Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is a

Class III railroad In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$5 ...

operating diesel-electric and steam-powered excursion trips through Peninsula, Ohio in the Cuyahoga Valley, primarily through the scenic

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an American national park that preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio. The park is administered by the National Park Service, but within ...

History

Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge

Based on a track bed and rails originally laid down around 1880, right-of-way ownership transitioned over the years from Valley Railway to Cleveland Terminal & Valley Railroad (CT&V), to the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, to the

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated under ...

. Currently, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

own the rails and right-of-way within

. CVSR co-operates with Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (WLE) on operation of the railroad track south of CUVA to

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

. Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad operates their excursion trains in co-operation with both the NPS & WLE. The history of trains in the Cuyahoga Valley stretches back more than 100 years. In 1880, the Valley Railway began operations, transporting coal to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

, and

from the

Tuscarawas River The Tuscarawas River is a principal tributary of the Muskingum River, 129.9 miles (209 km) long, in northeastern Ohio in the United States. Via the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an ...

Valley and providing passenger service along the way. After a decade of operation, the Valley Railway became part of the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

. In the 20th century, competition from automobiles, trucks, and buses caused the decline of both freight and passenger service. Interest in the line was renewed in 1972 as a scenic excursion route and the Cuyahoga Valley Preservation and Scenic Railway Association was born.

Today

Originally known as the Cuyahoga Valley Line, the scenic railroad now operates as Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR). From the current CVSR Rockside station, (other railroads') existing tracks follow the West Bank of the Cuyahoga River to along: Valley Belt Road, Bradley Road, Jennings Road, Steelyard Drive, Holmden Avenue, Quigley Road; Crossing over the Cuyahoga River on the railroad draw bridge near Quigley and West 3rd, then follow the east bank of the Cuyahoga River to Canal Road near Commercial Road, ending up along Canal Road between Ontario Avenue and West 2nd Street.

Future

Several

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It a ...

-oriented organizations in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and Summit County are pushing for extension of CVSR operations farther North along the Canal corridor into Cleveland. Some other organizations have been researching the feasibility of commuter rail operations between Akron-Canton and Cleveland. One of the big issues to be resolved would be scheduling and controlling access since the tracks through Cleveland and Newburgh Heights are used by freight train traffic, and much of the route above is single track with limited sidings.

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 ''The Polar Express'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1985. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detai ...

excursion. 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. 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.

Schedule

CVSR's schedule varies with seasonal demands. Currently, CVSR operates on Saturdays in January–February, Saturdays and Sundays in March–April, Fridays-Sundays in May and Tuesdays-Sundays in June through October. In November, the scenic train runs on weekends only due to The Polar Express. One train makes daily round-trips from Independence to Akron, which takes about 3 hours (1½ hours one-way).

Operations

CVSR offers a variety of trips throughout the year.

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.

Steam in the Valley

Typically each year CVSR hosts visiting steam-powered equipment. Examples of such equipment include Ohio Central No. 1293, Viscose No. 6, and Nickel Plate Road No. 765.

The North Pole Adventure

Around mid-November and continuing through mid-December, the CVSR provides special holiday themed excursions. These excursions are only offered out of

Rockside station Rockside is a Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad train station in Independence, Ohio. It is located on the south side of Rockside Road in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The station was constructed by the National Park Service The National Park Se ...

and Akron Northside station. Children (and even adults) are encouraged to ride in their pajamas. Elves greet passengers at the door and help them find their seats. While underway, the children write letters to Santa, get served

hot chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

and cookies, play games, and sing Christmas songs. Both trains eventually end up at the "North Pole". On the return trip, each child gets a surprise visit from a very important jolly fellow.

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.

Train to Canton

In summer 2003, CVSR began service between

and

. CVSR provided service between Akron Northside Station and Canton Lincoln Highway Station until 2013. Canton service ended due to lack of ridership and poor track conditions.

Stations

Equipment

Locomotives

Former Locomotives

Cars

Management

the railroad's management consists of: *Joe Mazur, President/CEO *Bobby Dinkins, Chief Operating Officer *Greg Domzalski, Director of Finance *Carl Bennett III, Director of Operations *Kelly Koehler, Director of Events *Katelyn Gainer, Director of Marketing and Communications *Lisa Brown, Director of Development

Notes

Where "-Longitude" is the degrees in decimal with the "W" suffix replaced by a "-" prefix
"Latitude" is the degrees in decimal without the "N" suffix.

References

General references

External links

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad Transportation in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Transportation in Summit County, Ohio Tourist attractions in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Tourist attractions in Summit County, Ohio Railway companies established in 1972