Formation

During the 1860s, as railroad construction across the United States was booming, citizens of the Cuyahoga Valley area expressed their desires for their own railroad.^[5] Plans were subsequently made for a rail line to be built through the area, but they were quickly dropped, due to a lack of financial support.^[5] The project was then resurrected by the financial support of David L. King, who owned various acres of property in the area.^[5]

On August 21, 1871, the Valley Railroad Company was incorporated, and their intention was to run trains from Cleveland to Akron, Middlebury, and Canton.^[5] Construction of the railroad's right-of-way commenced, but following the Panic of 1873, a lack of funding halted the project again.^[5] In 1878, capitalists from Cleveland and New York chose to fund the project, on the condition that the railroad company increased its capital stock, and construction subsequently resumed.^[5]

Original operations

The first passenger train on the Valley Railroad's new route ran on January 28, 1880, between Cleveland and Canton, and regular passenger and freight operations commenced five days later, on February 2.^[5] The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) expressed interest in reaching Cleveland via the Valley Railroad's route, and in the fall of 1889, brokers from New York purchased the majority of the Valley Railroad's stock and turned them over to the B&O.^[6] The line between Cleveland and Akron subsequently became known as the B&O's Valley Division.^[6] While the division was originally the route of various passenger trains that ran once a day, passenger operations gradually dwindled overtime, before one train remained—the Cleveland Night Express.^[6]

The Cleveland Night Express was discontinued by the 1960s, as competition from automobiles, trucks, and buses caused a major decline of both freight and passenger service on the division.^[6][7] The B&O's successor, the Chessie System, retained and upgraded the rails of the Valley Division to operate their daily ore trains between Cleveland and the New Castle steel mills.^[6] In the early 1970s, the Midwest Railway Historical Foundation (MRHF) expressed interest in using the railroad line between Cleveland and Akron for weekend tourist excursion operations, with Grand Trunk Western steam locomotive No. 4070 as their motive power.^[6][8]

The foundation attracted support from Siegfried Buerling of Hale Farm, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and lawyer and Cleveland County Fair director Henry Lukes.^[8] The Chessie System's chairman, Cyrus Eaton, agreed to allow the foundation trackage rights for the division, and a new organization—the Cuyahoga Valley Preservation and Scenic Railway Association—was formed.^[6][8] The Cuyahoga Valley Line's inaugural train ran on June 26, 1975.^[8]

Disposition

Originally known as the Cuyahoga Valley Line, the scenic railroad now operates as Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR), and the rail lines are owned by the National Park Service (NPS). The CVSR co-operates with Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (WLE) to operate on trackage south to Canton.^[7]

From the current CVSR Rockside station, (other railroads') existing tracks follow the West Bank of the Cuyahoga River to along: Valley Belt Road, Bradley Road, Jennings Road, Steelyard Drive, Holmden Avenue, Quigley Road; Crossing over the Cuyahoga River on the railroad draw bridge near Quigley and West 3rd, then follow the east bank of the Cuyahoga River to Canal Road near Commercial Road, ending up along Canal Road between Ontario Avenue and West 2nd Street.

Future

On January 26, 2023, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and its partner agencies established plans to extend CVSR from its current northern terminus at Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio, all the way into Cleveland. ^[9]

One of the big issues to be resolved would be scheduling and controlling access since the tracks through Cleveland and Newburgh Heights are used by freight train traffic, and much of the route above is single track with limited sidings.

A further obstacle arose in June 2023, when Cleveland officials released a city-held lien on the railroad tracks necessary to bring CVSR service into Cleveland. The sole remaining interest in the tracks is CSX, which has blocked CVSR access to Cleveland since CVSR first began expressing interest in a connection to Cleveland.^[10]

Accidents

CVSR engine 365 sits at the Canton Lincoln Highway Station.

Flood damage to CVSR tracks north of Bath Road.

Cuyahoga River flooding CVSR tracks north of Vaughn Road.

CVSR staff load and transport bikes with a Bike and Hike ticket.

The CVSR has had a few accidents in recent history including most recently hitting a car at a crossing. A person died in 2004 after being hit by RS18U 1822 during a Polar Express excursion.^[11][12]

On June 18, 2009, an automobile collided with a weekday train at an ungated crossing with no warning lights. The driver of the car was not expecting the train as he thought it only ran at weekends.^[13]

On July 13, 2012, a southbound CVSR train struck an eastbound car at the Portage St. crossing in northern Stark County. The elderly female driver was killed.

On November 1, 2015 a pedestrian was killed by FPA-4 6780 when it was still numbered 800 in a collision in Peninsula, OH.^[14]

National Park Scenic

National Park Scenic excursions allow passengers to ride throughout the entire route as well as get on and off at various stations along the way.^[15]

Steam in the Valley

Grand Trunk Western 4070 was originally the primary motive power of the CVSR, but since 1990, the locomotive has remained out of service to undergo an overhaul. During select operating years in the 21st century, the CVSR hosted steam excursion trains pulled by visiting steam locomotives, including Canadian Pacific 1293, Viscose Company 6, and Nickel Plate Road 765.^[16]

The North Pole Adventure

Around mid-November and continuing through mid-December, the CVSR provides special holiday themed excursions. These excursions are only offered out of Rockside station and Akron Northside station. Children (and even adults) are encouraged to ride in their pajamas. Elves greet passengers at the door and help them find their seats. While underway, the children write letters to Santa, get served hot chocolate and cookies, play games, and sing Christmas songs. Both trains eventually end up at the "North Pole". On the return trip, each child gets a surprise visit from a very important jolly fellow.

Explorer

For $5 a bicyclist may ride the train one way from any one of CVSR's nine stations. The bike is loaded onto a re-purposed baggage car and bikers are seated in a car directly following it. Similar programs are in place for hikers, runners and passengers with kayaks for a slightly different price. The Explorer program (previously known as Bike Aboard) is only offered from May through October.^[17]

Train to Canton

In summer 2003, CVSR began service between Akron and Canton. CVSR provided service between Akron Northside Station and Canton Lincoln Highway Station until 2013.^[18] Canton service ended due to lack of ridership and poor track conditions.

Locomotives

Cars

General references