that day, under a contract for a perpetual lease" to the M&C. The Baltimore Short Line Railway was chartered in 1870 to build from Warren's Station (east of Athens) 30 miles to Belpre. It opened on November 15, 1874. It was built to afford lower operating and maintenance costs as well as a shorter route to Belpre. This line followed the Hocking River through Canaanville, Guysville and Stewart. It went through Coolville Station, Torch and Belpre. This became the mainline route of the M&C and later the B&O. In December 1876, service on the "Old Line" from Warren's Station to a connection with the old Union Railroad at Scott's Landing was discontinued. It duplicated the Baltimore Short Line and was considered dangerous, steep and difficult to maintain, as it had many trestles and tunnels. The Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad became the Cincinnati, Washington and Baltimore Railroad on February 16, 1883. On December 20, 1889 the C.W.&B. became The Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad. The Marietta Mineral Railway was incorporated in February 1882 to restore operations on the "old line between Scott's Landing (Moore's Junction) and Big Run, northeast of Warren's. In October of 1884 trains were put into operation between Flemming Station and Marietta. This constituted 7 miles of the old line to Moore's Junction and three miles of the old Union line to Marietta. The remaining 15 miles to Big Run was put into operation in June 1885."This section was known for its many accidents. The name was changed to the Marietta, Columbus and Cleveland Railroad (MC&C) in December 1900 and operated to about 1917. The east end operated as the Marietta and Vincent Railroad Company until abandoned in 1924. The rest of the line from Canaanville westward was acquired and operated for many years by B&O Railroad. The section from eastern Vinton County to Belpre was abandoned in the 1980s and the right-of-way sold off. Today, the portion from Mineral, Ohio to the end of the now-operating line south of Zaleski, Ohio is the Moonville Rail-Trail. William P. Cutler was an important figure in the development of the M&C. He also was a backer of the Union Railroad and the Marietta Mineral, among other local railroads. Cutler served as General Manager and as President of the M&C for many years. References Defunct Ohio railroads History of Cincinnati Rail transportation in Cincinnati Marietta, Ohio Predecessors of the Baltimore and