Fletcher area resident and history aficionado Scott D. Trostel started penning transportation-related history books about 37 years ago, and he hasn’t stopped writing since.
His newly published piece, “Bellefontaine, Ohio: The Rise and Fall of A Big Four Terminal,” also his 58th book, details the rich history of how the railroad turned a sleepy Bellefontaine into a booming city and how it awakened developments here and in surrounding Logan County for about 100 years until the mid-20th century.
“I thought I was going to write just one book,” Trostel said with a chuckle.“I enjoy bringing local history to life.
“Before Honda was here, there was the railroad. Somebody needed to tell the story about what happened at the railroad in Bellefontaine.”
Monday evening, Jan. 8, Trostel will present his book, along with a PowerPoint presentation with railroad photos, to the public during a program beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Knowlton Library’s Goodrich Community Room, 220 N. Main St.
He will have copies of his book available for purchase and will conduct a book signing as well.
“The Rise and Fall of A Big Four Terminal” also is available in the gift shop at the Logan County History Center, 521 E. Columbus Ave., Bellefontaine.
While detailing the railroad’s history in Bellefontaine now comes quite easily to Trostel, he encountered some major health setbacks after starting the piece that prevented him from putting pen to paper for some time, he noted.
In March of 2018, he suffered a stroke and spent about six weeks in the hospital, followed by several weeks in rehab. For about six months after the stroke, he also was unable to walk, Trostel related.
The author’s difficulties were confounded about a year and a half later when his wife passed away rather unexpectedly.
After all of these hurdles, the publication of his latest book this fall has been rather therapeutic for Trostel, who has made a strong recovery from his stroke. He is looking forward to sharing his piece and his passion for railroad history Monday evening, where he encourages area residents to stop out and to see the newly restored library as well.
“It was a long recovery from my stroke, but luckily my knowledge of Bellefontaine is still intact,” he said.
The summer of 1847 forever changed Logan County, Trostel noted. In July of that year, the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company completed the first railroad in Bellefontaine. It was the first railroad chartered west of the Appalachian Mountains and the very first to specify the use of steam locomotives.
It made a connection of Sandusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie, with another pioneer, the Little Miami Railroad, that connected it with the Ohio River on the south.
Trostel said the next railroad to be built in Bellefontaine was the Bellefontaine & Indiana Railroad and the first train out of Bellefontaine was in 1852. It started movement to connect Cleveland to a new railroad at the Ohio-Indiana state line.
Then in the 1890s, Bellefontaine truly became a major railroad town in the 1890s when the Big Four Railroad Company (Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, & St. Louis) made it one of their main terminals. The Big Four was controlled by the Vanderbuilt empire.
The Big Four president also proposed the construction of a major yard, the first of three in Bellefontaine that eventually handled over a million cars a year, the author noted.
“The heart of these operations was BS Junction, where the two important lines met, and the passenger station sat. The neighborhood grew to include restaurants, salons, hotels and boarding houses,” Trostel wrote.
“A sleepy town, and the highest point in Ohio suddenly found itself with explosive growth, the need for homes, new enlarged schools, mercantiles and churches.”
By 1904, one in four people employed in Logan County worked for the railroad, the Logan County History Center reports. A similar ratio worked for the boarding houses, restaurants, stores, and other related businesses that served the railroad and its crews.
During that time, around 150-175 trains would pass through the city every 24 hours, along with 20 passenger trains a day.
Also around the turn of the century, the first Railroad YMCA was built here as a location for crews to refresh with food and a good night’s rest. The Depot restaurant there would have hot food ready for between 200 to 300 people at a time.
“The Railroad YMCA outgrew itself almost overnight,” Trostel said. “It was the first of three and by 1920, included a three-story facility and a train of sleeping cars for use by the railroad men.”
The Railroad YMCA at one time had a membership of over 4,000 people for the out-of-town crews that visited Bellefontaine to stop during their long work day that could top 16 hours, the author said.
The last interurban passenger train came through Bellefontaine in November of 1937, the Logan County History Center reports. The New York Central’s passenger trains held out longer with limited runs up until 1971.
The arrival of the more efficient diesel engines in the late 1950s and early 1960s lessened the importance of the roundhouse. The local roundhouse closed its doors in 1980 and on May 18,1983, Conrail, the latest in a long line of railroad companies, moved its terminal from Bellefontaine to Crestview, Ohio.
“The only evidence of the once great terminal is a double track main line,” Trostel said.
Scott Trostel, seated, holds his newly published book, “Bellefontaine, Ohio: The Rise and Fall of a Big Four Terminal” accompanied by Beth Marshall, Logan County History Center archivist/assistant curator. (HISTORY CENTER PHOTO)
