Hocking Valley Railway

Hocking Valley Railway

1903 Hocking Valley Railway Map
Reporting mark	HV
Dates of operation	1899–1930
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Hocking Valley Railway (reporting mark HV) was a railroad in the U.S. state of Ohio, with a main line from Toledo to Athens and Pomeroy via Columbus. It also had several branches to the coal mines of the Hocking Valley near Athens. The company became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway system in 1910, and the line between Toledo and Columbus continues to see trains as CSX Transportation's Columbus Subdivision. Portions of the main line south of Columbus are now operated by the Indiana and Ohio Railway and Hocking Valley Scenic Railway.

At the end of 1925, HV operated 349 miles of road on 881 miles of track; that year it reported 2614 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 25 million passenger-miles.

The earliest predecessor of the Hocking Valley was the Mineral Railroad, incorporated in April 1864 to build from Athens in the rich Hocking Valley to Columbus. The company changed its name to the Columbus and Hocking Valley Railroad in June 1867, shortly after construction began at Columbus, and the line opened for business from Columbus to Lancaster on January 20, 1869, Logan on August 28, 1869, Nelsonville on September 17, 1869, and Athens on July 25, 1870. The first branch, from Logan east to New Straitsville, was completed in January 1871, and the railroad completed a cutoff from Nelsonville north alongside Monday Creek to the Straitsville Branch in 1880. Several more branches reached additional mines in the Logan-Nelsonville area, including along Snow Fork (initially incorporated in July 1875 as the Snow Fork Valley Railroad) to Orbiston (1877), Murray City (1882), and Coalgate (1893), and along Brush Fork to New Pittsburg (1877-78).