HV: Hocking Valley Railroad

The original segment of the Hocking Valley Railroad was built between Columbus and Athens, OH. Construction started on April 14, 1864 as the Mineral Rail Road to transport coal. Brick, salt and iron were also important commodities that it hauled out of the hills of southern Ohio.. Subsequent corporate entities built routes from Columbus to Toledo and from Logan to Gallipolis. By 1899 it was the Hocking Valley Railway, and it connected Lake Erie with the Ohio River with various branches into the hills of Southern Ohio. In May 1930, it was merged into the C&O. The C&O merged with the B&O in 1972 to form the Chessie System. The line through Nelsonville was abandoned by Chessie in the early 1980s. [HVSRY-about, Ed's Corner]

The following information is from the 2005 SPV Map. The segment from Logan to the river is abandoned. The segment from Logan to Nelsonville is now owned by the Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad, and the segment between Nelsonville and Athens is abandoned. The segment north of Logan to Columbus is operated by the Indiana & Ohio Central Railroad, a RailAmerica subsidary. The segment from Columbus through Marion and Fostoria to Toledo is still owned by CSX.

But Genesee & Wyoming bought RailAmerica in 2012 and evidently consolodated the Indiana & Ohio and Indiana & Ohio Central as IORY.

Much more history is available in Ed's Corner.

Map from ColumbusRailroad,  cropped

Update:
Kathee Morey posted sixteen photos with the comment: "Hocking Valley Railway in Ohio."

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The Hocking Valley Railway extending from the Lake Erie port of Toledo through Columbus, and on to the Ohio River port of Pomeroy. Hauling coal was its main business. A connection to Chicago was available via the Erie Railroad at Marion. .In March 1910, the control of the Hocking Valley was acquired by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway to give it an outlet to the Great Lakes, via Toledo....In April 1930, the Hocking Valley was merged with the C&O. [SteamLocomotive]

My pictures: depot and yard

When Jeff Armentrout visited, there the C&O 5833 engine was down by the depot.