RAILWAY…
The Toledo & Indiana Railway was incorporated in 1901 to construct an electric interurban rail line westward from Toledo. The T. & I. was envisioned as part of an interurban network connecting Toledo, Indianapolis, and Chicago.
The Toledo & Indiana Railway was incorporated in 1901 to construct an electric interurban rail line westward from Toledo. The T. & I. was envisioned as part of an interurban network connecting Toledo, Indianapolis, and Chicago.
The Toledo & Indiana Railway’s interurban cars were similar to trolleys, with their electric motors powered through an arm or “kite” extending from the top of the car to an overhead power line.
In the spring of 1905, the T. & I. constructed a generating station near the Tiffin River west of Stryker to power its interurban cars and extended its rails to Bryan. Later that year, the T. & I. completed a car maintenance and storage facility east of its generating station and erected this combination/freight depot on East Lynn Street in Stryker.
As highways and secondary roads improved, and automobiles and trucks became more common, interurban railways struggled financially. On October 15, 1939, Toledo & Indiana Railway Car 115 made the final trip over the rail line piloted by Lendall W. Vernier of Stryker, the company’s most senior motorman.
This colorized circa 1910 image of the T. & I. Stryker depot is from the Williams County Public Library Huffman Photographic Archives.
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