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Published: April 17th 2022
When our daughter selected Ohio University for her graduate studies, I discovered that the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway was located near Athens. It's a preserved tourist railway line between Nelsonville and Logan offering frequent excursions with vintage equipment. Planning for our November visit to Athens, I noted the Hocking Valley would be running a steam locomotive powered special on Saturday, November 6. I had to ride it!
The Hocking Valley Scenic Railway operates trackage that was once the Hocking Valley Railroad, connecting Columbus and Athens. The track now ends at Nelsonville. (The Columbus to Logan segment is operated for freight traffic by the regional Indiana & Ohio Railroad.) The steam excursion was to be led by HVSR 3, a Baldwin 0-6-0 built for the Ohio Power Company in 1920. It was a cold morning at the Nelsonville station, but that did not deter a throng of enthusiasts from turning our for the excursion. The cold was an added bonus for photos, as the steam rising for the locomotive was very dramatic!
The excursion train left Nelsonville at 11:00 a.m. The journey was narrated en route and a number of interesting historical facts were revealed. The train first passed the
Nelsonville Brick Park. The park had been the site of Nelsonville Block, which produced bricks for sidewalks, roads, buildings, and water/sewer systems in the Hocking Valley region. Founded in 1877, the plant closed in 1940. The remaining brick kilns and smokestacks were preserved as the Nelsonville Brick Park. The it was into forested countryside. Fall foliage in the Hocking Hills was already past its peak, but there were still orange and red tints present in the leaves. The train made a colorful crossing of the Hocking River and then passed Lock 19 on the Hocking Canal. The Hocking Canal was built to connect Athens with the Ohio and Erie Canal near Canal Winchester. It was in operation until 1890 and Lock 19 has been preserved. Beyond was the village of Haydenville, founded in he 1870s. Haydenville was a "company town", with all the houses and buildings owned by the Haydenville Mining and Manufacturing Company. The company produced brick and ceramic tiles. Haydenville remained a company owned town until 1964.
North of Haydenville, the train made a stop for a photo run-by. This is a time honored tradition of railfan excursions where those wishing to photograph the locomotive and train
in motion detrain. Then the train backs up and make a run pasted the onlookers while they take photos. Reboarding, the train continued a little farther north and then stopped at a wide space of the Hocking River. The locomotive ran around and coupled to the rear of the train. Then, we retraced our route back to Nelsonville. But the excursion wasn't over yet! Passing the station, the train proceeded to the end of track when the locomotive took on water. Passengers could detrain to use the portable toilet facilities or visit the adjacent Robbins Crossing Historic Village.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
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