt twice to accommodate increasing demand. By the height of its popularity in 1893, Union Station was servicing nearly 112 passenger trains per day.

Ohio becomes an epicenter of rails.

Ohio’s large network of common carrier routes played a key role in supplying the Union Army during the Civil War. After playing their role in protecting the freedoms of the United States from the rebellious states, Ohio’s rail lines continued to grow, with larger rail companies such as New York Central, Nickel Plate Road, and the Pennsylvania RR building several lines going through Ohio, many passing straight through the famous Union Station.

Within 80 years, Ohio had gone from a backwater state with little transportation infrastructure to a large hub of the nation's greatest transportation hubs, servicing the railroads that stretched the length of the nation. The smaller, local railroads which previously dominated Ohio’s rail industry in the 1830s and 40s had given way to larger railroads that would carve their legacy into American culture.

With the integral role of railroads in Ohio’s economic and industrial growth, one is left to ask what happened to Ohio’s rail networks? How could such an important aspect of American infrastructure with proven economic and social benefits be effectively non-existent in one of the most geographically critical U.S. States?

Check back later this month for Parts 2 and 3.