While looking at historical maps on the old canals that once crossed Toledo Ohio, I came across a unique little railroad. What caught my eye was the name, “Swan Creek RR”, which I found on a Sanborn Insurance map. This appeared on the 1905 map and showed that the railroad hugged the North side of Swan Creek, servicing several industries. It was a nice, compact and busy looking little railroad. The name “Swan Creek” is known by anyone that knows anything about Toledo history. The confluence of Swan Creek and the Maumee River defined the city of Toledo early on. It was very captivating to see a railroad named after it and I had to find out more. With some research I found a couple versions of the history of this little railroad. From what I could piece together the Swan Creek Railroad actually ceased to exist after 1897 but yet it appears on this 1905 map. The following is a summary about the Swan Creek Railroad taken from the available sources to try and piece together the history of this little line.

The Swan Creek Railroad (SCRR) was first planned in 1875 by Conrad Huberich and Emil Richers. The enterprise met with substantial encouragement and construction was started in the spring of 1876. The SCRR was opened to traffic in August 1876. The line was started at Division street and ran along and near Swan Creek to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad (New York Central), Air Line Junction. The SCRR switch was just west of the Swan Creek Tower and veered North directly across from the tower. The tower most likely would have controlled access to this line. This location does beg the question, was the tower named because of the junction with the SCRR or the fact it was next to Swan creek?

Later the railroad was extended from the intersection of Bismarck to Hamilton street, where it connected with the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railroad which later became part of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western (Clover Leaf) and later the Nickle Plate Road. Thus the railroad was a private entity from 1875 until sometime in 1889 when the LS&MS purchased the entire capital stock. In 1897, the LS&MS leased the SCRR for “the term of corporate existence”. When the New York Central Railroad consolidated the LS&MS and other lines, the paper entity of the SCRR ceased to exist. It is probable that the Swan Creek Railroad operated independently with its own equipment and employees up until the LS&MS buyout of 1889. After that it may have operated in cooperation with the LS&MS but still retained a visual aspect of being its own entity. After 1897, there would be nothing with the label Swan Creek Railroad.

The customers of the SCRR were not small. Many industries resided on the banks of Swan Creek in the early days of Toledo. One of the more interesting would be the Huebner Brewing Company. The location at the corner of Hamilton and Division Streets had been a brewery since 1865. Started by Peter Lenk and named City Brewery, the location was very strategic with access to a navigable section of Swan Creek. It’s no wonder the Swan Creek Railroad started from this location and expanded both east and west from here. This made the transportation of raw materials and finished goods very easy and profitable. The original brewery comprised two five-story brick buildings, one for a brewhouse, and the other for storage and malt production. The facilities even included ice houses and the vaults for the storage of beer.

The brewery was just one of several businesses that were served by the Swan Creek Railroad. The area has many interesting and model worthy locations. If you prefer a more modern era, the line operated into the diesel era under the New York Central and Penn Central. I have not been able to find an exact date when service ended on the line, but the Swan Creek Tower was removed in the 1980s and until that time, the line was still showing on track diagrams that I have been able to find. If you know more specifics on this little line, please let me know!