“Is there anything better than a year with a railfan excursion?” What about, “A year with two railfan excursions!” And sure enough, that is what I have just experienced. Somehow my daughter Elizabeth learned that the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad had decided to offer social distanced trips this Fall, beginning in October, and immediately made reservations for the two of us.
The CVSR is maintained and operated by a non-profit organization, the Cuyahoga Valley Preservation and Scenic Railway Association. Unique to their situation is the fact that their right-of-way and tracks are owned and maintained by the National Park Service.
In 1880 the Valley Railway Company was organized to transport mineral and agricultural products from the Akron/Canton area to Cleveland, utilizing the Cuyahoga River Valley, already the location of the northern portion of the Ohio and Erie Canal.
Following bankruptcy in 1895, the railroad was reorganized as the Cleveland Terminal and Railroad, with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad holding controlling interest. Twenty years later the B & O purchased the line and incorporated it into its system. The Chesapeake and Ohio acquired the B & O in 1962.
The Cuyahoga Valley has been a popular recreational area for many years. In 1974 Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area was established, and ultimately designated a National Park, in 2000. The first tourist trains were run in 1974. In 1987 the National Parks Service purchased the tracks and right-of-way from CSX, the successor to the Chesapeake and Ohio.
The current operation has been highly successful, largely due to the contributions of their volunteers (100,000 man-hours per year). In 2019 the railroad carried 150,000 passengers, at very affordable prices. They currently own and maintain five diesel-electric locomotives and twenty-six passenger cars.
We picked a perfect day for our excursion – bright and sunny, with the autumn leaves just beginning to approach their peak. We drove to Independence, Ohio, south of Cleveland, to the Rockside Station, a pleasant two-hour drive. When we arrived, the first step was a rigorous Covid-19 protocol, including a temperature check. Once that was successfully accomplished, we ate a picnic lunch at the station while awaiting the arrival of our train.
It consisted of eight cars, with a locomotive at each end. Lacking the facility for turning around the train at either end, the railroad chooses to have a puller locomotive at each end, with the trailing one being “dead-headed”. Because of social distancing, the number of passengers per car was significantly limited. Our car had four tables in it, and a total of twelve occupants.
Our route went about thirteen miles south, to the village of Peninsula, a trip that took about an hour. The first station we passed was the Canal Discovery Center. We stopped there later, on our drive home, to inspect one of the locks on the old canal, still in good condition. I was surprised that the gates could still be opened and closed manually, once the wicket, a small door near the bottom of the gate, was opened to reduce the effect of water pressure.
Not far beyond the Discovery Center is Fitzwater, the location of the railroad’s shops and storage tracks for their fleet of rolling stock. Our route continued west of the river, which regularly meandered closer, then farther away from the tracks. We then passed under the first of three massive overpasses that carry east-west traffic over the valley. First was Route 82 (Chippewa Road), a lovely reinforced concrete bridge with five magnificent arches. Just before reaching Peninsula we went under two nondescript viaducts carrying I-271 and I-80 .
The next station was passed was Brecksville. There we saw a nineteenth century era bridge much like the one I wrote about several weeks ago. A Whipple truss, it had a Massillon Bridge Company nameplate on its portal. According to “Bridgehunter”, it is the Station Road Bridge, built in 1892.
Our volunteer trainman, Dave, was excellent, obviously interested in sharing his knowledge of the history of the railroad and the special things to be seen along our route. One of them was an eagle’s nest in the marsh we passed next. It wasn’t occupied; later on Elizabeth spotted an eagle in flight over the valley.
Then came the Jaite Mill Historic District. In 1905 the Jaite paper mill was established there. According to Dave, the mill owner built five “company houses” for employees, using drawings from the Sears Roebuck kits available at the time. These houses and other company buildings have been well preserved. Jaite is currently headquarters for the Cuyahoga National Park.
The Boston Mills Visitor Center was the next station. In the mid-1800s Boston Mills was a prosperous community, boasting a water-powered mill and a canal boat building industry. It too is now an Historic District with numerous preserved buildings.
The portion of the Cuyahoga Valley through which we rode was quite attractive. Although the Cuyahoga River didn’t appear to be much wider than Chartiers Creek, its typical flow rate is about three times that of our local stream. Both have numerous wide meanders and are lined with sycamore trees. Cuyahoga is popular with kayakers; the trail along the old canal towpath is equally popular with bicyclists.
After passing under the aforementioned Interstate Highway viaducts our route crossed to the east side of the river before ending in the village of Peninsula. Here the locomotive crew deserted the engine that had pulled us and mounted into the one at the other end, for our trip back north. Peninsula is a tourist attraction in its own right, with historic buildings dating back to the canal era.
The combination of a perfect autumn day, the companionship of my daughter, and a delightful train ride was almost too much for me to handle. One of the many blessings of old age is the ability to appreciate very simple things. The memory of this special day will stay with me for a long time.