Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad Company collection

Collection – Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-0177

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The Lakeside and Marblehead (L&M) Railroad Company collection primarily consists of correspondence between the company and various affiliates, as well as government and legal documents, ranging from 1909-1958.

Dates

Creation: 1909–1958, undated

Extent

1.15 Cubic Feet (2 legal boxes, 1 half-legal box)

Creator

Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad Company (Organization)

Scope and Contents

The Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad Company collection consists of 1.25 linear feet of materials, dating from 1909–1958. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence between Lakeside and Marblehead and various affiliates, including the railroad trade groups Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line Railroad Association. Further, there is a small amount of communication from other railroad companies such as the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and the New York Central Railroad. Additional correspondence features parent company Kelley Island Lime and Transport, as well as state and federal government agencies and departments. Of particular interest is the paperwork related to the World War II era War Manpower Commission, which includes light correspondence and work release applications.

A number of legal documents appear in the collection, the majority of which were generated by the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The included dockets and orders cover a variety of issues related to the operation of rail systems within the United States in general. A number of the cases involve Lakeside and Marblehead directly, though all had an impact on the operations of the company. Additionally, there are a small amount of materials related to the financials of the railroad and the Kelley Island Lime and Transport Company, particularly those related to state and federal taxes.

Although the collection does not provide a great deal of information regarding specifics of the daily operations of the Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad, it does provide some information regarding the inner workings of the company and is also wonderful overview of the operations of regional rail systems throughout the United States. This collection is of great use to those researching 20th century railroad operations and legal matters.

Biographical / Historical

Founded in 1886, the Lakeside and Marblehead (L&M) Railroad served Ohio's Marblehead Peninsula until the late 1970s. This seven-mile long line primarily hauled limestone quarried in the area, although the railroad did carry some passengers until 1930. The road extended from Danbury, where it met up with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (later part of the New York Central System), to a point near the end of the peninsula at Marblehead.

The Lakeside and Marblehead, which succeeded the Cleveland, Toledo and Lakeside Railway, was initially promoted locally by civil engineer Edgar H. Brennen, and was bought by a Massachusetts syndicate led by Hiram A. Blood in 1886. Construction was completed that year, and the line came into operation in January of 1887. The railroad came under the ownership of the Kelley Island Lime & Transport Company in 1891, and would be controlled by either this company or its successors for the remainder of its time in service.

The Lakeside and Marblehead, in addition to connecting with the New York Central, also cooperated with the Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway (TPC&L), an electrified interurban line, beginning in 1905. This cooperation lasted until the TPC&L tracks on the peninsula were abandoned in 1940.

The Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad ended service as a common carrier in 1964. It then became a private industrial railroad, operated solely to support the operations of Standard Slag. It operated occasionally during this period, mainly for the benefit of customers for whom it was more convenient to receive shipments by rail. The last order carried by the Lakeside and Marblehead was transported in 1978, and the line and equipment were destroyed over the course of the 1990s.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Additional Description

Disposition of Originals

A small number of letters in the collection exist only as photocopies due to the fragility of the originals, which have been discarded.

Separated Materials

A small amount of materials that were donated along with the collection were forwarded to the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library at the St. Louis Mercantile Library in St. Louis, Missouri. These particular materials related to the Association for American Railroads and the American Short Line Railroad Association. They contained a more national focus than the remaining materials included in the Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad Collection.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad Company collection was obtained by the Center for Archival Collections in 1981 from representatives of the Standard Slag Company.

Processing Information

The collection was processed and finding aid prepared by graduate student Daniel Elkan and graduate student archival assistant Rebecca Denes in June 2013.