Regional Rail Maps
Ohio Railway Museum: Resurrection
The Ohio Railway Museum presently operates a very short trolley service. The museum’s collection includes an operating electric trolley, one of the last remnants of Columbus’ streetcar system. Their track runs from their museum in Worthington to a dead end in Colonial Hills, less than half a mile away.
What would happen if that line were extended? If a historical curiosity could be, through money and effort, be upgraded to a functional part of the city’s urban fabric?
This map envisions an extension of the present-day Ohio Railway Museum line to the south along I-71, potentially all the way to the Convention Center.
Stops
- The current location of the Ohio Railway Museum serves as the northern terminus station and maintenance yard.
- A stop at State Route 161 provides transfers to a future east-west COTA line.
- At this stop: Indianola Park and several small employers.
- Nearby attractions include the Ohio School for the Deaf, many small employers, and the shopping corridor of Morse Road. Transfer here for COTA lines 4, 34, and 42, and for Easton.
- There really ought to be a COTA bus on Cooke Road, since it's a major east-west route, but the hilly bit in Clintonville is too steep for buses. A stop here would still provide access to people in Clintonville and North Linden.
- Many apartments and local employers here, and it's just a short ride to the downhill cyclist's mecca on Walhalla Road. Transfer here for COTA line 32 on North Broadway and 4 on Indianola.
- Nearby attractions include Petro Annie's, Midwest Photo, Savor Growl, and other entertainments.
- Nearby attractions include the Historic Crew Stadium, the SoHud Market, and Glen Echo Park. Transfer here for the OSU CABS East Residential route and COTA lines 31 and 4.
- Easy access to Iuka Park and off-campus student housing. With the addition of an underpass, this stop could connect to the Historic Crew Stadium.
- This stop provides easy access to the north entrance to the State Fairgrounds.
- This stop aligns with Governor DeWine's planned new transit center at the Fairgrounds, and provides easy access to the south entrance to the State Fairgrounds. Transfer here for COTA lines 8 and 22.
- Nearby attractions include many employers and new apartment blocks in Weinland Park. Transfer here for COTA line 12.
- Nearby attractions include apartments and the Ohio Brewing Company.
- There appears to be enough space on the south side of Convention Center Drive, north of the CSX tracks, to allow trolley traffic to the convention center.
Key Considerations
The first question is: where does the track run?
The current railroad right-of-way along I-71 contains two tracks for Norfolk Southern and two tracks for CSX, as can be seen in the Ohio Rail Development Corporation rail map.
The right-of-way itself is quite wide, with ample space for a fifth track. To avoid conflicts between the trolley service and the freight service, I propose bribing CSX with federal money.
The museum’s track stops at about the spot where the CSX and NS tracks cross, near Poste Lake.
From that point, all the way south to 5th Avenue, there are no sidings on the west side of the tracks. If the passenger service runs on the west side of the CSX freight tracks in this section, no freight trains will need to cross over or run on the passenger traffic rails. This is an extremely important consideration in route planning because the Federal Railroad Administration is loathe to allow passenger and freight service on the same tracks, even if the trains are separated by time and switches, especially if the passenger service uses antique streetcars.
From Worthington to 5th Avenue, the trolley would run on the west-most existing CSX track. The bribe to allow this would be in the form of a hefty helping of Amtrak money. In exchange for CSX giving up the west-most track to the museum, the feds and state would build a new track, with supporting bridges, running in the gap between the CSX and NS tracks. This new track would be built to high-speed-rail standards to support Amtrak service on the Cleveland-Columbus segment. In exchange for giving up one old track, CSX gets one new track built to modern standards, with bridges to support it.
(Or the Feds could nationalize the tracks, but that’s a different matter.)
South of 5th Avenue, warehouses complicate the situation. Maintaining freight access to the warehouses south of 5th may require expensive signal interlockings or restrictions on the frequency of trolley service past the warehouse. If this is an insurmountable barrier, then the trolley cannot run south to the Convention Center.
Limiting the trolley’s run length limits its usability for commuter service. A trolley from Worthington to the Ohio State Fairgrounds is, outside of taking Clintonville and Worthington residents to events at the Fairgrounds, little more than a historical amusement.
Tearing down the warehouse to build dense housing is an honorable project, especially if it’s transit-oriented, with a station for people who ride the train into Downtown.
South of 2nd, there are no more sidings on the west side of the tracks until the tracks run under the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
There is enough space on the northwest side of the CSX tracks to allow a new track to be laid without impacting Convention Center Drive. A station platform on Convention Center Drive, connecting to the Convention Center, would connect Worthington with Downtown, but would also connect Downtown’s hotels with the State Fairgrounds. This car-free connection has the possibility of driving significant revenue to the Convention Center hotels, as well as removing many commuter cars from the road each day.
Alternative Route
Shown on this map in dotted lines is an alternative route, running along surface streets to Downtown. This route avoids the warehouse entanglements at 5th Avenue, in exchange for street running.
This route avoids conflicts with warehouses and freight rail traffic, at the cost of street running. Lack of a dedicated right-of-way will inevitably result in service delays, especially if bad drivers park on the trolley tracks.
The proposed alternate path results in street running along Eleventh Avenue, with a transit stop at the Fairgrounds.
The trolley would run in dedicated curb-protected tracks on High Street and on 4th Street in a one-way loop, providing protection to bike lanes along the route. On Broad Street, the trolley would make use of the LinkUS BRT stations and lanes, and would of course include a stop at the Statehouse.
However, this alternative should only be considered if the 5th Avenue warehouse obstacle is insurmountable. Street running results in lower quality of service, is more expensive to build, and exposes the passengers to delays from bad drivers.
- Ohio Railway Museum Line
- This is the default route, running from the Ohio Railway Museum in Worthington to the Greater Columbus Convention Center along dedicated rail right-of-way.
- Alternate Route
- This route avoids the warehouses and freight trafic south of 5th by exiting the rail right-of-way at the State Fairgrounds. It runs in mixed traffic along 11th, and then in a curb-protected dedicated lane down High Street, possibly as protection for a bike lane. At the Statehouse, the tram turns onto Broad, running in the BRT lanes, before turning north on 4th Street, where a curb-protected tram lane serves as buffer for a bikeway.
Construction
- Lincoln Grade Crossing
- The Lincoln Avenue grade crossing will need to accommodate a fourth track.
- New Morse Rd. Bridge
- The existing single-track Conrail bridge over Morse Road will need to be suplemented by a new bridge for Conrail tracks, preferably supporting two tracks.
- E. Cooke Rd. Grade Crossing
- The E. Cooke Road crossing will need to support additional tracks.
- New E. Cooke Rd. Bridge
- The Cooke Road bridges will require a supplemental bridge for the relocated Conrail lines.
- New North Broadway Bridge
- The North Broadway bridges will need to be supplemented with a new bridge for the relocated Conrail lines.
- Weber Rd. Grade Crosing
- The Weber Road crossing will need to be upgraded to support additional tracks. Alternately, this crossing can be turned into a road underpass to allow continuous traffic under the tracks.
- New Hudson St. Bridge
- The existing four tracks' worth of bridges will require a fifth track's worth of bridge to support the relocated Conrail tracks.
- Fairgrounds Underpass
- Running the tram line into the Fairgrounds from the west side of the tracks would require construction of a ramp down from the rail embankment to grade level, a new retaining wall, a tunnel under the Conrail tracks, and new tracks to be laid under the Norfolk Southern tracks' viaduct into the Fairgrounds.
