In 1932 the Columbus Delaware and Marion Electric Co. interurban line
(CD&M Railway) was just one year
from abandonment. Luckily a company official made this movie and
luckily it has been saved. This silent 6-minute film is fuzzy and
red hued from being copied a few too many
times, yet, with a little patience it gives a very good overview of this
49 mile country interurban line in action. If you wish to study a particular
scene just pause the video.
The film is divided into three parts. The short beginning seems to
be scenes that didn't fit the story line yet were too good to cut out.
The second and longest section shows the journey of parlor car #500 from
the Marion depot to Columbus. The third section is the return trip.
The beginning
- The Marion freight Station; Marion Depot with CD&M interurban #500; a view of the employee
timetable; two men getting on the car in front of the Delaware car barn;
and a very hard to see interior view of #500.
The trip to
Columbus - An interurban ride; leaving the Marion Depot; a happy motorman;
the Scioto Power Station including scenes of two signs; a bridge over the
Scioto River; alongside route #203 and the Scioto River between the CD&ME
Co. / Marion-Reserve Power Co. Scioto Power
Plant and Prospect; Delaware sign; street scene in Delaware (passing car
#501, 500's twin, preserved at the Ohio Railway Museum in Worthington); Ohio Wesleyan University; Delaware business district (this scene is
out of order and the car may even be going in the northbound direction);
Delaware car barn with an interurban car; motorman; along the Olentangy River between Delaware and Stratford; Perkins Observatory (scene
out of order); climbing Kingman Hill just south of Stratford; Glenmary
Park station on the north side of the Glenmary trestle; Glenmary trestle;
Josephinum College; Columbus' AIU (now Lincoln-Leveque) Tower; birds; State Capital from High
Street; and the State House squirrels.
The return trip
to Marion - The Interurban Terminal in Columbus; car exits the
terminal facing south turns east on Rich Street and turns north on Third
Street; Glenmary trestle with the Flint station on the south side the
trestle and a small building in the ravine; bridge over the Olentangy River
and the start of highway 315 at Stratford (The stone abutments for the
bridge can still be seen and the small church in the background is still
standing in 2008); crossing over the C&O RR north of
Delaware; passing a southbound C&O freight south of Prospect; Car #501 in
the country north of the Scioto Power Plant; Center Street in Marion; and
back to the Marion Depot.