Railroad Street

10/02/2024

Here is a sneak peek from my upcoming documentary covering an in-depth look at the Cleveland and Eastern Interurban Railway's history. In this segment, C&E historian Dan Rager discusses the catastrophic Gates Mills car barn fire, which destroyed all of the railroad's equipment not even a year after beginning full operations.

29/10/2023

Check out my latest documentary on the Terminal Tower!

Support Railroad Street on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/railroadstreetTip Jar: https://ko-fi.com/railroadstreetmediaWorks Cited: Harwood, Herbert H. Invi...

10/08/2023

Today, I was in downtown Cleveland checking out one of the most hidden features of the Terminal Tower. When the Cleveland Union Terminal was being constructed in the 1920s, the Van Sweringen brothers (developers of the building and the city of Shaker Heights) had a 10-room multilevel suite built on the 12th through 14th floors of the terminal. It was their home away from home, and as you can see by the included photos, it’s very luxurious. Only five rooms from the suite still exist to this day and are off limits to the general public.

30/06/2023

My latest video about the Detroit-Superior Bridge’s streetcar level is now live. Go check it out!

Cleveland had a "subway" of sorts that allowed streetcars to access the lower deck of the Detroit-Superior Bridge (Veterans Memorial Bridge) between 1917 and...

20/06/2023

This is the abandoned streetcar level of the Detroit-Superior bridge in downtown Cleveland. On June 23-24th, Cuyahoga County will be reopening it to the public for self-guided tours. Here’s a sneak peek of the sights you’ll see when you visit. For more info visit this website: https://www.veteransmemorialbridge.org/ Cuyahoga County

18/11/2022

The Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Company was by far the premier passenger and package freight steamship line of the Great Lakes from the mid-to-late 19th and 20th century. At their peak, they operated six paddle wheel boats on three of the Great Lakes. Besides Detroit and Cleveland, you could travel to other destinations like the picturesque Mackinac Island, Toledo, Put-in-Bay, and Buffalo. In my latest video we cover the history of the D&C and their exquisite vessels.

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27/07/2022

A Broadway and Newburgh Street Railroad Electric Motor Car in the early 1890s. Image from the Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection.

30/06/2022

Cleveland once had a streetcar system comprising of nearly 300 miles of track! In my newest YouTube video, I take a look at the rise and fall of Cleveland's streetcar system. Special thanks to the Northern Ohio Railway Museum for their hospitality! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWD6o7tYnrQ&t=19s

Streetcars were once prevalent in downtown Cleveland and most other major U.S. cities. This convenient and cheap form of public transportation made it easy f...

30/05/2022

Shaker Rapid #12 at the Northern Ohio Railway Museum in Seville, Ohio. This Center Entrance streetcar was originally built by the Kuhlman Company in 1914 for the Cleveland Railway Co. as #1212. It was leased in the 1920s to the Cleveland Interurban Railroad (Shaker Heights Rapid Transit) and purchased by them in 1940. Car #12 is best known for the many railroad fan trips it pulled in the 1960s and 1970s.

08/05/2022

On October 22, 1929, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad car ferry S.S. Milwaukee car ferry departed from its namesake city into a fierce Lake Michigan gale. It was supposed to deliver 25 rail cars cross lake at Grand Haven, MI, but never reached its destination. The ship sank nearly 5 hours after its departure and none of the 47 crew members onboard survived. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_yQ86vBG0E

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03/04/2022

Here’s a view of one of Cleveland’s Scherzer Rolling Lift bridges built in 1907 for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (bridge 464). Their base and fixed track resembles a “rocking chair base,” as this photo clearly illustrates.

10/02/2022

Hulett Unloaders since their creation in 1898 revolutionized the handling of iron ore by reducing labor costs and unloading times of lake boats. Their unique look and awkward movements were described as a "grasshopper" leg or "dinosaur" eating. By the early 1990s Huletts were rendered obsolete due to technological advancements in the processing, shipping, and offloading of iron ore. All have been scrapped except for two dismantled ones on Cleveland's Whiskey Island. Find out more behind the history of Huletts in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2B-V2n4b34&t=973s

Hulett Unloaders since its creation in 1898 revolutionized the handling of iron ore by reducing labor costs and unloading times of lake boats. Their unique l...

11/01/2022

Make sure you check out my latest video about the grounding of Canadian Pacific Railway's Princess May at Sentinel Island in Juneau, Alaska. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wgak-70VmM

On August 5, 1910, Canadian Pacific Railway's Princess May grounded on a hidden reef off of Sentinel Island in Juneau, Alaska. When the tide dropped it left ...

24/12/2021

Check out my latest video about the loss of the Pere Marquette 18 Car Ferry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDIHU4VXCRk

The Pere Marquette 18 was a Railroad Car Ferry that operated on Lake Michigan for the Pere Marquette Railway. She was the flagship of their fleet of car ferr...

16/12/2021

The Pere Marquette 17 shortly before its launch at the American Ship Building Company's yard in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo from the Great Lakes Maritime Collection, Alpena County Library.