Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad

The Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad (M&C) is a defunct railroad of southern Ohio that was later absorbed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O).

The M&C was founded as the Belpre and Cincinnati Railroad (B&C) in 1845^[1] to connect to the B&O between Parkersburg, West Virginia and Belpre, Ohio because the government of Virginia would only allow the B&O to build to the Ohio River at Wheeling, West Virginia. To continue to the east on the B&O, one had to take a steamboat down river to Parkersburg.

The destination of the B&C was changed to Marietta, Ohio and the name of the railroad changed in 1851. The right of way extended from Marietta up river to Bellaire, Ohio for a connection to the B&O. The M&C reached Cincinnati, Ohio by 1857, at which time the company was bankrupt. The first through-train from Cincinnati ran on April 9, 1857.

The railroad never went up-river from Marietta. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) later purchased the right of way south of Bellaire. With help from the B&O and the Baltimore City Council, the Union Railroad connected Marietta to Belpre in 1860. It also was later absorbed by the B&O. This section of track is still in operation (2004) with unit coal trains providing most of the traffic.

By 1876, the "Old Line" to Marietta fell into disuse and was eventually sold to the Toledo and Ohio Central Extension Railroad. The name was later changed to Marietta, Columbus and Cleveland Railroad (MCC) and operated to about 1917. The east end then operated as the Marietta and Vincent Railroad Company until abandoned in 1924.

The rest of the line from Belpre westward was acquired and operated for many years by B&O Railroad. The section from eastern Vinton County to Belpre was abandoned in the 1980s and the right-of-way sold off. Today, the portion from Mineral, Ohio to the end of the now-operating line is the Moonville Rail-Trail.

One of the main driving forces of the M&C was William P. Cutler. He also was a backer of the Union Railroad and the MCC, among other local railroads. Cutler served as General Manager and as President of the M&C for many years.

References

1. ^ Smith, William Ernest; Ophia Delilah Smith (1964). History of Southwestern Ohio: The Miami Valleys. New York City: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. vol. I, p. 367. OCLC 807074. "The Marietta and Cincinnati, one of the five important east-west railroads paralleling the Ohio river, was chartered in 1845 as the Belpré and Cincinnati. Towns and counties through which it ran were authorized to subscribe for stock."