>>> WE ARE EXCITED TO BE HERE IN XENIA, OHIO, TO LEARN ABOUT THE LITTLE MIAMI RAILROAD AND HOW IT GOT STARTED.

>> IT STARTED IN CINCINNATI, CINCINNATI BEING ONE OF THE BIGGER CITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO.

IT WAS FORMED UP ALONG THE OHIO RIVER.

THERE WAS THE DEPOT DOWN THERE.

IT BUILT UP THE LITTLE MIAMI RIVER.

THE FIRST MAJOR STOP WAS IN MILFORD, OHIO.

IT WAS -- THE DEPOT WAS RIGHT ALONG THE LITTLE MIAMI.

YOU COULD LOOK OUT AND SEE THE RIVER.

THEN IT CAME UP INTO XENIA.

REACHED XENIA IN 1845, THE FIRST TRAFFIC UP INTO XENIA, AND THEN THEY COMPLETED THE LITTLE MIAMI UP TO SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, THE FOLLOWING YEAR, 1846.

THAT PARTICULAR PIECE OF TRACK WE WANT RIGHT THROUGH DOWNTOWN XENIA.

THEY HAULED PASSENGERS FIRST, AND THEN PICKED UP FREIGHT.

THE RAILROADS REALLY TOOK BUSINESS AWAY FROM THE CANALS.

THEY HAD A NEW CANAL GOING INTO CINCINNATI, BUT CANAL BOAT TRAFFIC WAS VERY SLOW.

THE RAILROAD WAS MUCH FASTER.

THE CANAL SPEED WAS ABOUT THE SPEED OF A HORSE OR MULE.

THE RAILROAD SPEED WAS MAKE 30 MILES AN HOUR, GIVE OR TAKE A BIT.

YOU COULD SHIP LARGE AMOUNTS OF GOODS ON THE RAILROAD, WHERE IN THE CANAL YOU WERE MORE LIMITED TO HOW MUCH YOU COULD SHIP.

EARLY ON, I'M TOLD, RATHER THAN SHIPPING CORN, THEY CONVERTED IT TO WHISKEY.

IT WAS SHIPPED DOWN TO CINCINNATI ON ORIGINALLY RIVER BOATS -- RAFTS, REALLY -- LATER ON CANALS, AND THEN IT COULD GO DOWN THE OHIO RIVER TO MISSISSIPPI AND RAW MATERIALS COULD COME BACK THE OPPOSITE WAIT.

>> IT PROVED TO BE MORE EFFICIENT.

>> OH, YES, MUCH MORE EFFICIENT, LESS COSTLY, YEAH.

HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA?

>> IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THE POPULATION GREW FROM THE 1840s CENSUS, THE POPULATION GREW PROBABLY ALMOST TRIPLE IN THE 1850 CENSUS.

>> WAS IT MAINLY FOR FREIGHT OR INDUSTRY OR PASSENGER ALSO?

>> PASSENGER ALSO.

>> OF COURSE, THE FREIGHT WENT ALONG WITH THE PASSENGERS.

THE MONEY WAS IN THE FREIGHT, BUT INITIALLY, YOU KNOW, IT HAULED PEOPLE.

>> BY THE 1860s, YOU WERE ABLE TO HAUL SOLDIERS FROM CAMP DEN I SEN AND CAMP CHASE, AND GO DOWN TO THE SOUTH WHERE THEY WERE NEEDED.

>> TELL ME HOW THE LITTLE MIAMI RAILROAD CAME TO COLUMBUS?

>> THE LITTLE MIAMI CAME TO XENIA IN 1846.

ANOTHER COMPANY WAS FORMED, BECAME COLUMBUS AND XENIA.

THERE WAS SOME TALK OF GOING ALL THE WAY TO CLEVELAND, BUT IT DIDN'T.

BY 1850, THE COLUMBUS AND XENIA WAS COMPLETED.

THE TERM I NEWS WAS AT XENIA.

BY 1860, THE TWO HAD MERGED, PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING OVER THE SAME AREA.

THEY WANTED TO MAKE THAT LENGTH TO COLUMBUS THAT HAD EVEN MORE OF AN ECONOMIC IMPACT.

>> ONE OF THE REASONS THE COLUMBUS LINE WENT TO XENIA IS THE LITTLE MIAMI MERGED WITH ANOTHER RAILROAD AT SPRINGFIELD, WENT UP TO LAKE ERIE.

ON THAT WAS THE FIRST CROSS-STATE RAILROAD.

SO ANYTHING THAT COLUMBUS SHOULD SHIP DOWN TO XENIA, THEY COULD SHIP TO LAKE ERIE, OR DOWN TO THE OHIO RIVER AND DOWN TO THE MISSISSIPPI.

IT GAVE THEM A GOOD OUTLET FOR PRODUCTS FROM COLUMBUS, TO GET THEM OUT TO THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES OR -- THEY WEREN'T UNITED STATES IN THOSE DAYS, BUT THE STATES THAT WE DID HAVE.

