Other Articles Clipping from Hamilton Daily News Journal, Thu, May 27, 1971.
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Mysterious Men Responsible For Building LCD, Other Midwest RailroadsMysterious men were respon-| M. V. McCracken headed W.|erating and selling railroads in11880s? Circumstantial evidence|known as the Middletown j€racken was vice president and| The 1880 manual listed Mc-'the Louisville, Hardinsburg sible for planning and financing V. McCracken Si Co., 42 Wall Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and points to the Vanderbilts as hav-iSouthwestern). [general manager of the Toledo,slacken as president and gen-Western Railroad; the Chicago,the Louisville, Cincinnati Day-, St., New York City, a firm ap- Kentucky during the period ing at least an “interest” in the! In August, 1886, Charles F.| Saginaw Muskegon Railway, eri*l'manager; George A. Evans Union City Cincinnati Railton Railroad, a 13 - mile line pearing on numerous railroad when the Louisville. Cincinnati McCracken - Fawcett team. jGunckel of Middletown was rewhich once connected Hamil- reports as “financial agent.” Dayton was coming into be- j 2. Were they attempting to ported to be president, ton and Middletown.The top men were W. V. Mc-McCracken’s investment house also listed a Salina, Kansas, ad Cracken and Colonel John C. dress. However, historians inFawcett. Associated with Me-j that city report no trace of theCracken and Fawcett in a num-,man or the office, ber of rail ventures were Jo- { Fawcett lived in Louisville,seph P. Pennington, George A.|Ky. much of the time.Evans, George T. Evans, Geo- j McCracken, Fawcett and their rge C. Evans, J. R. McCracken colleagues were involved in fin-and Austin Gallagher. ancing, building, promoting, oping. ! combine various small rail- { Name DirectorsMany Questions roads into a new national net-! Sept. 24. 1888, a director’sThere are many unanswered work? For example, it would j meeting was held in Madison, questions about these railroad have been possible to connect;Ind., and ^0^in C. Fawcett ofdevelopers. They include the fol- the Louisville. Cincinnati Pay-1 Loui?yiUf' w.?a electedlowing: ~1. Were they acting in their own interests or were they “fronting” for one of the major railroad entrepreneurs of the« ,. w .... _ . president. Other officers wereton and the Louisville, St. Louts | (juneite! of Middletown, vice Texas.3. Were they trying to make a quick profit by building small roads with “big names” which would be sought by existing companies? The LCD was promoted as a rival for the Cinpresident; and W. V. McCrack en, New York City, secretary and treasurer. Richard P. Rifen-berick of Cincinnati, a long-time employe of the CHD. was named agent in charge of letting and construction. H. T. Northcinnati, Hamilton Dayton; rup was appointed chief engi Railroad in this area. However,! n€ersoon after itw»shult the LCDi Tbe lcD directorate includ was sold to the CHD at a prof ;,d Fawcett McCracken, Joseph* P. Penninghton, George A. Ev-In most cases McCracken was anSf George C. Evans, Austin given the contract to build the Gallagher, J. K. McCracken, raiiroads. The usual rate was Owries A Korbly chaHes E. $20,000 per finished mile with j Golaiy and James P. Helm, much of the money coming from At the same time many of city and county governments as the9e mea were officers and di.well as private investors.Sublet WorkMcCracken would sublet the construction work to local com panics, usually in sections of two or three miles.PICTURED ABOVE IS A PORTION OF THE LC I) tracks at Sheeley’i (or Sheley’s) Grove, near tbe present location of Headgates Road. The photo, taken about 1898, is from the collection of George Cummins, who conducts the “Remember When” feature daily in the Jour-nai-News.yard of completed right-of-way. At 15 cents a yard and 1.780 yards in a mile, a subcontractor would receive $264 a mile.The Louisville, Cincinnati Si Dayton Railway Co. was incorporated in Indiana Feb. 27, 1886. The Indiana company was con snlidated with the Middletown and State Line Railway (alsoo oc m;ia von.nncir,Int„d of New York as vic€ president; road; and the Louisville Madi-hv tJJos(VPh P- Pennington of New son Cincinnati Railroad,by McCracken