Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway

In 1926, the former Cincinnati and Dayton Traction Company was reorganized under the new name Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton. The C&DTC right-of-way was part of the former Ohio Electric Railway's line between Dayton and Cincinnati. This new interurban company was headed by the former University of Pennsylvania Wharton School professor of finance, Dr. Thomas Conway Jr., who had already been successful in reviving the interurban Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railroad. He ordered all steel interurban coaches, box-motor express cars and freight cars, and spent heavily to improve track and right-of-way. However, the original 1900s rails laid within the brick streets of the cities and towns remained a maintenance problem and were a source of constant arguments with township administrations. Not only were the towns unhappy about who was to pay for street repairs and snow removal, they also complained about the 30 short tons (26.8 long tons; 27.2 t) 50 ft (15.24 m) long and heavy interurban cars mixing in with the growing automobile traffic of the 1920s. Conway did well at building up the CH&D freight business utilizing his new interurban freight equipment, which often was operated at night, and by virtue of his wide contacts in the railroad industry, was more than ordinarily successful in establishing through rates for LCL (less-than-boxcar load freight) with some steam railroads. Conway believed that there was still a place for the interurban in medium distance passenger traffic and longer distance LCL freight, and thus conceived the idea of the CH&D.