Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway

Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway

Company type	Private
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Cincinnati Northern Railway
Founded	1885
Fate	Merged into subsidiaries in 1926
Headquarters	Lebanon, Ohio , United States
Area served	Southwestern Ohio (Cincinnati, Lebanon, Dayton)
Key people	George Hafer (President from 1885)
Products	Passenger and freight rail services

The Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway (CL&N) was a regional railroad operating in southwestern Ohio, providing both passenger and freight services between Cincinnati and Dayton through Lebanon. Established in the late 1800s to enhance transportation options for Lebanon and Warren County, it earned the nickname "Highland Route" due to its alignment along the ridge separating the Little and Great Miami rivers. This positioning allowed it to bypass flood-prone zones such as those impacted by the catastrophic 1913 Great Dayton Flood.

Although the line was completed in 1881 and the railway company officially formed in 1885, CL&N experienced several financial failures before coming under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1896. It continued operating as an independent entity until 1921 and existed on paper until a 1926 merger absorbed it into other subsidiaries. Apart from a brief stint in the mid-1880s under the narrow gauge Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad, CL&N remained a relatively minor route largely because of its steep descent into downtown Cincinnati. Starting in 1952, segments north of Lebanon were gradually abandoned.

Initially, passenger trains terminated at Lebanon until the early 20th century; service ceased around 1910 but was reinstated by 1915. The line was extended to Dayton until passenger operations ended in 1928 and were fully discontinued by 1934. The successor to the Pennsylvania Railroad, Conrail, divested remaining track sections during the 1980s to the Indiana and Ohio Railway, a short line now part of Genesee & Wyoming. This operator continues to provide local freight service on former CL&N rails, while tourist excursions near Lebanon are offered by the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad.

Planning and grading, 1850–1876

Established in 1802, Lebanon, Ohio was overlooked by major transportation developments such as the Miami and Erie Canal (opened in 1830) and its Warren County Canal branch, which was destroyed by flooding in 1848. Additionally, railroads typically followed river valleys that skirted the elevated terrain where Lebanon is located. To overcome this isolation, residents obtained a charter in March 1850 for the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Xenia Railroad (CL&X), designed to connect Cincinnati with Xenia via Lebanon. This line was planned using the broad gauge standard employed by the New York and Erie Railroad.

The CL&X intended to reach Cincinnati through the Dayton and Cincinnati Railroad’s proposed double-track Deer Creek Tunnel beneath Walnut Hills. Construction commenced around April 1853 but was halted by late 1855 due to insufficient funds; only grading between Sharonville and Lebanon had been completed. The tunnel project also failed but was later acquired by what became CL&N. In July 1861, a receiver was appointed for CL&X; by March 1869, unfinished assets were sold to local investors for $4,000. Despite these efforts, Lebanon remained without modern rail service for many years, limiting its economic development.

The rise of narrow gauge railways during the 1870s created new opportunities. The Dayton and South Eastern Railroad (which later became part of B&O) planned a narrow gauge route extending from Jackson County mines through Xenia to Dayton; a branch passing through Lebanon would provide access to Cincinnati markets. In November 1874, local residents established the Miami Valley Narrow Gauge Railway (renamed Miami Valley Railway in October 1876) with the goal of completing the unfinished CL&X as part of this network.

Due to slow fundraising efforts, surveying did not begin until June 1875. The initial route was mapped between Xenia and the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad near Norwood. Landowners proposed an eastern reroute through Norwood and Pleasant Ridge suburbs offering free right-of-way and a steam dummy connection to Walnut Hills horsecar lines for improved Cincinnati access. Eventually, a more direct alignment south of Norwood via Deer Creek Valley received approval from Cincinnati City Council despite requiring challenging construction such as trestles and a tunnel.

In April 1876, owners of the old CL&X grade sold it for $8,000 in stock of the new company; most land outside Cincinnati was secured by summer. The Miami Valley company decided in May 1876 to build only northward as far as Waynesville—southwest of Xenia—where planned lines toward Columbus would intersect. Although these connecting lines were partially graded or constructed, they never fully developed into operational routes.

