Indiana and Ohio Railway


The Indiana and Ohio Railway is an American railroad that operates of track in Ohio, southern Michigan, and parts of southeastern Indiana. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming, who acquired the railroad in the 2012 purchase of RailAmerica. The Indiana and Ohio Railroad was formed in 1978 to operate a branch between Valley Junction, Ohio and Brookville, Indiana. The IORY's original line, acquired in 1985, connected Mason and Monroe, Ohio. The IORY set up a tourist operation known as the Indiana and Ohio Scenic Railway which operated over this line. The tourist train still operates out of Lebanon, Ohio under the ownership of the Cincinnati Railway Company under the name Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad. Another line, acquired in 1986, runs from Norwood to Brecon, Ohio. In 1991, the former DT&I between Washington Court House, Ohio and Springfield, Ohio came into the system via a designated operator agreement with the West Central Ohio Port Authority. The system expanded north into Michigan in 1997 when it acquired the remainder of the former DT&I mainline between Diann, Michigan and Springfield, Ohio. In 1994, it acquired two lines from Conrail in Springfield, Ohio: one between Springfield and Bellefontaine; and one between Springfield and Mechanicsburg. The Indiana and Ohio Central Railroad was the designated owner of these two lines until 2004. One of the I&O's major events took place in 1996 when it was acquired by RailTex. In 2000 RailTex was absorbed by RailAmerica and in 2004 the I&O absorbed the Indiana and Ohio Central Railroad. Genesee & Wyoming acquired RailAmerica in December 2012.
The railroad's traffic comes mainly from grain, lumber products, metals, and chemical products. The IORY hauled around 62,000 carloads in 2008.