Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad
The Lebanon Mason & Monroe Railroad (LM&M Railroad) is located in historic downtown Lebanon, Ohio, between Dayton and Cincinnati. The attraction features nostalgic train rides that are usually themed, such as the Easter Bunny Express, North Pole Express, and rides with favorite children's characters including Thomas the Tank Engine and Clifford the Big Red Dog.[1][2]
 Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad Depot | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Lebanon, Ohio |
| Reporting mark | CRC |
| Locale | Warren County, Ohio, USA |
| Dates of operation | 1985–present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Other | |
| Website | lebanonrr |
Route history
The train operates on approximately 25 miles (40 km) of track between Lebanon, Mason and Monroe – all cities in southwestern Ohio. For most trips the LM&M runs 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south from Lebanon Station in downtown historic Lebanon to Hageman Junction. The train runs along the right-of-way of the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway (CL&N), a historic passenger and freight line that began operation in 1881 with narrow gauge track (3 ft (914 mm) between the rails). Three years later it was rebuilt to standard gauge. The CL&N was later acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) that operated both freight and passenger trains over the line between Dayton and Cincinnati. The passenger service over this line was primarily commuter trains that took people who lived in Warren County to jobs in Blue Ash, Norwood, Cincinnati and Dayton. The PRR discontinued Cincinnati passenger service over this line in 1931 after the opening of Cincinnati Union Terminal.[3]
Continuity of the original right-of-way between Lebanon and Cincinnati was broken when interstate highway I-71 was constructed during the 1960s. Segments of the original CL&N/PRR trackage are still in operation as of 2008. The LM&M's track from Lebanon to Hageman Junction is currently owned by the city of Lebanon and Genesee & Wyoming (current owner of the Indiana and Ohio Railway) owns the remaining track. While the I&O continued to operate freight over the entire line, with the LM&M having trackage rights to operate passenger trains,[4] in 2021 the I&O officially ended their status as designated operator of the Lebanon Bramch, being replaced by CRC/LM&M.
Motive power
Locomotive CRC 5704 is the oldest GP7 locomotive in continuous operation in the United States of America. The locomotive was ordered from General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) in 1947 by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) for service on the former Pere Marquette Railway territory in Michigan. The locomotive's original number was 5704, and it ran in general freight service all over the C&O, and subsequently the Chessie System, until it was retired, then purchased by the Indiana and Ohio Railway (I&O) around 1987. I&O numbered the locomotive as No. 55, and it carried that number on after it was transferred to what is now the LM&M when the I&O was purchased by RailTex in 1996. The 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW) locomotive was built in May 1950 and was ballasted to 248,000 lb (112,000 kg)., making it and its sisters the heaviest GP7s on the C&O. A conservative estimate is that the 55 has traveled well over 3 million miles to date. In 2018, the CRC 55 was re-painted into its as-delivered Chesapeake and Ohio paint scheme in blue-and-yellow and was returned to her original number, 5704..
Locomotive CRC 901, or Nickel Plate Road 901 is an EMD GP30 built in November 1962. It was #901 on the NKP until the Mid-70's when it was delivered to the Norfolk & Western Railroad as N&W #2901. Then in the early 90's, the 901 was acquired by the Indiana and Ohio Railway, then painted into the I&O's 90's paint scheme, and renumbered #85. While 901 was on the IORY, the engine also got its prime mover swapped from a EMD-567 to a EMD-645. Then, the GP30 was acquired by the Cincinnati Railway Co. in the 2000s; and repainted to the as delivered-Nickel Plate Road livery in October 2011.
Locomotive CRC 902; or Nickel Plate Road 902 was an EMD GP30 built in November 1962. It was a sister engine to the as mentioned NKP 901. This engine was renumbered 2902 when it was delivered to the Norfolk & Western in the 70s. The loco was acquired by the Great Miami Railway during the 90s(?), and subsequently the US Rail Corp. in Toledo, Ohio, in 2006, and then Larry's Truck & Electric in 2012. It was then acquired by CRC the same year and all of the GMRY decals were restored, and was then renumbered 902. It stayed in the GMRY livery until 2021 when it was repainted with the Nickel Plate Road livery, as 901 was.
