The Columbus & Xenia Railroad was the first leading into or out of London. The company was chartered by a special act, passed March 12, 1844, but the road was not constructed until 1848 and 1849. The first passenger train passed over it February 20, 1850. Soon after this date, the members of the Legislature took an excursion over this road and the Little Miami from Columbus to Cincinnati and back. The Little Miami Company obtained a charter March 11, 1836. The two companies, November 30, 1853, entered into a contract of union, or partnership, by which the roads of both were operated as one line. The two companies leased, January 1, 1865, the Dayton & Western road, and purchased, the same year, the Dayton, Xenia & Belpre road from Xenia to Dayton. The partnership, or union, was dissolved November 30, 1868, and a contract of lease entered into by which the Little Miami Company leased, for ninrty-nine years, the Columbus & Xenia road, and the rights and interests of that company in the other roads, that had been leased or purchased by the two companies. The condition was the promise of the Little Miami Company to pay 7 per cent per annum on a capital of $1,786,200, and the interest on the funded debt.
The Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company, on December 1, 1869, leased of the Little Miami Company, its railroad, and its right to the Columbus & Xenia and other roads. At the time this railroad was built, the citizens of Madison County voted $20,000 toward its construction. The railroad company subsequently proposed to take from the county $14,000 of said stock, leaving the county with but $6,000, which was agreed to. The road passes through Madison County from Columbus, in a southwest direction, and runs through Jefferson, Deer Creek, Union, and the northwest corner of Paint Township. It has but two stations in this county, viz., London and Jefferson. Under its present management, it has been very prosperous, ranking as one of the leading railroads of Ohio.
The Columbus & Springfield Railroad Company was chartered February 16, 1840, but for some years nothing was done toward building a road. In June, 1851, a company was organized under this charter, at Springfield, and the road was completed from Springfield to London September 18, 1853. The road was known as the Springfield & London Railroad, and its length of track was nineteen miles. Madison County transferred the $6,000 that she had in the Columbus & Xenia road to the Springfield & London, with the object of assisting the latter. In 1854, the road was leased to the Mad River & Lake Erie, since called the Cincinnati, Cleveland & Lake Erie Railroad Company. The road was sold May 8, 1868, under a decree of the United States District Court, and bought by Jacob W. Pierce, of Boston, for $100,000. The Columbus, Springfield & Cincinnati Railroad was incorporated May 1, 1869, with a capital stock of $1,500,000, and Mr. Pierce transferred his purchase soon after to the new company. By an arrangement with the purchaser, the road was continued under the management of the Cincinnati. Sandusky & Cleveland Railroad Company, to which it was permanently leased July 1, 1870. It was subsequently completed to Columbus, and many citizens of Madison County subscribed certain amounts, to be paid on condition that the road would be finished by September 1, 1871; but it was not finished until December 19, 1871, and the money was never paid. On the 8th of March, 1881, the road was leased, for ninety-nine years, to the Indiana, Bloomington & Western Ohio Division Railway, the lease to begin May 1, 1881. It passes from east to west through Union and Fairfield Townships, having two stations in this county—London and Lilly Chapel. The business of this road, under the new management, has been constantly growing, while the track and rolling stock have been brought up to a first-class standard.
The Columbus, Piqua & Indiana Railroad was chartered February 23, 1849, and the first train passed over the road from Columbus to Urbana July 4, 1853. In a few months, the road was completed to Piqua. The Columbus, Piqua & Indiana Company becoming embarrassed, it was re-organized under the name of the Columbus & Indianapolis Railroad Company. The road was sold August 6, 1865, under an order of court, and subsequently transferred by deed to the re-organized company. This was one of the several roads which, consolidated, made the line generally known as the Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central Railroad In 1869, the road was leased to the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company, under whose management it has since been operated. It runs across the northeastern corner of this county, passing through Plain City on its route, thus affording a good shipping-point for that portion of Madison County. The $6,000 which the county had in the Springfield & London Railroad was transferred to the Columbus, Piqua & Indiana, where it still remains. This was all the assistance that Madison County ever gave to the construction of railroads through her territory.
The Springfield, Mt. Vernon & Pittsburgh Railroad had its inception in 1851, to run from Springfield to Delaware, crossing the northwest corner of Madison County, and striking the Columbus, Piqua & Indiana Railroad at Milford, Union County. It was completed in September, 1853, and afterward managed and controlled by the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad. It affords the inhabitants of the northwestern portion of Madison County good shipping facilities, both at Milford and Mechanicsburg, and is therefore regarded as one of the roads of this county.
In 1841, the whole State contained but thirty-six miles of railroad; in 1881, there were more than 5,835 miles; while Madison County alone can boast of having forty-six miles, or ten miles more than Ohio in 1841. The total valuation of the railroads within this county in 1881 was $543,347, upon which the taxes were $6,159.95.