Posted to Facebook History of the Peavine Group Page October 26, 2018 by Jeff Wood. Description from post
An abbreviated history of the Columbus and Maysville Narrow Gauge Railroad
Incorporated on April 27,1877 construction began that following fall at the western edge of Hillsboro Ohio. The railroad was entirely financed by the sale of stock certificates with approximately $75,000 initially sold. The first board of directors where Charles S. Bell (of Bell's Foundry fame), J.H. Richards, Benjamin Barrere, John H. Jolly (all of Hillsboro), J.W. Kibler of White Oak , Andrew King and Chamber Baird of Ripley with Dr. W. R. Smith of Hillsboro serving as secretary.
The route was going to be 19 miles long. From its end near where the John Deere dealership and Dairy Queen is right now on west route 50 is today to ¼ mile east of the Sardinia Depot. It crossed the Hiestand property behind Ambrose chapel on the Danville Pike(St Rt 138) then turning south towards Straight out (another name for East Danville). Passing ½ mile west of Taylorsville then entering Mowreystown and crossing the White Oak creek over a 100' long trestle.
The rolling stock was built by Barney & Smith co. of Dayton Oh. The Engine was a Lima works coal fired steam engine equipped with a carbide light. It was capable of pulling a 30 car train fully loaded. The average speed over the line was 30mph which took roughly an hour and quarter with all of the stops. Oddly enough the engine was never unhooked and run around to the other end of the train at Sardinia, so while it pulled the cars from Hillsboro to Sardinia it backed them the entire way on the return trip. This was because at that time there was no turntable in Hillsboro.
The trains ran every Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday with 2 round trips per day. A listing of the stops are the Junction with the Marietta and Cincinnati, Danville Pike, Shackleton's (A small town that no longer exists where Mad River Rd and 138 cross) Cochran's (another forgotten spot near Caleb's Hill), Straightout (East Danville), Coffman's, Taylorsville, Mowreystown, County Line and the Cincinnati & Eastern depot in Sardinia. Most of these places are lost and gone forever, not even a ghost of their former selves remain. Mowreystown, and Sardinia are the healthiest and thriving communities on the list, while East Danville and Taylorsville still are recognizable as communities although they have settled into a long twilight.
On March 7 1878 there was a meeting to discus plans to extend further north to Washington Court House and south to Maysville. More stock was sold at this time even though the railroad itself was not being well maintained or even generating a profit. The summer saw handcar excursions being offered by the railroad for those willing to make the effort.
In 1879 the C&M was bonded for $70,000, reported 0 income and paid 0 taxes. It was also in 1879 that the people of Hillsboro tired of traveling far out into the country (at that time) to board trains. They thus formed the Hillsboro Short Line Company to bring the railroad as close to downtown as was practical. This was a partnership between the Village Government and the board of the Short line. The board consisted of Benjamin Barrere (double dipping as well as serving as a township trustee and major Republican party official), Henry Strain and High Fullerton. They built a depot on North West Street and owned the following equipment: The depot and grounds, engine house with turntable and blacksmith shop, 1 engine (the aforementioned C&M Lima engine named “The White oak”) 1 combination passenger coach, 1 track car, 6 flat cars, 3 hand cars as well as miscellaneous hand tools. For all intents and purposes the Hillsboro Short Line was part of the C&M as they immediately leased the line to the C&M and the equipment from them. Raising money in a gray area of financial laws.
By the fall of 1884 the C&M was out of money. They could not even get credit to buy enough coal to make a single run to Sardinia much less a round trip. The people of Hillsboro to keep their railroad operational raised money through donations, selling back their stock, and other civic actions. The company even sold another 50,000$ worth of stock on the NYC stock exchange. (violating so many stock and financial laws if they had existed to make the S&L collapse look like a kids bake sale)
Two years later in 1886 the C&M was in receivership. The honorable Mr Kirby Smith was appointed by the courts and took an inventory which revealed that the C&M had no boot nor window figuratively speaking. The assets consisted of the roadbed, the depot and grounds, 1 locomotive in a non-running condition (the “White oak”), 1 coal car, 5 flat cars, 1 combination coach, 3 good handcars and assorted hand tools. There where no employees, no income, it was over 5 years behind on taxes and was overextended on credit to the tune of $50,000 as well as the $150,000 in worthless stock.
The C&M was sold at a tremendous loss to the Cincinnati, Portsmouth and Virginia Railroad in 1890 at a Sheriff's sale. The Hillsboro Short line was dissolved around this time as well as it had been folded into the C&M. The dates of its dissolution being a bit fuzzy.
The CP&V immediately began upgrading the line. Moving it to standard gauge, leveling many grades, changing wood to stone trestles in many areas, and straitening curves when possible. It ordered new cars and there is no word on what exactly happened to the venerable White Oak locomotive but it was most likely sold for scrap.
There was still plenty of business in the towns along the line as well as passengers wanting to travel, so when the CP&V suspended services in 1895 this caused much anger and upset among the communities' business leaders. This led the members of the Charles F. Whisler Lumber company and the McKeehan and Hiestand Grocery Co to organize the Hillsboro Railroad company. This was a separate and different company from the old Hillsboro Short Line (which was not the same as the Swing Line) they leased the road and equipment from the CP&V and operated until 1901 when the entire CP&V was acquired by the Norfolk and Western which eventually became the Norfolk and Southern. The line continued to exist and be operational until 1999 when the tracks where pulled up. An attempt was made to turn the right of way into a bike trail but intense local resistance foiled that. All that remains today are a few ghostly gradings in the ground, some memorabilia and a short section in Sardinia that goes no where and is being rapidly forgotten about by many.
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