Ohio Southern Railroad (1881–1898)

[1][page needed] By September 1893, the Ohio Southern had reached north to Lima with a bridge over the Great Miami River at Quincy.

[3][page needed] Originating as the Springfield, Jackson & Pomeroy Railroad on December 17, 1874, as a means to link the three towns incorporated in its name.

[3][page needed] The Dayton & South Eastern (D&SE) had been incorporated earlier to provide the same linkages, by a circuitous route, avoiding the large hills on a more direct alignment.

[3][page needed] In December 1892, the OS began extending its mainline north from Springfield to Lima, creating a longer single haul roadway.

[3][page needed] On February 11, 1848, a Special Act of the Ohio General Assembly authorized the incorporation of the Iron Railroad Company, and during 1849-50 a six-mile line was built from Ironton to the Vesuvius Tunnel Mines.

By 1858, though, the structure spanning Sterrns Creek north of Ironton was considered too weak to carry increased loads and a wrought iron truss, patented by W. H. Moseley and fabricated in Cincinnati, was erected over the stream.

This wrought-iron bridge remained in service until 1924, when it was removed and placed on exhibition in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, some years later.

[3][page needed] From November 28, 1883, until May 31, 1884, the Ohio Southern operated a small railroad, the Cincinnati, Columbus & Hocking Valley.

The CC&HV extended from Jeffersonville with the Ohio Southern west to Claysville Junction on the Little Miami Railroad's Cincinnati-Xenia main line.

[3][page needed] The CC&HV completed 15 miles from Jeffersonville to Port William by October 1877, and the following month was reorganized as the Columbus, Washington & Cincinnati Railroad Co. By 1887, the W&C was abandoned and tracks removed.

[3][page needed] The Detroit & Lima Northern finished a link from Columbus Junction to St. Mary's by November 1 of that year.