50 Years of BY STEVE BARRY/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR EXCEPT AS NOTED
AMERICA’S SECOND-OLDEST Amusement park is also home to one of the more in- teresting and obscure live steam nar- row gauge railroad operations. In oper- ation since 1870, Cedar Point (known as the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World” amongst enthusiasts) is located on 364 acres on a Lake Erie peninsula just north of Sandusky, Ohio.
The Cedar Point & Lake Erie
While a number of miniature rail- ways had operated for the enjoyment of children in the midway area over the years, it wasn’t until the end of the 1950s that plans for a steam-powered railway would take shape. In 1959 George Roose and Emile Legros as- sumed the management of Cedar Point and began discussing upgrades to the popular park. One of the ideas was the construction of a real steam-powered narrow gauge line circling the park. Roose was inspired by the popular steam trains he observed running at Disneyland in 1959.
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The Cedar Point & Lake Erie Rail- road came one step closer to reality when Roose purchased the 1902 0-4-4 Maud L. in 1961. By the following year, Lemon had proposed plans to build a 1.6-mile narrow gauge railroad and have it ready for passengers the follow- ing season. Construction began in Feb- ruary 1963, with bulldozers clearing a path through the woods. Track and bridges were constructed by local con- tractors, who battled through the win- ter weather to keep the project on schedule. The project was three weeks behind at the beginning of April, but the entire main line was completed by the end of the month. Rolling stock began to arrive in mid- April 1963, including a second steam locomotive Albert, a 1911 2-6-0 Daven- port. A reproduction Civil War era sta- tion was constructed near the Funway to serve as the gateway for the CP&LE. Everything was coming together for Ohio’s newest railroad.
Area railroad officials helped cele-
brate the completion of the CP&LE main line with a special ceremony on May 25, 1963. The Pennsylvania Rail- road sent passenger manager C.S. Herr and passenger representative Dorcey D. Hade to drive gilded spikes. General manager of the Nickel Plate Road Her- bert P. Thinness drove home an appro- priately nickel plated spike. New York Central’s assistant vice president James R. Sullivan took a few swings at the golden spike (provided by none oth- er than Tiffany’s of New York) before handing the maul to Eugene Lemon, the vice president and general manag- er of Cedar Point to complete the job. Despite a few hiccups on opening day
(Maud L. derailed her pony truck just prior to the opening ceremonies), the CP&LE carried nearly a quarter mil- lion passengers in its first season. A third locomotive, Vulcan No. 22, was added to the roster. Two old NKP wood- en cabooses were purchased and placed on narrow gauge trucks, but were re- tired after a couple of seasons due to
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