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Dayton & Western Railroad Co.

The Dayton & Western Railroad between Dayton, Ohio, and Richmond, Ind., was one of six Pennsylvania Railroad lines which converged on Richmond, making it one of the hottest spots in the Midwest for railfanning the "Standard Railroad of the World," especially for those most interested in Tuscan varnish.

Part of the Panhandle Route, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, the D&W carried the Pennsyvania's mainline passenger traffic traveling from St. Louis, Terre Haute, Indianapolis and points east. Generations of railfans in the Richmond, Ind., area knew the Dayton & Western as the Pennsy's "Passenger Line" that headed east from New Paris. Outside of Dayton the D&W was a A single-tracked mainline with passing sidings.

Until 1923 the Dayton & Western and the 16-mile Dayton, Xenia & Belpre Railroad were listed by the Pennsy as its "New Paris Branch" running from the Columbus-Cincinnati mainline at Xenia in Greene County through Dayton to New Paris in Preble County. PRR's companywide operations reorganization in 1923 made this 60-mile line through western Ohio part of the Columbus Division and it was given mainline status.

At New Paris, Ohio, just east of Richmond across the Ohio state line, the D&W was joined by the "frieght line," the Richmond & Covington Railroad which connected with the Panhandle's Columbus- Chicago mainline at Bradford, Ohio, primarily a freight route. The D&W and the DX&P carried only local freights heading to and from Dayton and other communities along the line because of the steep grade on the DX&P heading out of the Great Miami River valley between Waynetown and Clement towers on Dayton's east side.

Incorporated in 1848 to build a rail line heading west from Dayton in Montgomery County, the D&W's standard guage track was completed to New Paris in 1853. The D&W's eastern terminus was at Miamitown Tower in Dayton at the western end of the Dayton Union Terminal Association's bridge across the Great Miami River. Heading northwest along a gradual grade following the the banks of Wolf Creek, the line was operated jointly with Dayton & Union Railroad (B&O) through Trotwood and Brookville to Dodson (all Montgomery Co.) At Dodson the line turned west into Preble Co. At North Manchester the D&W crossed the New York Central's ex-narrow guage Cincinnati Northern on diamonds guarded by a New York Central tower.

The next stop was New Paris where the D&W had its western terminus where it was joined by the Richmond & Covington. Traffic continued into the Hoosier State and Richmond on the Richmond & Miami, a line in which in 1853 the D&W owned an interest. At Richmond the Richmond & Miami connected with the newly completed Indiana Central Railroad. In 1856 the Indiana Central established a routeto from Dayton to St. Louis. The Dayton & Western's connections to the east via the Little Miami & Columbus & Xenia Railroad, the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railway and the Lakeshore Railroad that made it part of one of the first transcontinental rail routes.

In 1865, the Little Miami & Columbus & Xenia Railroad Co. signed a lease for the Dayton & Western which included its interest in the Richmond & Miami. In 1870 the Little Miami Railroad and all of its holdings were leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. for 99 years. In 1871 the PRR's lease of the Little Miami including the D&W was turned over to the newly formed Pennsylvania Co., the PRR's holding company created to operate its "Lines West of Pittsburgh." For operations, the Little Miami was assigned to the original "Panhandle Route" Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway.

The D&W mainline from New Paris east to Brookville was abandoned by Conrail during the early 1980s. The line from Dayton to Brookville was taken over by the Chessie System in the early 1980s but it was abandoned by CSX in the mid 1990s. A bikeway is being developed on the D&W right-of-way between Trotwood and Brookville. The original Pennsylvania Railroad-built depots still stand along the D&W right of way in these two communities.

In 1996 the Dayton Daily News carried a story discussing plans by a "Northwest Railroad" for operation of the Dayton-Trotwood section as a industrial switching line.

Copyright 1996 - 2008

Last modified: November 24 2007.

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