In 1929, two adjacent Ohio interurbans (the Cincinnati Hamilton and Dayton, and the Indiana, Columbus and Eastern) combined with the Lima-Toledo to form the 323 mile long Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad to establish interurban service from Toledo to distant Cincinnati. A branch operated from Springfield to Ohio's capital Columbus.Keenan: ch. 2 and map. The corporate goal was to increase passenger business and particularly interurban freight business in this heavily industrialized part of Ohio. From 1929 to 1930, the C&LE borrowed heavily to rebuild track and purchase new passenger and freight equipment in order to provide high speed operation between its major cities of Toledo, Lima, Springfield, Dayton, and Cincinnati. Starting at 1930, the C&LE was successful and business increased particularly with freight shipments, but the collapsing national and local economy in the following years due to the Great Depression, numerous floods requiring very expensive track and facility reconstruction, competition from newly paved state highways carrying growing automobile and truck competition steadily reduced revenue and forced C&LE abandonment in 1937. This was the last year that the Interurban Bridge saw rail traffic.Keegan: ch 6 On June 19, 1972, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
