Cincinnati Southern Railway - Yes, There is Such a Thing!

The train crossing the bridge on the front of this post card belongs to the Cincinnati Southern Railway. It is crossing the highest bridge in Kentucky. The Cincinnati Southern is a very unique railroad in as much as it is owned by a city. This website gives a concise history of the Railway: http://cincinnatisouthernrailway.org/ The City of Cincinnati is the only municipality in the country to own an interstate railroad. An Ohio law enabling the creation of the Cincinnati Southern Railway was enacted on May 4, 1869. Cincinnati voters adopted a resolution designating Chattanooga as the southern terminus one month later. Workmen spiked the last rail in place on December 10, 1879. The first freight train completed the route from Cincinnati to Chattanooga on February 21, 1880. The first passenger train followed on March 8. Thus began an innovative, visionary and complex commercial enterprise intended, from its first considerations in 1835, to expand the economy of Cincinnati. The enterprise continues today, under a long-term lease with Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP), generating revenue annually for capital infrastructure improvements and repair throughout the City of Cincinnati. The bridge over which the train is crossing is described well in this website: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/high-bridge-ky/ High Bridge opened as a part of the Cincinnati Southern Railway in 1877 and soared at a height of 275 feet and 1,125 feet long. It is the first cantilever bridge constructed in the United States. High Bridge was officially dedicated in 1879. Many people gathered for the dedication in hopes of seeing then President Rutherford B. Hayes, who was in attendance. Notably, also in attendance was General William Tecumseh Sherman. Over a century later and the bridge continues to stand as one of the tallest and most impressive in Kentucky. At the time it was built, High Bridge was the tallest bridge above a navigable waterway in North America and the tallest railroad bridge in the world until the early 1900s. In 1911, a new bridge was built around the existing one and then in 1929 an additional set of tracks was built to accommodate increased railroad traffic and the original limestone towers were removed.

The post card is an excellent example of a linen post card. In my opinion the Metrocraft Company is second only to Curt Otto Teich in the technique of making linen post cards. They existed in Everett, Massachusetts from 1939 to 1984. The company was a major printer of linen and photochrome postcards displaying a variety of subjects. They also printed postcards for many other publishers. A good number of Metrocraft’s early photochrome postcards retained the use of retouchers that had worked on their linens. These cards have a very distinct look before they went over to a completely uniform photographic means of natural color reproduction. I am very sad about what someone did to the back of the post card in order to put it into an album. Someday I will try to remove the black album paper from the post card!!