Construction and Early Years, 1876–1885

On September 1, 1876, Seth S. Haines, president of the Waynesville company, initiated construction at Eden Park, although the majority of initial development took place beyond Cincinnati's limits. Financial difficulties soon beset the enterprise; despite completing the grading between Norwood and Waynesville within a year, progress slowed significantly and ceased by late 1878. In December of that year, contractor John B. Benedict filed a lawsuit for breach of contract, exposing a concealed agreement with Haines that inflated expenses and influenced trackage rights fees concerning the Cincinnati and Eastern Railway (C&E). Due to unpaid bond interest, the company entered receivership in January 1880 and was foreclosed by March, resulting in Lebanon losing rail connectivity for nearly ten years.

The Toledo, Delphos and Burlington Railroad (TD&B), an expanding 3 ft narrow gauge network headquartered in Delphos, Ohio, eventually established rail service to Lebanon. Together with investors from Cincinnati, TD&B acquired the unfinished grade at foreclosure for $61,000 and formed the Cincinnati Northern Railway on June 8, 1880. Initially, stock ownership and management were evenly split; however, TD&B soon took complete control of shares to facilitate consolidation while day-to-day operations remained under local investor supervision. As TD&B was extending its line southward from Dayton, it opted to connect from the Dayton and South Eastern (D&SE) at Lebanon Junction to Dodds, where Cincinnati Northern began its route toward Cincinnati through Lebanon.

Construction recommenced in late 1880 with financial backing from Ohio and northeastern investors. Mixed train service between Lebanon and Norwood commenced on May 30, 1881; by September 5, operations extended southward to Oak Street near the tunnel entrance. The railway reached Eden Park by January 1882, followed by the opening of a provisional Cincinnati depot in February. Completion of the TD&B branch connecting Lebanon Junction to Dodds in December 1881 finalized the Cincinnati-Dayton corridor; shipments of Jackson County coal started in February 1882. Two short branches—to Montgomery and Avondale (the latter constructed as the Spring Grove, Avondale and Cincinnati Railway or SGA&C)—were inaugurated in late 1881 and mid-1882 respectively. By April 1882, C&E services reached Court Street utilizing Cincinnati Northern tracks south of Idlewild; permanent depot tracks in Cincinnati were laid by October.

In March 1882, TD&B merged its subsidiary Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad (TC&StL), adopting this name to reflect its vision for an extensive narrow gauge system stretching southwest to Mexico City. By May 1883, Cincinnati Northern and SGA&C had consolidated into TC&StL. Nevertheless, TC&StL's construction was economical but substandard—featuring poor drainage and minimal ballast—including the connecting segment between Lebanon Junction and Dodds. These structural shortcomings, combined with difficulties in equipment interchange with standard gauge lines, led TC&StL into receivership by August 1883.

At that point, TC&StL consisted of six divisions; four located south of Delphos were auctioned to bondholders in June 1884, resulting in new companies: Dayton and Toledo Railroad, Dayton and Ironton Railroad, and Iron Railway (formerly Iron Railroad). The Toledo-St. Louis division sold in December 1885 became known as the Toledo, St. Louis and Kansas City Railroad (also called Clover Leaf Route). In July 1885, George Hafer from Avondale succeeded William J. Craig as receiver of the Cincinnati Northern Division, facilitating improvement after a period of deferred maintenance. Hafer also obtained a short-term lease on the Dodds-Lebanon Junction line to maintain Dayton access.

On June 27, 1885, bondholders purchased the Cincinnati Northern Division for $200,000 and established the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway, with Hafer appointed president on July 14; operational control transitioned on August 1. The narrow gauge trend of the 1870s ultimately failed commercially; all former TC&StL lines were converted to standard gauge within a decade.

