Railroads

With the development of railroads, landlocked cities like Columbus could connect with the larger national economy. Early rail enthusiasts in Columbus were aware of rail’s potential and spent 20 years getting charters and seeking funding to connect the city with the canals and Lake Erie in northern Ohio. In 1850 the Columbus & Xenia Railroad became the first railroad in Columbus. Many other railroads followed and they consolidated into several major lines, including the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the New York Central Railroad. During the Civil War, railroads gave the North a decided advantage. The CSX and Norfolk Southern continue to provide commercial rail services in Columbus.

Passengers used the railroads too, and depots became bustling hubs. Columbus’ most iconic hub was Union Station, the loss of which led to the founding of Columbus Landmarks. Passenger rail declined through the 1960s as cars gained favor. To prevent an end to passenger rail in the United States, Amtrak took over for commercial passenger lines in 1971. Amtrak ceased their Columbus operations in 1979, even though a United Airlines strike and gas shortage had increased local ridership.

Time and Time Tables

Railroads had more to say about time than physicists did in 1883. They created our modern system of standardized time, usurping the sun (which had previously been used for local time) so that train schedules could be consistent and meaningful nationwide.

Steam Locomotives

The last steam locomotive in Columbus went out of service for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1960, with the switch to diesel engines. This PRR locomotive is at the St. Clair Avenue shops in Milo Grogan, and the photo was likely taken in the 1930s.

Courtesy of Suzanne McCoy

Safety Advances

This early traffic jam on N. High St. looks alarming by today’s safety standards, where streetlights are the norm and train traffic is usually separated from the roadways. The first automatic signal lights for railroad crossings were installed in Columbus in 1970.

Ralston Steel Car Company

The Ralston Steel Car Company was a nationally regarded manufacturer of railroad freight cars located right here in Columbus from 1905 to 1953, when stockholders voted to liquidate the failing company.

Amtrak

Amtrak’s last passenger train through Columbus left on September 30, 1979. The Limited ran from New York City to Kansas City, stopping in Columbus and Dayton on the way.

Courtesy of The Columbus Dispatch, September 28, 1979