Page 25 - NYS_ESS_07-2024

The goal from the beginning was to branch East and West, Multiple route surveys were made in and across the valley
in a straight line, and slice across the highest points along the during 1853 and 1854 by Hosea Paul and his two sons. Hosea
route. This would create a railroad with very large radii, if any, was the Summit County, Ohio surveyor from 1857-1870.
and keep the grade of the railroad to a minimum. Survey crews After his death his son, Robert took over as County surveyor.
were sent out in October of 1852 searching for the best route The family ties ran deep as other family members became other
East to Pennsylvania. Over 600 miles were surveyed, extending notable public officials. The records of the Paul Brothers are
as far as 75 miles into Pennsylvania, before a preferred route now housed in 85 containers at the Western Reserve Historical
was chosen. This route, East from Hudson, then Northeast Society somewhere hiding the handwritten field notes of the
through Kinsman, would eventually connect to the New York Valley routes. The chosen route was the one with the straightest
and Erie Railroad through Meadville, Pennsylvania. Once the path and the gentlest slope. The route between Hudson and
route was selected, the right of way was voluntarily donated Tiffin was measured at 93.84 miles and 87 percent of the
and secured. The construction consisted of removing 18 inches proposed route was straight. The maximum grade was also 39.6
of topsoil and replacing it with ballast stone from a quarry 12 feet per mile with the exception of the valley where it maxed
miles East of Hudson. The bridges and culverts were started all out at 43.88 feet per mile. For decades this mysterious and
being along a precisely laid out alignment where 85 percent of lost route was thought to be near the big oxbow along Salt
the 55.3 miles were straight and where a maximum grade did Run off Truxell Road. A curious mound was discovered there
not exceed 39.6 feet per mile. The work on the Railroad East around 1965 and thought to be the spot. Further studies were
from Hudson, through Aurora, Mantua and into Kinsman recently done however, revealing the true route, and bringing
was nearly complete when financial disaster hit, and all work in advanced technologies to prove the theory.
was stopped. Although the railroad ties were delivered, not a During the work of his final thesis project at Summit Metro
single piece of iron rail was laid. Only the initial grading and Parks Deep Lock Quarry, the author discovered a topographical
infrastructure happened, most of which can still be seen today, anomaly using aerial lidar (light detection and ranging) data. An
that is if you know where to look. old, abandoned railroad popped out on his map after creating
a multidirectional hillshade with GIS software. The author
then had an idea to use the same process to trace the route
of the Clinton Line Extension Railroad in the National Park.
Fenicle, residing in Hudson, studied the 1856 map of Summit
County, ironically put together by Hosea Paul and showing the
approximate route of the railroad. His curiosity grew as he field
visited the multiple 1852 Roman arch bridges still in existence
in and around Hudson, as well as clearly visible raised railroad
beds and bridge abutments. The arch bridges were designed and
built for two sets of tracks, although the railbed was built for a
single track with design constraints of 20.5 feet wide beds with
15-foot embankments. The author focused inside the National
3DEP classified Lidar data with Multidirectional Hillshade showing hidden railroad
bed from 1852. Courtesy of the author. Park in Boston Township Lot 27 near the intersection of the
The same story goes for the Clinton Line Extension Railroad. railroad and the current Quick Road. It is interesting to note
Also centered in Hudson, this Railroad also had many routes that nearby lot 25, 31 and 33 were absorbed by the railroad as
surveyed, starting in July of 1853. Excitement of the potential it was common to buy entire farms before the alignment was
benefits of the railroad brought politics into play, but the determined and then use them for investments if they were
railroad leaders trusted their surveyors with the best, and most not chosen. Using his decades of surveying and engineering
cost-effective path. This eliminated a route through Peninsula expertise, Fenicle quickly identified the original route laid out
and Cuyahoga Falls and gave way for one southwest from by surveyor Hosea Paul in 1853. To the naked eye there is almost
Hudson, across the Cuyahoga Valley, North of Medina, and nothing to be seen, however, remove all the trees and vegetation
straight West to Tiffin where it would connect to the Tiffin from the surveyed area and the construction of the railroad bed
and Fort Wayne Railroad. The route for the Clinton Line jumps out like a sore thumb.
Extension would have been simple if it wouldn’t had been
for the Cuyahoga Valley and all of its streams and contours. continued on page 24
EMPIRE STATE SURVEYOR / VOL. 60 • NO 4 2024 • JULY/AUGUST 23