Locomotive CRC 7544 is the newest addition to the roster. Originally built as Illinois Central GP9 No. 9037 in June 1954, it was later rebuilt into a GP10 in a capital overhaul program at IC/Illinois Central Gulf’s Paducah, Ky., shops, emerging in 1974 as ICG No. 8008. It was later sold to Paducah & Louisville and was renumbered 8349 before going to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum in Nashville, Tenn. CRC acquired it from the TCRM, and it was painted into Conrail colors to represent a scheme typical to the Cincinnati area during the 1980's. The paint job was applied by the Midwest Railway Preservation Society in its Cleveland facility, a former Baltimore & Ohio roundhouse. The engine was numbered 7544, which was a gap in the actual Conrail GP10 roster. The only difference cosmetically is that 7544 has the headlight in the nose, while Conrail's low nose GP10's had it between the numberboards.
Coaches
CRC 101 - 104
The four open-window commuter coaches built in 1930 by the Pullman Company in Chicago, and by the Harlan and Hollingsworth division of Bethlehem Shipbuilding for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). These coaches did not require a locomotive because each car was self-propelled by four 3000 Volt DC, 230 horsepower (170 kW) electric motors receiving electricity from overhead catenary wires. Though each car was equipped with individual engineer's controls, two or more cars could be coupled together as a train and operated by a single engineer in the lead car. The coaches operated in commuter service in the eastern New Jersey suburbs of New York City. for the (DL&W) Railroad until 1960, when the Lackawanna Railroad was merged with the Erie Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna (EL) and continued to serve until 1976, and finally New Jersey Transit (NJT) until 1984, when they were purchased for use in Lebanon. At that time the cars were named after historic and significant places along the current LM&M line: Car 101, "Mason"; 102 "Hageman"; and 103 "Turtle Creek" each hold 72 passengers, and Car 104 "Lebanon" holds 54 passengers and features a snack bar.[5]
Lebanon railroad station
Built in 1972 as a replica of the original Lebanon Victorian-style passenger station and owned and maintained by the Lebanon Council of Garden Clubs. The land was purchased from the Penn Central Railroad and the Lebanon Council of Garden Clubs raised funds to build a membership facility on the property. The garden club members use the station as a library, meeting rooms, workshop space and memorabilia displays. The LM&M ticket office and gift shop is located across the street at the corner of South and Mechanic.
Crossing watchman’s tower
The Lebanon Council of Garden Clubs secured a tower originally in service at the corner of Reading and Columbia Roads in Reading, Ohio. Before the introduction of automatic crossing gates, the gates were often operated manually by a crossing guard located in a tower that provided him a better view of oncoming trains and vehicular traffic. The tower was equipped with a coal stove, chair, and crossing gate controls.
Semaphore signal
The origin of the semaphore at Lebanon Station parking lot is unknown; however it is representative of a typical train order semaphore, which was used to convey different messages to an approaching train by changing the positioning of the arm. The train order signal had three color and blade positions, Green (vertical) indicating no orders, Yellow (diagonal 45 degrees) indicating pick up orders while moving, and Red (horizontal) indicating stop and sign for orders after reading them as verification with the block operator, who controlled the signal. The signal was built by the Union Switch and Signal of Swissvale Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. It is a donation from the Lebanon Kiwanis Club.
References
- McCabe, Ginny; Sarah Franks, Contributing Writer. "5 reasons not to miss this real-life Thomas train ride". journal-news. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "Train Ride with Clifford at LM&M Railroad". www.daytonlocal.com. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "History". Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "Community Information". Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "Equipment". Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad. Retrieved 25 February 2020.