CL&N, 1885–1926

Following its reorganization, the CL&N maintained a principal route running from Cincinnati's Court Street to Dayton, utilizing leased track from Dodds to Lebanon Junction and exercising trackage rights over the Dayton and Ironton Railroad (previously the narrow gauge D&SE) into Dayton. When the latter converted to standard gauge in April 1887, CL&N curtailed service to Dodds due to unprofitable operations beyond that point. In 1892, the segment between Lebanon and Dodds was leased to a different operator. The Avondale Branch discontinued service in August 1889, unable to compete with the more affordable Mt. Auburn Cable Railway. Under Hafer’s direction, new passenger and freight stations were inaugurated on Court Street in December 1885. To prepare for standard gauge adoption, the CL&N enhanced its rails and bridges, including constructing a straight trestle over Deer Creek Valley completed by January 1889. By August of that year, the first standard gauge rails were installed as part of a dual gauge section south of Idlewild when the Ohio and North Western Railroad (O&NW) redirected its trains from the Little Miami Railroad back onto CL&N tracks. A third rail was extended northward to East Norwood to facilitate O&NW connections with the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad. After further upgrades, the main line to Lebanon was fully converted to standard gauge on September 16, 1894; however, narrow gauge commuter service to Blue Ash persisted until appropriate standard gauge equipment was obtained.

Throughout its independent operation, larger railroads aimed to acquire CL&N largely for access to its strategic Court Street terminal. The Cincinnati, Jackson and Mackinaw Railroad (CJ&M), which later became part of New York Central (NYC), sought acquisition as a gateway into Cincinnati. CJ&M had extended southward from Michigan to Carlisle in 1887 and initially relied on trackage rights via CH&D into Cincinnati. Discussions between CL&N and CJ&M caused concern at CH&D, which attempted to purchase CJ&M in 1892 but was thwarted by Ohio’s anti-monopoly legislation. Following CL&N’s conversion to standard gauge in 1894, CJ&M obtained trackage rights into Court Street beginning January 27, 1896, through connections at Franklin and Middletown. Additionally, CJ&M acquired the inactive Deer Creek Tunnel project intending to establish its own route into Cincinnati. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), owner of the Little Miami Railroad east of Lebanon, entered negotiations in 1896 to safeguard its Cincinnati interests and gained majority ownership of CL&N stock via the Pennsylvania Company in March; PRR management assumed control by May. In 1902, CL&N acquired tunnel and terminal properties near Court Street from the Cincinnati Northern Railroad (successor to CJ&M), which had ceased using CL&N facilities as of 1901.

Within PRR’s system, CL&N operated its assets—including lines north of Dodds after 1914—until being leased by Pennsylvania on January 1, 1921. From late 1918 onward, the Interstate Commerce Commission classified CL&N as a Class I railroad due to annual revenues surpassing $1 million; this classification ended with the lease transfer in 1921. Despite consistent expansion since the 1890s, net operating income declined after 1916 and became negative by 1920. As a result, on January 1, 1926, Pennsylvania merged CL&N with several smaller entities—the Cleveland, Akron and Cincinnati Railway; Manufacturers Railway; Pennsylvania-Detroit Railroad; and Toledo, Columbus and Ohio River Railroad—forming the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Detroit Railroad as a non-operating subsidiary. This company later merged into Philadelphia’s Connecting Railway in 1956; its lessee eventually combined with New York Central Railroad in 1968 to create Penn Central Transportation.

Additional Lines, 1889–1915

The 16.96-mile segment extending north from Dodds, originally constructed by the TD&B to link the Cincinnati Northern with the D&SE at Lebanon Junction, was sold independently during the June 1884 foreclosure to its first-mortgage bondholders for $20,000. Initially under lease to the CL&N, operations ceased in April 1887 when the former D&SE line underwent conversion from narrow gauge to standard gauge. Lacking a northern connection and direct revenue sources, the line remained unprofitable until local entrepreneur Henry Lewis acquired nearby Centerville quarries and purchased the disused rail segment from bondholders’ trustees for $40,000 in December 1888. In January 1889, he founded the Dayton, Lebanon and Cincinnati Railroad (DL&C), with plans to extend northward into downtown Dayton and southward to establish a standard gauge junction.

By January 1891, Lewis had completed the gauge conversion of the narrow gauge track to standard gauge and initially leased operations to the Dayton, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. After securing quarry assets at Centerville in early 1892—thus generating traffic—the DL&C purchased the line from Lewis in March 1892 for $189,000 in stock and leased a 5.52-mile section of CL&N track between Dodds and Lebanon that June. Following its conversion to standard gauge, DL&C commenced service into Lebanon by late 1892 but was unable to negotiate trackage rights with the Cincinnati, Dayton and Ironton Railroad; this limitation confined passenger service northward to Lebanon Junction where transfers were possible. Throughout its operation, DL&C competed directly with CL&N routes connecting Lebanon and Dayton.

