Blue and Green Lines (Cleveland)

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The Blue and Green Lines are the light rail component of the RTA Rapid Transit, a rail transit system in greater Cleveland, Ohio. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority numbers them as Routes 67X and 67AX.

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 2.1 Origins 2.2 Shaker Heights Rapid Transit 2.3 RTA takeover and expansion to the waterfront 3 Station stops 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Route description

The two lines begin their route separately in Shaker Heights, to the east of Cleveland. Much of this section of their route is at grade, reflecting this portion of the lines' history as streetcar lines. The two lines meet just over the Cleveland city line at Shaker Square, and share trackage for the rest of their route. They use grade-separated trackage to reach Tower City Center, 2.6 miles (4.2 km) of which, including two stations (East 34th-Campus and East 55th), are shared with the heavy rail rapid transit Red Line in an arrangement unique in North American rail transit. Shared stations have low platforms for the Blue and Green Lines and high platforms for the Red Line.

After leaving Tower City, the two lines head for the lakefront in a relatively new section of track known as the Waterfront Line. Trains travel north through the Flats to Lake Erie and east along the lakeshore. This portion of the line roughly the old alignment of a Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (New York Central Railroad Big Four) line to reach the waterfront, and then turning east just north of the old New York Central main line (used now by the Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak). Although Waterfront Line stations are branded as such by the RTA, there is no separate Waterfront Line service; all trains on this portion of the system are Blue and Green Line trains.

[edit] History

These two lines are the direct, continuously operating descendent of Shaker Heights Rapid Transit (originally the Cleveland Interurban Railroad), a streetcar system that connected the streetcar suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio to downtown Cleveland. These two lines were the only ones to survive the bustitution of Cleveland's transit system, partly due to their use of grade-separated trackage to reach Union Terminal (now Tower City).

[edit] Origins

Shaker Heights was incorporated in 1912, and the next year the first section of the Cleveland Interurban Railroad opened, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Coventry Road east down the median of Shaker Boulevard (then part of Coventry Road) to Fontenay Road (west of Eaton Road). The line was connected to other streetcar lines via a line along Coventry Road through Cleveland Heights to the north.

As construction progessed on Shaker Heights, the Van Sweringens, the owners of the streetcar suburb, planned for a grade-separated right-of-way all the way to downtown. In 1915 they acquired a majority interest in the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (aka the Nickel Plate Road), mainly to allow for a line next to a relocated NYC&StL. The next section of line opened in 1920, running west from Coventry Road down the median of the new Shaker Boulevard to Woodhill Road, then across the Cleveland Short Line Railway (New York Central Railroad) and alongside a CSL branch to 55th Street. West of 55th, where the CSL branch crossed over the parallel Nickel Plate, the new streetcar line also crossed the Nickel Plate, continuing west between the branch and Nickel Plate to the intersection of the Kingsbury Viaduct (34th Street) and Broadway. An existing line of the Cleveland Railway along Broadway provided initial access to downtown for this line, numbered 38.

Also in 1920 came a short extension east from Fontenay Road to Courtland Boulevard, as well as branch, to the south and east of what was Moreland Circle (today, Shaker Square), which makes up the bulk of today's Blue Line. This line (numbered 58) split from the other (Green) line at Shaker Square and ran southeast down the median of Van Aken Boulevard to Lynnfield Road, where the 61 streetcar continued east. In 1930 the 58 was extended along the 61 tracks to its present terminal of Warrensville Center Road, and the rest of the 61 was removed. Extensions of the other (Green) line were built in 1928 to Warrensville Center Road and the rest of the way to Green Road in 1936.

The Cleveland Union Terminal opened in 1930, along with a new grade-separated right-of-way with side-by-side lines for steam railroads and electric streetcars. The ramp to Broadway and 34th Street was removed, and all Cleveland Interurban Railroad cars were operated via the new line into the north part of the Union Terminal.

[edit] Shaker Heights Rapid Transit

In 1944 the City of Shaker Heights took over the financially struggling lines and began operating them as Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. The Van Sweringens had planned to build several other lines, but financial problems prevented this. In 1955 the first section of the city's new rapid transit line, now known the Red Line, opened east from Union Terminal. This included 2.6 miles (4.2 km) and two stations shared with the Shaker Heights Line, necessitating split platforms with low-level sections (for Shaker Heights cars) and high-level sections (for rapid transit cars).

[edit] RTA takeover and expansion to the waterfront

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority took over the Shaker Heights lines in 1975.

On July 10, 1996, both lines were extended through downtown into a new section, called the Waterfront Line, connecting Tower City to the North Coast Harbor area. Plans have been drawn up to loop the Waterfront Line back through downtown to Tower City along city streets, but it seems unlikely to move forward in the near future.

[edit] Station stops

• South Harbor (Muny Parking)
• North Coast (East 9th Street)
• Cleveland Lakefront Station (flag stop)
• West 3rd Street (opened August 1999 to serve the new Cleveland Browns Stadium)
• Flats East Bank
• Settlers Landing
• Tower City
  • Tower City is the first of three transfer points to the Red Line. From Tower City, the Blue, Green and Red Lines share grade-separated trackage built in 1930 through two more stations:
• East 34th-Campus
• East 55th - Central Rail
  • After East 55th, the Blue and Green Lines split from the Red Line, and continue grade-separated along a 1920 right of way, still grade separated, past the following stations:
• East 79th
• Woodhill
• East 116th
• Shaker Square

At Woodhill, the line begins to run below grade in the median of Shaker Boulevard. Approaching Shaker Square station, the line rises to grade level, and has its first grade crossings with the roadways of Shaker Square. Just east of Shaker Square, the lines split, with the Green Line continuing east along Shaker Boulevard, with frequent surface level stops:

• Coventry
• Southington
• South Park
• Lee
• Attleboro
• Eaton
• Courtland
• Warrensville
  • At Warrensville, the median of Shaker Boulevard widens for a never-built freeway upgrade, and the Green Line is once again grade-separated for its final three stops:
• Belvoir
• West Green
• Green

The Blue Line splits back at Shaker Square, and runs southeast down the median of Van Aken Boulevard, making the following stops:

• Drexmore
• South Woodland
• Southington
• Onaway
• Ashby
• Lee
• Avalon
• Kenmore
• Lynnfield
• Farnsleigh
• Warrensville

edit RTA Rapid Transit
Lines:	Red - Blue and Green

[edit] References

• U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980 (PDF)
• Jon Bell - Cleveland, Ohio: Shaker Heights Rapid Transit
• nycsubway.org - Cleveland, Ohio
• Rails and Trails.com - Historic Transportation Maps

[edit] External links

• Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority - Maps
• Jon Bell - Cleveland, Ohio: Green and Blue Lines
• Jon Bell - Cleveland, Ohio: The Waterfront Line