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Adena is located two miles north of U.S. Route 250, 14 miles west of Martins Ferry and is on The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad. This community was served by
only one railroad. The railroad came to Adena in 1890, with a branch built to Robyville in 1900. Adena was an agricultural community until the coming of the railroad. Then it began to boom.
By 1939, there was no handicap as the train schedules were so arranged to meet other lines for prompt movement of freight. Over 130 cars of coal were
handled in the Adena freight yards daily. The former yard located near the center of Adena on
Mill Street and is railroad milepost 192.8. Eleven million tons of coal passed through Eastern Ohio and ninety percent of it traveled through the Adena yards.
The Railway express agency operatedtransportation service twice daily to connect with express trains on the B & O and NYC railroads.
A branch line to Harrisville, Maynard, St. Clairsville, and Neffs produced much traffic.
Eastern Ohio is renowned to have the richest coal vein in the nation and the railways were a facilitating factor.
The Adena "wye" was a point at the interface of the Nickel Plate Railroads. The main portion of the railroad was coal transport.
The Adena area had seventeen deep coalmines and five strip mines. Coal trains ran loaded and the railroads transported raw coal to prep plants and finished coal
moves to markets in all directions. Coal wasn't the only type of trains that traveled through the once prosperous Adena.
Passenger trains made connections twice daily. Mail and freight trains passed through too.
Adena's railroad today is Wheeling & Lake Erie.
The old water tank was located left of the railroad crossing on the north side. It was removed when diesel engines took place
of the steam engines. The train station is are presently dismantled. It was located slightly behind the Adena Landmark Mill and was once a lively place in town. Most
of our population used to watch trains arrive and depart. Today, most of the tracks have been removed and trains no longer travel through Adena.
Railroad historians stay on track
Unbeknownst to Adena villagers, the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad Historical Society Iron Cross-Division connected by choosing the Adena Railroad yard as the meeting place.
The once industrious rail yard appeared desolate as the crew encircled quietly sharing their talents and dreams of keeping railroad history ephemeral. They came to Adena for one common interest, the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad.
Denny Snyder who engineered the meeting simulated the industry's revenue saying, "Nickelplate was the breadbasket of Adena coal tonnage, and coal, ore, and steel were the bread and butter." Denny conducted a tour of Adena, Dillonvale, Pine Valley, and some of the river lined railroads on this brisk November morning. The Iron Cross historians chose the Adena Railroad yard as the meeting place because of its central location. The former yard located near the center of Adena on Mill Street and is railroad milepost 192.8. Eleven million tons of coal passed through Eastern Ohio and ninety percent of it traveled through the Adena yards.
Eastern Ohio is renowned to have the richest coal vein in the nation and the railways were a facilitating factor. The Adena "wye" was a point at the interface of the Nickel Plate Railroads. The main portion of the railroad was coal transport. The Adena area had seventeen deep coalmines and five strip mines. Coal trains ran loaded and the railroads transported raw coal to prep plants and finished coal moves to markets in all directions. Coal wasn't the only type of trains that traveled through the once prosperous Adena. Passenger trains made connections twice daily. Mail and freight trains passed through too.
Snyder reported that the W. & L.E. opened the Adena Line in 1889 and operated it for nearly sixty (60) years. In late 1949, it merged with the NICKEL PLATE, which operated the line until early 1965. It then merged into Norfolk and Western (N & W). N & W operating until 1989, and later merged with the southern railway to form Norfolk and Southern. In order to gain the approval of Federal Regulators for the merger, they were ordered to dispose of some rail lines in their operating areas and Adena was one of them.
Today Wheeling and Lake Erie operate the Adena rails and property that were former rails now belong Harrison County. It was said that a grant for $400,000 was obtained to preserve these Adena trails via Ohio Rails and Trails.
The Iron Cross Division of W L & E Historical Society feel certain that history happened in rail yards like Adena. The group gathers to log statistical facts about the railroad industry and their members are "all ears." They visit once busy railways and hike along the tracks. These gentlemen enjoy hearing facts about the railroad and hope to preserve the history and memorabilia of the Wheeling and Lake Erie. For more information about the group, log onto: http://www.wlerwy.com/.
This information was obtained from
the book,"Our Town Adena," and the WL & E Historical Society. Some pictures courtesy of Ted & Joyce Figurski and Bud Moreland
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