Since 1975, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (CVSR) has operated seasonal tourist excursion trains on this portion of the line.

CSX continues some freight operations on the remaining track, which is referred to as the Cleveland, Terminal and Valley Subdivision.

The goal of the Valley Railway was to link the industrial centers of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, with the coal fields of Stark and Tuscarawas counties.

Price, Midwestern real estate developer and former secretary and treasurer of the Milwaukee and Beloit Railroad and the Aetna Iron and Nail Company.

[14] The state-issued charter permitted the railroad to construct a line from the city of Cleveland on the shore of Lake Erie south-southeast to the village of Bowerston, Ohio.

[20] Because the intent of the railroad was to carry very heavy loads of coal to Akron and Cleveland, the board of directors mandated that the route follow a downhill grade between the two cities and that track curves be extremely wide and easy.

[22] Two years passed before King was able to interest bankers and investors in Cleveland and New York City to purchase the $6.5 million ($186,000,000 in 2023 dollars) in bonds the railroad needed to complete work.

[20] When the Valley ran low on cash again, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (LS&MS) loaned it about $250,000 ($8,200,000 in 2023 dollars) to finish the track.

[26] The first train (which carried important businessmen, civic leaders, clergy, industrialists, and politicians) ran on the line on January 28, 1880.

[23] North to south, these were located at: In 1884, Akron granted permission for the Valley to build a spur into the heart of the city.

A special joint committee was appointed by the Ohio Senate that year to examine the issue, but concluded that the city properly held title to the canal bed and could do with it as it wished.

[3] In the spring of 1889, Taintor & Holt, a New York City investment firm, began buying up the Valley Railroad's stock on behalf of the B&O.

The Valley Railway had been the primary means of travel from Canton to Akron to Cleveland, but in 1895 the Northern Ohio Interurban Railroad opened.

[56] This inexpensive light rail service effectively destroyed the Valley Railway's passenger traffic between Cleveland and Akron,[59] eliminating a major source of the company's revenue.

[11] As part of the reorganization, the Valley transferred property worth about $250,000 ($9,200,000 in 2023 dollars) to the LS&MS as payment for the 1879 loan.

[25] In February 1896, the CT&V announced it would construct new, larger freight and passenger facilities in Cleveland to accommodate the increased business it was doing in the city.

To connect the new freight station and docks with the main tracks, the railway asked the city to close Lime Street.

Designed by local structural engineer A. Lincoln Hyde and architect William Stillman Dutton[61][65] in a modified Gothic Revival style,[65] it was built by contractor C.N.

Turrets at the corners helped to strengthen the building, and clock tower illuminated by floodlights rose from the steeply pitched roof.

A large brick pillar, running through the building to the foundation, supported the heavy safes in the auditor's and engineer's offices.

To avoid construction of an independently owned new main line, the Pennsylvania Railroad agreed to give the B&O subsidiary trackage rights between Valley Junction and Canal Dover.

The railroad proposed a replacing the existing structure with a Scherzer rolling lift bridge, a plan which was approved in August 1905.

[96] Construction of the bridge was delayed, however, when the city of Cleveland began planning for a new viaduct over the Cuyahoga River valley near the same location.

[97] Discussions between the city and railroad ensued, and it was not until August 1909 that both sides agreed to a $275,000 ($9,300,000 in 2023 dollars), 200-foot (61 m) long rolling lift bridge.

[11][102] This ended a process initiated in 1901, when the parent company began unifying operations with the subsidiary (beginning with a single ticket structure).

[54] However, the rapid availability of the automobile led to severe losses in passenger revenues, and the increasing use of trucks to move bulk goods significantly reduced freight traffic.

[116][k] The railroad abandoned and removed the Huff Run Branch from Valley Junction to Mineral City in 1938 following eight years of disuse.

The last passenger train to run on the old CT&V route was the Cleveland Night Express, which provided overnight service to Baltimore.

[121][l] Backers for a scenic railroad continued to press ahead, and in 1975, Chessie System chairman Cyrus S. Eaton generously gave his approval.

In October 1992, CSX sold 12.26 miles (19.73 km)[132] of track between Canton and Sandyville to a new Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad (which had recently been spun off by the Norfolk Southern Railway).In May 2000, Akron's METRO Regional Transit Authority purchased 24 miles (39 km) of track between Akron and Canton from CSX in May 2000.