Photo of the Month - September 2008

ca. 1935 Columbus - Franklinton

Columbus, Ohio looking east toward the central city.  The peninsula formed by the Scioto River is Franklinton now part of Columbus.  Franklinton was the original village built on the river low lands that predates Columbus which was build on the east side of the Scioto on higher land.  Franklinton has been repeatedly flooded with the devastating 1913 flood the most damaging.  The railroads have all been built on fill to try and keep them out of the periodic floods.  In some cases the fill also acts as a dyke protecting the community from high water.  Photo from the David Bunge Collection.

        This area east of Columbus Union Station is rich with Columbus railroad history.  The route of the very first Columbus railroad, the Columbus and Xenia, can be seen crossing the T&OC (NYC) and the Hocking valley (C&O) [see key #12]. 

        To the C&O, Columbus Union Station was a stub end station. Passenger trains could be backed into the station with southbound trains backing through the C&O Yard 'A' [see key #10] and northbound trains backing directly onto the PRR Bradford line by an interconnection off the map to the left. Over the years the C&O used various track combinations for access to Union Station.

        Town St. [see key #17] was the route used by interurbans entering the city from the west.  There are two traction cars on Town St. one on the bridge heading toward the Interurban terminal, located on the east side of the river, and the other just leaving the bridge headed west.  In 1935 those two cars could have been Cincinnati & Lake Erie light weight "Red Devils".  Once in the country they were capable of speeds over 90 mph.

        The Columbus Railway Power & Light Company's power house [see key #22] at Spring and Cozzen Streets has been partially torn down including its smoke stack.

        The interlocking tower [see key #14] at the crossing of the T&OC, C&O and PRR was called Little Miami (LM) by the C&O and T&OC.  The PRR called it Scioto tower.  The operator worked for the C&O, however, he would answer to either name depending upon which dispatcher was calling.

        That is a DC-2 hanging in the air.