>> THERE WERE A NUMBER OF RAILROADS, THEY ALL CAME TOGETHER?

>> EACH TIME THEY WOULD COME TO A COMMON TOWN, THEY WOULD MERGE THE TRACKS TO INTERCHANGE CARS.

THEN THEY WOULD THEN TRANSFER FREIGHT.

IT GOT TO BE EASIER FINANCIALLY, PAPERWORK-WISE.

THEY GREW THAT WAY, AND EVEN TODAY, YOU KNOW, BIGGER IS BETTER.

>> DID THEY KEEP THE NAME OR JUST EXPANDING NAMES OR COME UNDER THE NAME OF ANOTHER RAILROAD?

>> WELL, THEY PROBABLY RAN OUT OF ROOM ON THE SIDE OF THE CAR.

WHATEVER INITIALS, THEY PROBABLY RAN OUT.

THEY DID EVENTUALLY MERGE INTO ANOTHER FIRM.

>> SOME OF IT WAS THE SAME, SOME OF IT WAS PHYSICALLY OR OUTRIGHT BUYING THE RAILROAD.

IT WAS MORE LEASING AND SHARING INITIALLY.

THE INDIVIDUAL RAILROADS WOULD KEEP THEIR NAMES.

LATER ON, AS THEY ACTUALLY MERGED, THEY WOULD REACH A NEW NAME, TWO RAILROADS WOULD COMBINE, GET A NEW NAME.

THIS -- THEY GOT BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER.

THEY WOULD CHANGE THEIR NAMES SOMEWHAT ON A REGULAR BASIS AS THEY GREW.

WHAT BECAME THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD INITIALLY WAS A BUNCH OF OTHER LITTLE LINES.

AS THEY GREW AND GREW TOGETHER, THEY EVENTUALLY ENDED UP BEING THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD, WHICH CAME IN FROM THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

>> THEY CONTINUED TO GO THROUGH COLUMBUS?

THAT WAS THE WAY TO THE EAST/WEST TRAFFIC TO MOVE.

>>> THIS IS WHERE THE SOLDIERS BOARDED THE TRAINS IN THE 1860s.

THIS BUILDING WAS TORN DOWN IN 1955.

THE PICTURE IS THE UPPER DEPOT, AND THAT ONE WAS BUILT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE LITTLE MIAMI RAILROAD.

YOU HAD TO STOP THERE BEFORE -- THIS WAS ON DETROIT STREET.

IT WAS TORN DOWN IN 1941.

THIS IS A PHOTO JUST ACROSS THE LINE INTO WARREN COUNTY, THE LITTLE MIAMI RAILROAD, IT'S CLEARLY MARKED HERE ON THE ENGINE.

THIS IS JUST AT FOSTERS CROSSING.

THIS IS ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE DEPOT, THE LOWER DEPOT, USS U.S. STATION AT XENIA.

THE WOOD CAR, SAYS LM AND CX.

SO THEY HAD MERGED.

>> THIS IS THE DEPOT AS I REMEMBER IT WHEN WE MOVED HERE IN 1951.

IT LOOKED LIKE A LOT LIKE THAT.

>> BUT NOT THE STEAM CAR.

>> OF COURSE, NO.

>> THIS IS THE BIG WIDE FUNNEL OF THE STEAM COMING OUT.

>> YEAH.

>> HUMONGOUS COW CATCHERS.

THEY DID CATCH COWS AND HORSES.

>> STILL A PRETTY RURAL AREA.

>> OH, YEAH.

>>> THE MAN IS THE HAND OF MAN, 1840 TO 1870.

IT WAS STILL IN THE PLANNING STATION IN 1840s.

IT'S A TIMETABLE, 1853.

THIS IS A COLUMBUS AND XENIA RAILROAD COMPANY QUARTERLY DIVIDEND FROM 1925.

AND THIS IS EDWARD WORTHINGTON GOT $170.50 TO GET PAID FOR HIS DIVIDEND BY HOLDING STOCK IN THE RAILROAD.

SO IN 1925, THEY WERE STILL PAYING DIVIDENDS, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE GONE FOR A WHILE.

>> WHAT WAS THE FINAL YEAR OF OPERATION?

>> THROUGH DOWNTOWN XENIA, IT WAS 1967.

IT WAS THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD AT THAT POINT, BUT IT WAS THE ORIGINAL TRACKAGE AND ROAD BED.

>> WHAT REMNANTS ARE THERE OF THE RAILROAD HERE IN XENIA?

>> WELL, ALL OF THE RAIL LINES AND RAIL BEDS HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO MULTI-USE TRAILS, THE RAILS TO TRAILS MOVEMENT.

THE ONLY ACTIVE RAILS IN GREENE COUNTY IS AT FAIRBORN.

>>> THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE HISTORY WITH ME.

>> YOU'RE QUITE WELCOME.

>> THANK YOU FOR COMING.