Following Lewis’s death in 1893, no additional lines were constructed over the subsequent decade. In 1901, investors acquired both the company and its Dayton terminal property from Lewis’s heirs for $250,000. The initial segment reaching downtown Dayton opened late in 1902 but lacked municipal franchise approval and failed to turn a profit. Entering receivership in January 1905, DL&C was sold under foreclosure in April 1907 and reorganized as the Dayton, Lebanon and Cincinnati Railroad and Terminal Company. Bondholders secured the franchise rights and issued stock to new investors by January 1909. Construction recommenced in April of that year; by November, the branch extended close to the National Cash Register facility. After completing essential infrastructure along the east bank of the Great Miami River, DL&C inaugurated its new main line in 1912 terminating at a passenger station near Washington Street adjacent to Dayton’s principal Union Station. A freight depot with interchange tracks connected to the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway (part of the B&O system) and through it linked to the Pennsylvania Railroad network.

Another significant acquisition by CL&N was the Middletown and Cincinnati Railway (M&C). Paul J. Sorg, proprietor of a tobacco manufacturing plant east of Middletown dissatisfied with services provided by Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad and Big Four lines that bypassed downtown, incorporated M&C in early 1890. This 14.23-mile route extended southeast from Middletown to Middletown Junction on the Little Miami Railroad (Pennsylvania system), crossing CL&N tracks at Hageman. Construction was completed by September 1891; early in 1892 a truss bridge spanning the Little Miami River linked it with Pennsylvania lines. Access into central Middletown was delayed until December due to crossing CH&D tracks. The M&C provided a direct, level route offering smooth travel and modest profits but failed to generate sufficient revenue for bond obligations. It entered receivership in July 1894; lienholders acquired it through foreclosure for $335,000 in October, reincorporated it as a railroad entity in December, appointing Sorg president.

After Sorg’s death on May 28, 1902, CL&N—under Pennsylvania ownership since 1896—purchased M&C assets six days later for $400,000 and operated it as a branch line. Twelve years later DL&C was acquired following the Great Dayton Flood of 1913. The CL&N and DL&C routes situated on elevated terrain between river valleys played a vital role during this catastrophe. Recognizing DL&C’s strategic importance for flood resilience, Pennsylvania orchestrated CL&N’s acquisition and operation of DL&C for approximately $700,000 in December 1914; through service linking Cincinnati and Dayton commenced that summer. Early in 1915, DL&C constructed a short connector from Lebanon Junction to the Panhandle Route at Clement; on July 1 its assets were fully merged into CL&N.

Abandonments, 1917–1975

The rise of interurban railways, particularly the Cincinnati-Lebanon Interurban Railway and Terminal Company, began to erode CL&N’s passenger numbers starting in 1903. When the interurban service ended in 1922, the advent of automobiles ultimately led to the termination of CL&N’s passenger operations. The Middletown Branch ceased operations in 1917, while the Montgomery branch was converted exclusively to freight traffic by 1926. By 1931, only a single mixed train remained running between Court Street and Lebanon.

In 1933, Cincinnati Union Terminal replaced Court Street station as the main passenger hub, with CL&N trains accessing it through Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tracks—a setup that was met with dissatisfaction. The final scheduled passenger train departed on January 31, 1934.

With the discontinuation of passenger services and loss of connections to other Pennsylvania Railroad lines, CL&N’s significance as a through route declined. The Montgomery Branch was fully abandoned in 1933, and Pennsylvania Railroad halted freight operations between Blue Ash and Mason as well as between Lebanon and Lytle; Lebanon continued to be served via the Little Miami Railroad and the Middletown Branch. Although service was temporarily restored during World War II, the Lebanon-Lytle segment was dismantled in 1952.

Following the 1968 merger that formed Penn Central, approximately three miles north of Brecon were abandoned along with a portion of the Middletown Branch east of Hageman. Freight service to Lebanon shifted onto former New York Central lines at Middletown. Additionally, the Deer Creek Valley line leading into Court Street was abandoned, and by 1975 the old freight depot had been demolished.

