North Coast Ohio Chapter members were treated to an historic railroad adventure on the very unique Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Thanks to Brian and Christy Morgan who devote many hours volunteering on the train, our club got the VIP treatment on the 26 mile, 3 hour trip. As we rolled northward from downtown Akron, Brian spoke about the Ohio Erie Canal which was started in 1825 and came from the Ohio River all the way to the Cuyahoga River and eventually to Lake Erie through 146 locks. In the late 1800s a railroad was built which followed the canal and linked to other railroads that opened up the rest of the growing commerce and travel throughout the expanding United States.
After the wars of the early 1900s, economic expansion of all kinds led to much travel in luxurious and well serviced railcars like the “Silver Lariat” that we rode in. That railcar was built in 1948-49 around the same time as many of our boats were built as recreational boating also expanded rapidly.
Our trip through the Cuyahoga Valley National Forest on the smooth riding historic train was a real treat and we thank Mr. Larry Stevenson, CEO of the railroad, and especially Brian Morgan for giving us this unique experience.
The Cuyahoga Valley Railroad uses vintage equipment to give the guests an idea of what train travel was like back in the day. On December 27, 1974 the land between Cleveland Akron became the Cuyahoga Valley Recreation Area. On October 11, 2000 the 33,000 acres became The Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It was the 12th most visited park in 2023 and has an average of 2.9 million visitors per year. It is the only national park in the United States which has a scenic railroad that runs the whole length.
The park has an abundance of wildlife, all of which is protected. A short list of wildlife in the park are pheasant, turkey, deer, coyote, beaver, turtles, bats, fox, raccoons, bald eagles, rabbits, hawks, great blue heron, and otter.
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad: Just the Facts, Ma’am
Ohio Erie Canal
- Ohio Erie Canal – 309 miles – route Cleveland, Ohio to Portsmouth, Ohio
- July 4, 1825 – construction started and completed in 1932
- 4 feet deep, 146 locks. Locks were 90 feet long and 15 feet wide
- Wooden canal boats pulled by three horses or mules. Top speed 4 miles per hour
- It took between 7 to 10 days to traverse the entire length
Valley Railroad
- 1884 – Valley Railroad completed. Route Cleveland, Ohio to Valley Junction, Ohio now Zoarville, Ohio
- 1890 – Baltimore and Ohio obtained controlling interest. The B&O was our first
- chartered railroad in the United States
- 26 June, 1975 – Cuyahoga Valley Railroad started running scenic trains between
- Independence and Akron, Ohio weekends and holidays only
- 1985 – Owner CSX abandoned the line between Akron and Independence, Ohio
- 1987 – Sold the 26 miles of the line to the National Park Service for 2.5 million dollars
- 1994 – Name changed to Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Speed of the train is 25mph
- Make up of the train is a locomotive at each end, one generator car, and usually 10 passenger carsCuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad