Cleveland Short Line Railway
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railroad |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Founder | Principal investors of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway |
| Defunct | 1915 |
| Fate | Merged into New York Central Railroad |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio , United States |
Area served | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Products | Freight rail transportation |
The Cleveland Short Line Railway serves as a freight diversion route circumventing the southern part of Cleveland, Ohio. It was established by principal investors of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (LS&MS) to bypass the heavily trafficked rail corridors in downtown Cleveland. Today, this line is incorporated within the network of CSX Transportation.
Construction and integration with the Central
Authorized on November 24, 1902, by stakeholders of LS&MS, the Cleveland Short Line was conceived as a loop connecting the LS&MS main line near the Riverside and Bellaire-Puritas districts (known as "Rockport") to the LS&MS yard located in Collinwood, Ohio.
Groundbreaking commenced in May 1906. The initial portion—from Rockport to the junction with the Lake Erie and Pittsburgh Railway near Broadway and Harvard Avenues ("Marcy")—was inaugurated on February 24, 1910.
On April 1, 1911, LS&MS entered into a 99-year lease agreement for the Short Line, agreeing to pay returns based on capital stock and interest on debt. The remainder of the line was completed and opened on July 1, 1912. By late 1913, LS&MS had secured full ownership by purchasing all outstanding shares.
In December 1914, LS&MS merged into the New York Central Railroad (NYC), which subsequently absorbed the Cleveland Short Line in 1915.
Subsequent developments
On February 1, 1968, the New York Central Railroad combined with the Pennsylvania Railroad, creating the Penn Central Transportation Company ("Penn Central"). After declaring bankruptcy on June 21, 1970, Penn Central continued operations until 1974 when President Richard Nixon enacted the Regional Rail Reorganization Act. The majority of Penn Central’s rail lines were transferred to Conrail. Operating solely as a freight carrier from then on, Penn Central was fully merged into Conrail by March 1976 under the provisions of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act.
Among railroads granted trackage rights over this bypass, more than half utilized only the section west of the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad (which became Conrail's Cleveland Line).
Following Conrail’s joint acquisition by CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway in 1997, CSX took control of the Cleveland Short Line. As of 2010, it maintained roughly of double track alongside of single track. The segment east of Short Line Junction is now operated as CSX’s Short Line Subdivision.
Original route
The original Cleveland Short Line encompassed approximately of main track and an additional of sidings, engineered with a gentle gradient averaging 0.3 percent.
It interfaced with several railroads: Lake Shore & Southern Michigan at West Park; Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway at Linndale; Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railroad at Parma; Lake Erie and Pittsburgh Railway; Newburgh and South Shore Railroad at Newburgh; Baltimore & Ohio, Lake Erie & Pittsburgh, Cleveland & Pittsburgh, and Wheeling & Lake Erie in southeastern Cleveland; along with New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad ("Nickel Plate") in eastern Cleveland. The line possessed trackage rights over the Nickel Plate leading to Collinwood yard to serve Lake Shore and Southern Michigan traffic. Street-level crossings were eliminated through construction of bridges or tunnels along its entire length.
With four tracks spanning most sections except for a bridge over the Cuyahoga River, its right-of-way was designed to accommodate expansion up to six tracks.
See also
- Cleveland Belt and Terminal Railroad, a nearby alternate route controlled by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway
- Cleveland railroad history