Sales, 1975–present

When Conrail took over Penn Central’s properties in 1976, it retained segments with significant traffic: Cincinnati to Brecon (Blue Ash Secondary Track), Mason to Hageman (Mason Secondary Track), Hempstead to Pasadena (Kettering Running Track), Patterson Road to Dayton (DP&L Industrial Track), Middletown to Hageman (Middletown Secondary), and Hempstead to Clement (Clement Running Track).

Other portions—Brecon to Mason, Hageman to Lebanon, Lytle to Hempstead, Pasadena to Patterson Road, and Hageman to Middletown Junction—remained under Penn Central trusteeship but were operated by Conrail as low-density lines supported by local subsidies. Tracks between Lytle and Centerville were removed in 1979. Later abandonments included sections from Avondale to McCullough and from Centerville to Kettering.

During the 1980s, most of the remaining trackage was acquired by the short line Indiana and Ohio Railway (IORY), which began freight services from Monroe to Mason and Lebanon in 1985 and extended operations from McCullough to Brecon in 1986. The city of Lebanon purchased the Hageman-Lebanon segment that had been under trusteeship, while in 1997 the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority obtained the McCullough-Brecon corridor for potential transit development; IORY continues freight operations on both these sections.

Tourist train services were initiated by IORY on the Lebanon segment in 1985. Passenger operations underwent a division in 1996 and experienced multiple rebrandings—from Turtle Creek Valley Railway to Turtle Creek and Lebanon Railway—before adopting the name Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad. Short remaining segments around Middletown and Dayton stayed with Conrail until its dissolution in 1999 when Norfolk Southern took over southwestern Ohio assets.

As of 2022, IORY manages two southern segments known as the Blue Ash and Mason Subdivisions separated by a gap; Norfolk Southern operates a northern portion as a siding. Most of the former rail line’s tracks have been removed, although portions of the right-of-way are still discernible across certain areas.

Route description

Situated on the elevated terrain between the Little and Great Miami Rivers, the CL&N earned the nickname "Highland Route." Although it mainly served local traffic, its position was beneficial during flood events. For instance, during the Flood of 1884, rising waters of the Ohio River isolated other railroads from Cincinnati’s downtown area. The narrow gauge TC&StL faced difficulties managing the increased demand, leading some businesses to resort to Miami and Erie Canal boats until floodwaters subsided. Cincinnati experienced additional significant floods in 1883, 1897, 1898, 1907, and 1937. In the 1913 Great Dayton Flood, Dayton was submerged, yet only the CL&N and DL&C railways continued operating, enabling essential relief shipments from Cincinnati to the National Cash Register facility.

The route originated east of Cincinnati’s central business district at Eggleston Avenue and Court Street. The brick freight station there ceased operations in 1969 and was torn down by 1975; today, a Greyhound Lines intercity bus terminal occupies this location. A track constructed in 1887 linked to the Little Miami Railroad’s Eggleston Avenue Connection for freight interchange. The railway climbed through Deer Creek Valley—unique as downtown Cincinnati’s sole rail approach not following a river valley—employing trestles to handle a maximum incline of 3.5%. It crossed Elsinore Place and Eden Park Drive at grade level with trestles spanning between these streets; in 1889, a straighter single-track trestle replaced an earlier one. After passing through Mount Auburn, the line descended via the cut-and-cover Oak Street Tunnel situated north of McMillan Street.

Initially, double tracks extended from Court Street to near Fredonia Avenue where the Avondale Branch diverged toward the Cincinnati Zoo. Upon conversion to standard gauge () in 1894, tunnel limitations necessitated placing two tracks side-by-side; following an accident in 1916, these were replaced by a gauntlet track. By 1889, trestles were rebuilt as single-track; double tracking existed only between Eden Park Drive and Avondale. Responding to growing passenger volumes, double tracking expanded southward to Court Street and northward to Norwood by 1904 after valley infill.

