Excursions

Amusement Parks

There were a number of popular excursion services, many of them to amusement parks. In the summers there was a flat fare rate from anywhere on the line to Chippewa Lake Park.1 Other amusement parks on entertainment venues included Puritas Springs, which had opened in 1900, known for thirty acres of elegant pavilions, a grand ballroom, and its “health-giving waters,” which visitors would bring gallon jugs to fill with. Also on the line were Seccaium Park in Crawford County, and Casino Park and Fleming Falls in and around Mansfield.2 In many ways the interurban system was built specifically to connect people to these parks, resulting in these excursions being a major source of profit for the line. At one point, the Southwestern System collaborated with their long-time rival-of-sorts, the Lakeshore Electric Railway, and tickets could be purchased that could, with a transfer, get the rider to Cedar Point.3

Excursion ticket purchased from Seville to Chippewa Lake. August 27, 1925. From Author’s Collection
Back of excursion ticket. Aug 27, 1925. From Author’s Collection

Cleveland

There were a couple of notable Cleveland-focused excursions. Special streetcars would run directly to Cleveland Indians games, where they would layover to pick up the passengers at the end of the game for return. There were also special late-night trains to bring passengers home from the theaters, the service being called the “Theater Flyer” in advertisements.4

Advertisement for an excursion service to the Cleveland Grand Opera, April 25, 1924. Oberlin Review

Going Further

Excursions went much further than Ohio, however. The multi-day Niagara Falls excursion was purchasable from any ticket office for $7.25 round trip, or $229.56 today. Further into vacation territory than excursion, this service would bring the ticket holder into Cleveland, to Buffalo via boat, which was operated by Buffalo Navigation Company, and from Buffalo to Niagara falls via the International Railway, another interurban.5

Going Higher

Excursions went higher, too. The Cleveland, Southwestern, and Columbus Railway would make great use of running directly to the Cleveland Airport later in its life. In May 28, 1928, as part of the interurban’s last ditch attempt at survival, a deal was struck between the Southwestern System and Stout Air Service in which tickets to Detroit could be purchased at Southwestern ticket offices in Ashland, Bucyrus, Crestline, Elyria, Galion, Mansfield, Medina, Oberlin, Wellington, and Wooster. These tickets would take the rider to the Cleveland airport, fly them to Detroit, and give them five hours to enjoy the city before making a return trip. There was also an excursion ticket sold directly to the airport in joint with aerial sightseeing  tours of Cleveland.6

Charter

  1. Wilcox, Max E. The Cleveland, Southwestern, & Columbus Railway Story. Vol. 1. 1 vols. Max E. Wilcox, Northern Ohio Railway Museum, 1951.
    ↩︎
  2. Christiansen, Harry. Northern Ohio’s Interurbans and Rapid Transit Railways. Berea Publishing Company, 1965. ↩︎
  3. Ibid. ↩︎
  4. Oberlin Review. “Cleveland, Southwestern, and Columbus R’wy Co.” November 30, 1910. https://cdm15963.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15963coll9/id/26661/rec/254.
    ↩︎
  5. Wilcox, Max E. The Cleveland, Southwestern, & Columbus Railway Story. Vol. 1. 1 vols. Max E. Wilcox, Northern Ohio Railway Museum, 1951. ↩︎
  6. Christiansen, Harry. Northern Ohio’s Interurbans and Rapid Transit Railways. Berea Publishing Company, 1965. ↩︎