Owingsville & Olympia Railroad
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Owingsville, Kentucky |
| Reporting mark | O&O |
| Locale | Bath County, Kentucky |
| Dates of operation | 1915–1918 (abandoned) |
| Technical | |
| Length | 6 miles (9.7 km) |
The Owingsville & Olympia Railroad (O&O) was a short, narrow-gauge railroad of about 6 miles (9.7 km) that linked Owingsville with the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) at Olympia in Bath County, Kentucky, US.[1] The company was chartered in 1913; the line opened in 1915 as a narrow gauge common carrier intended to connect Owingsville with the regional rail network at Olympia.[2] Service quickly faltered after an early 1915 derailment, and by 1916 there was no traffic; the railroad was listed as abandoned by 1918.[3]
Conception and construction
Local interests in Bath County pursued a direct outlet from Owingsville to the C&O main line (Lexington Subdivision) at Olympia, a C&O station established in the early 1880s.[4] The O&O was chartered in 1913 and built as a narrow-gauge line; trains began running in early 1915.[5]
Operations and decline (1915–1918)
Soon after opening, a derailment "in which a train jumped the track" undermined public confidence; by 1916 the line effectively had no traffic.[6] Contemporary and later accounts describe the O&O as roughly 6 miles (9.7 km) long and operating only a short time (about 1915–1918).[7] Local histories further note that the line was nicknamed the "Little Dinky," that it used a small geared locomotive, and that the rails were removed about 1918; these details remain chiefly in community sources.[8]
Route
Corporate notes
The line appears in federal style manuals as the Olympia & Owingsville Railway Co.—a corporate styling attested in the early 1920s—reflecting alternative naming used in official lists, though service on the line had ended by then.[11]