Co. It also bp- York as assistant The last road (LMC) was m-came a portion of the Grand and K McCracken as UJ’. in Januar,Trunk system urer. land “purchased the franchise,Also connected with the TS LCD Mentioned and right of way of the Louis-M were George T. Evans and The 1889 manual also listed, ville, Cincinnati Dayton” be-Joseph P. Pennington. [Fawcett as president and Jo- tween Jeffersonville and Cincin-Kentucky Road seph P. Pennington as secre- nati, according to the 1891 Poor’sThe LCD promoters also tai7 °f the Louisville. Cincin- Manual, were involved in the Louisville, nati Dayton Railroad. The “This company is said to be St. Louis Texas Railway Co., entry explained that the road in the interest of the ‘Big Four”*which was chartered Jan. 13, planned to build a 100 - mile (Vanderbilt’s New York Cen-1882. Construction did not begin line from Aurora, Ind., to Jef- tral), according to the manual, until Nov. 16, 1886, after work! fersonville, Ind. It mentioned Louisville Resident had started on the LCD. that the original section (Ham- John C. Fawcett was a resf-It was supposed to be a 142- i^on - to - Middletown) had been dont of Louisville, Ky., frommile line between Henderson and'sold the Cincinnati. Hamil 1882 through 1897. according to Louisville, Ky A total of 1214 10,1 * Dayton Railroad after entries in Louisville city direc-miles (from Henderson to West construction. jtories. In most years there wasPoint Ky ) was completed by Fawcett was listed as general a business address and a resi-Jan. 1, 1889, but the remaining manaSor of the Paris* George- dence listed Tor Fawcett, link was not opened until April town Frankfort Railroad in He is listed variously as a 1. 1905, because of financial dif-!the im Louisville directory.Railroad contractor; general fieUlties ;This was a colorful company, mar ager of the Paris. George-The road was acquired by the *l‘‘l 7' out of businpss in|‘°*n.. * Jr,ahnktIort. Railr0ad:t 11 v wt u ii r» i j March, 1970. president of the Louisville, Cm-in lhsw' AlthnueTkn'iwn as'‘‘Th R was Pr°]ect°d as a railroad cinnati Dayton; and president T,™“'1^*^ ea*twa«i Frank-!of the Louisville, St. Louis reached that sta e never;fort. the Kentucky capital, into Texas Railway, reacneo mat state. the Virginia coal fields. , The 1S98 directory reportedin fact, records in LN ar-, jts R,arne was shortened to the his former home at 1327 Second chives indicate McCracken on-ce Frankifort Cincinnati Rail-St., Louisville, as vacant,said “the Louisville, St. Louis road, but in recent years it was Records at Louisville’s largest Texas didn t start from Lou- known as the “Bourbon Line” cemetery, Cave Hill, do not in*isV|^’ ,neVer reacaed St. Louis because its traffic was limited elude a burial record of Faw-and had no intention of going to to serving bourbon distilleries oett.Texas•,, in the Frankfort area. I The last references in rail pub-“Poor’s Manual of Railroads The FC was a 41 - mile road lications to McCracken, Faw-. 1888” lists W. V. McCracken between Frankfort and Paris, cett. Pennington and the othersCo. is reported to have built 32 Co., New York City, as the fi j It never reached Cincinnati nor were in 1895 when McCrackenmiles of the 168 - mile roadjnancial agent for the road. J.jthe Virginia coal fields. Iwas listed as president of thefrom Toledo to Milan, Ann Ar c. Fawcett was president; W.i Other Companies Louisville, St. Louis Texas,bor. South Lyon. Hamburg, v. McCracken was vice presi | In the 1890s the IiCD pro-! then in receivership as a result Howell. Durand, Owosso. Almajfjcnt and general manager; and moters - financiers were asso- of the financial panic of 1693, and Mount Pleasant, Mich. 'George C. Evans of New York dated with the Carolina, Cum-; The fate of these men remains From 1686 through 1689, Me-J City was a director.rectors of other railroads in Michigan, Indiana and Kentuc ky.Michigan Ventures In 1885 and 1896 W. V. McCracken was vice president andThe subcontractors on the George A. Evans was a direc LCD were paid 15 cents per tor of the Toledo, Ann Arbor andNorthern Michigan Railroad wnich is now a part of the Grand Trunk Railroad. McCracken jberland Si Chicago Railway;,a mystery.
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