Hobo's Guide to the Pennsy

Middletown & Cincinnati Railroad Co.

Edited by Tom Vondruska (deceased)

Middletown & Cincinnati Railroad Co.

Organized Feb. 28, 1890 as the Middletown & Cincinnati Railway Co. to provide a direct connection between Middletown, Ohio (Butler Co.), a steelmaking center between Dayton and Cincinnati, with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Kings Mills, Ohio (Warren Co.), between Corwin, Ohio (Waynesville, Warren Co.) and Morrow, Ohio (Warren Co.)

Already served by two railroads, the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton that was quickly becoming part of the Baltimore & Ohio, and the New York Central's Big Four, the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & St. Louis, the Middletown's civic and business leaders supported the project because they wanted a connection with the nation's biggest railroad whose tracks were a scant 14 mile away along the Little Miami River.

Construction of the 14-mile line began in late 1890. It crossed the narrow gauge Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern at Hageman, Ohio (Warren Co.) north of Lebanon, Ohio, the Warren Co. seat. Construction was complete to the west bank of the Little Miami River at Kings Mills in December 1891. Building a bridge to the Panhandle's Columbus-Cincinnati mainline on the Little Miami's east bank (at what became known as Middletown Junction) and a dispute with the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton over a grade crossing of CH&D tracks in Middletown delayed completion of the M&C until December 1892.

While well-constructed and carrying more passengers than the Dayton, Lebanon & Cincinnati and nearly as much freight as the CL&N, the M&C did not show a profit and defaulted on its debts in July 1894. Placed into receivership, it was reorganized as the Middletown & Cincinnati Railroad Co. Conversion of the CL&N to standard gauge was completed in 1894 and the Pennsylvania purchased the CL&N line in 1896. The PRR used the CL&N to purchase the M&C in 1902 and the Dayton, Lebanon & Northern in 1914.

Today the tracks laid by the M&C are used by the Indiana & Ohio Rail System to serve Middletown and the northern suburbs of Cincinnati.

Last modified: November 24 2007.

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