Beyond Avondale, the CL&N descended through Idlewild where two Norfolk and Western Railway lines branched off: the Cincinnati and Eastern Railway heading east toward Portsmouth and the Cincinnati Connecting Belt Railroad veering northwest near Elmwood Place. The line then ascended again at East Norwood, crossing over the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, reaching elevated terrain at Deer Park. In the late 1880s, frequent commuter trains on CL&N stimulated suburban growth along its corridor including Idlewild, East Norwood, Silverton, Deer Park, and Hazelwood. At Norwood’s Hopkins Avenue station, passengers financed a $1,500 depot opened in 1888; owned by Hopkins Avenue Depot Company until service ceased in the 1930s. This building was later converted into a gas station and currently functions as a chiropractor’s office. Silverton honored its former CL&N station with a bicentennial replica that now serves as a museum.

Just past East Norwood, Pennsylvania Railroad established McCullough Yard in 1927 to enhance switching capabilities for Norwood’s expanding industrial sector. A connection linked Pennsylvania's Chicago-bound Richmond Branch crossed over north of this yard. In Butler County near Brecon, CL&N curved northeast onto an original alignment partially graded during the 1850s between Sharonville and Lebanon. The route gradually descended through Mason to Hageman—crossing the Middletown Branch—and then climbed alongside Turtle Creek toward Lebanon. Pennsylvania replaced Lebanon’s original passenger station with a smaller freight structure relocated from Kings Mills on the Little Miami Railroad in 1960. The Lebanon Council of Garden Clubs acquired this site in 1972; they demolished the freight depot and constructed a replica passenger station featuring a gift shop.

Departing Lebanon, the line ascended a minor ravine before proceeding north-northeast across uplands toward Dodds. A never-utilized grade from Dodds to Waynesville descended into Little Miami River valley via Newman Run before terminating at Waynesville; traces remain visible on farmland. The completed route turned north at Dodds requiring cuts and fills across rolling hills. Near Hempstead just north of Hempstead Road, it split: one original path continued north alongside Woodman Drive to Lebanon Junction on the former Dayton and South Eastern Railroad (now Iron Horse Trail). A 1915 extension paralleled this alignment ending at Panhandle Route (currently Creekside Trail) at Clement; portions are still operated by Norfolk Southern Railway while southern segments are being converted into trail expansions.

The other branch proceeded northwest into downtown Dayton descending south of University of Dayton alongside Great Miami River. Main passenger and freight stations were located at Washington Street where CL&N implemented Dayton’s first grade separation. The initial freight depot opened with this line in 1912; it was replaced by a larger facility in 1930 that was eventually demolished in 1966.

Presidents

• J. P. Gilchrist (1852–1861)
• Seth Silver Haines (1874–1879)
• Nathan Keever (receiver, 1879–1880)
• John M. Corse representing the TD&B (1880–1882)
• Elijah B. Phillips from the TC&StL (1883)
• William J. Craig (receiver, 1883–1884)
• George Hafer (receiver, 1884–1885; president, 1885–1896)

Following the acquisition in 1896, Joseph Wood became the first executive from the Pennsylvania Railroad to be appointed president.

Equipment

After the CL&N transitioned to standard gauge in 1894, it initially adapted narrow gauge passenger cars by placing them on standard gauge trucks. These were subsequently replaced by standard gauge cars after Pennsylvania Railroad took control in 1896.

The Miami Valley Railway procured the inaugural locomotive, a Baldwin 4-4-0 named "Warren County No. 1," in 1877. Across its history and predecessor lines, the CL&N acquired nine narrow gauge locomotives from four distinct manufacturers; by the 1890s, six were assigned to mainline duties while one was reserved for switching and helper operations.

28,000 pounds (13,000 kg) 9||Brooks||941||July 1883||Template:Whyte\2-6-0||15×Template:Convert\18||37||48000||97||

