Formation

During the 1860s, as railroad construction across the United States was booming, citizens of the Cuyahoga Valley area expressed their desires for their own railroad.^[5] Plans were subsequently made for a rail line to be built through the area, but they were quickly dropped, due to a lack of financial support.^[5] The project was then resurrected by the financial support of David L. King, who owned various acres of property in the area.^[5]

On August 21, 1871, the Valley Railroad Company was incorporated, and their intention was to run trains from Cleveland to Akron, Middlebury, and Canton, and it was to rival the nearby Ohio and Erie Canal.^[5][6] Construction of the railroad's right-of-way commenced, but following the Panic of 1873, a lack of funding halted the project again.^[5] In 1878, capitalists from Cleveland and New York chose to fund the project, on the condition that the railroad company increased its capital stock, and construction subsequently resumed.^[5]

Original operations

The first passenger train on the Valley Railroad's new route ran on January 28, 1880, between Cleveland and Canton, and regular passenger and freight operations commenced five days later, on February 2.^[5] The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) expressed interest in reaching Cleveland via the Valley Railroad's route, and in the fall of 1889, brokers from New York purchased the majority of the Valley Railroad's stock and turned them over to the B&O.^[7] The line between Cleveland and Akron was subsequently reorganized as the Cleveland, Terminal and Valley Railway, and it later became known as the B&O's Valley Division.^[6][7][8] While the division was originally the route of various passenger trains that ran once a day, passenger operations gradually dwindled over time, before one train remained—the Cleveland Night Express.^[7]

The Cleveland Night Express was discontinued by the 1960s, as competition from automobiles, trucks, and buses caused a major decline of both freight and passenger service on the division.^[7][9] The B&O's successor, the Chessie System, retained and upgraded the rails of the Valley Division to operate their daily ore trains between Cleveland and the steel mills in New Castle and Youngstown.^[7][10] In the early 1970s, the Midwest Railway Historical Foundation (MRHF) expressed interest in using the railroad line between Cleveland and Akron for weekend tourist excursion operations, with Grand Trunk Western steam locomotive No. 4070 as their motive power.^[7][8][11]

The foundation attracted support from Siegfried Buerling of Hale Farm, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and lawyer and Cleveland County Fair director Henry Lukes, and a new organization—the Cuyahoga Valley Preservation and Scenic Railway Association—was formed in 1972.^[11] While the Chessie System was initially reluctant, the company's chairman, Cyrus Eaton, agreed to allow the foundation trackage rights for the division.^[7][8][11] The Cuyahoga Valley Line's inaugural train ran on June 26, 1975.^[11]

In 1985, the Chessie System's successor, CSX, had obtained permission to abandon the right-of-way in favor of an alternate route that ran to Cleveland, and the Cuyahoga Valley Line consequently went through a hiatus without excursions for two ensuing years.^[8] In 1987, the National Park Service (NPS) purchased the Cleveland-Akron line for $2.5 million, and their intention was to expand passenger train service on the line to attract visitors to the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area.^[8][12] The Cuyahoga Valley Line resumed their excursion operations in 1988.^[8][12]

In 1994, the Cuyahoga Valley Line was reorganized as the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR), and they expanded their operations while upgrading their equipment with new ALCO and MLW diesel locomotives and Budd steel passenger cars.^[6][8] In June 1999, construction was completed on a new shop facility by the NPS for the CVSR to use to maintain their locomotives.^[10]

Disposition

The CVSR continues to operate excursion trains, and in a partnership with the NPS, the railroad helps visitors access various parts of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The CVSR also co-operates with Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (WLE) to operate on trackage south to Canton.^[9]

Future

On January 26, 2023, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and its partner agencies established plans to extend CVSR from its current northern terminus at Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio, all the way into Cleveland.^[13]

Accidents

The CVSR has had a few accidents in recent history including most recently hitting a car at a crossing. A person died in 2004 after being hit by RS18U 1822 during a Polar Express excursion.^[14][15]

On June 18, 2009, an automobile collided with a weekday train at an ungated crossing with no warning lights. The driver of the car was not expecting the train as he thought it only ran at weekends.^[16]

On July 13, 2012, a southbound CVSR train struck an eastbound car at the Portage St. crossing in northern Stark County. The elderly female driver was killed.

On November 1, 2015 a pedestrian was killed by FPA-4 6780 when it was still numbered 800 in a collision in Peninsula, OH.^[17]

National Park Scenic

National Park Scenic excursions allow passengers to ride throughout the entire route as well as get on and off at various stations along the way.^[18]

Steam in the Valley

Grand Trunk Western 4070 was originally the primary motive power of the CVSR, but since 1990, the locomotive has remained out of service to undergo an overhaul. During select operating years in the 21st century, the CVSR hosted steam excursion trains pulled by visiting steam locomotives, including Canadian Pacific 1293, Viscose Company 6, and Nickel Plate Road 765.^[19]

Explorer

For $5 a bicyclist may ride the train one way from any one of CVSR's nine stations. The bike is loaded onto a re-purposed baggage car and bikers are seated in a car directly following it. Similar programs are in place for hikers, runners and passengers with kayaks for a slightly different price. The Explorer program (previously known as Bike Aboard) is only offered from May through October.^[20]

Train to Canton

In summer 2003, CVSR began service between Akron and Canton. CVSR provided service between Akron Northside Station and Canton Lincoln Highway Station until 2013.^[21]

Locomotives

Cars