No.	Builder	Construct- tion no.	Date ordered	Wheel arrange- ment	Cylinder(s)	Driver diameter	Engine weight	TC&StL no. (1883–84)	Notes
1	Baldwin	4207	December 1877	4-4-0	12×18 in (460 mm)	42 in (1,100 mm)	42,650 lb (19,350 kg)	2	"Warren County No. 1"
2	Baldwin	4292	Circa January 1881	4-4-0	12×18 in (460 mm)	42 in (1,100 mm)	42,650 lb (19,350 kg)	4	Initially ordered for other railroads; named "Manhattan"
3	Porter	401	November 1880	2-4-0	10×16 in (410 mm)
96	Sold around 1888; utilized for light-duty tasks
4	Mason	645	March 1881	2-6-6T	13×16 in (410 mm)	37.5 inches (950 mm)	72,000	54	Destroyed in accident in 1883; design similar to Mason Bogies on Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad
5	Mason	581	Spring 1881	0-4-4T	12×16	42	{{convert{40000}}}	55	Named "Admiral Almy"; employed for switching and helper duties
6	Brooks	610	November 1881	{{whyte{2-6-0}}}	14×{{convert{18}}}	{{convert{41}}}	{{convert{46000}}}	56	Delivered to Cincinnati Northern following order by Cincinnati and Eastern Railway
7	Brooks	659	February 1882	{{whyte{2-6-0}}}	14×{{convert{18}}}	{{convert{41}}}	{{convert{46000}}}	77	-	8	Brooks	937	June 1883	Template:Whyte\2-6-0	15×Template:Convert\18	37	48000	96

Standard gauge operations commenced in 1894 with a fleet of five locomotives; however, narrow gauge rolling stock continued briefly for commuter services. Through various mergers and acquisitions, the locomotive roster expanded to 23 units by 1920, marking the final year before independent operation ceased.

Station list

1.8 2 2.1 3 3.6 4.2 4.5 4.9 5.3 6.1 6.4 6.7 7.4 8.1 8.6 9.1 9.9 10.4 11.0 11.7 13.5 14.4 15.4 16 18.3 21.4 23.4 24.9 26.8 29.4 32 35.3 37.7 39.2 40.3 42.4 45.1 47.4 48.9 50.4 53.8 55.2 55.5

Distance from Cincinnati	Station Name	Remarks
0.0	Cincinnati, OH (Court Street Station)	Connection to Eggleston Avenue Connection (0.9 miles to junction with Undercliff Branch)
0.9	Eden Park	Closed by year 1926
1.4–1.5	(Oak Street Tunnel)
"Oak Street" (Walnut Hills, Cincinnati)
"Shillito Street"	"Closed by year 1903"
"Avondale, Cincinnati"	"Formerly Avondale Junction;" junction of Avondale Branch
"Woodward Avenue"	"Closed by year 1903"
"Idlewild, Ohio"	"Connection with Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W)"
"Ivanhoe, Ohio"
"Hopkins Avenue"
"Norwood, Ohio"	"Previously Norwood Park"
"East Norwood, Ohio"	"Formerly Norwood;" junction with Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O)
"McCullough, Ohio"	"Junction with Richmond Branch"
"Lester, Ohio"
"Pleasant Ridge, Cincinnati"
"Kennedy Heights, Cincinnati"	"Previously known as Kennedy"
"Euclid, Hamilton County, Ohio"
"Silverton, Ohio"	"Earlier called Moselle"
"Deer Park, Ohio"
'Beechwood'
'Rossmoyne'	'Previously Ballou'
'Terra Alta'
'Blue Ash'	'Formerly Hafer; junction with Montgomery Branch (1.4 miles to Montgomery)'
'Winslow Park'
'Hazelwood'	'Previously Rowena'
'Brecon'	'Formerly Wheeler'
'Morrison'	'Earlier Troas; closed by year 1903'
'Miltomson'	'Previously Aldine'
'Mason'
'Stokes'	'Formerly Shakerton'
'Hageman'	'Previously Gravel Pit; junction with Middletown Branch'
'Turtle Creek'	'Formerly Avoca'
'Lebanon'
'Lelan'	'Previously Genntown; closed by year 1926'
'Dodds'	'Formerly Utica'
	'Kitchener'	'Closed by year 1926'
'Venable'
'Edgewood'
'Lytle'
'Manor'
'Centerville'
'Oak Ridge'
'Hempstead'	'Junction with Hempstead Branch (5.1 miles to Clement, connection to Dayton Branch)'
'Pasadena'
'National (National Cash Register) facility'	'Located at Brown Street'
'Dayton (Washington Street) station'
'Dayton'	'Connection with Dayton Union Railway, located 0.3 miles from Union Station (Dayton)'

External links

• Illustration of the discontinued rail line connecting Dayton and Lebanon