In 1852, the same year that the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad was completed in Hudson, Henry Noble Day (1908-1890), a professor at Western Reserve College, incorporated a new railroad, the Clinton Air Line, and began selling stock to raise capital. A certificate was filed with the state of Ohio on July 5, 1852, with the final incorporation taking place on April 9, 1853.

The line was to stretch from New York City east through Pennsylvania, with a stop in Williamsport. But the real story was to take place in Ohio, where the Clinton Line would reach Hudson as its western terminus, and then, as the Clinton Line Extension, travel west through Ohio, going to Litchfield, New London, Norwich, and Tiffin. The Clinton Line Extension then was to go to Fort Wayne, Indiana, then through Illinois and Iowa, terminating at Council Bluffs, Iowa on the Missouri River. The keystone of this ambitious plan was Hudson, Ohio, which was to serve as the pivot between the Clinton Line coming in from New York and the Clinton Extension which reached to the west.

According to the railroad’s first annual report, presented in Hudson on January 25, 1854, the Clinton Line itself was to cost $1,382, 500.22, or $25,000 per mile. The Extension had an estimated cost of $2,5000,000, or $26,455 per mile. Thus by the estimate of Chief Engineeer W. B. Brinsmade, the total cost of construction of the Clinton Line and the Clinton Line Extension would have been $3,882,500.

In November of 1855, the company reported on the condition of its finances. It had already spent $298,000 on acquiring rights-of-way, purchase of real estate, and actual construction. Another $1,7000,00 had been contracted out for grading, masonry, buildings, etc. In terms of income, they had sold $461,360 in stock, with $200,000 in promised subscriptions, and another $65,000 in unfilled contracts. The company also took out two mortgages: one for $800,000 and the other for $200,000. Thus they found themselves entering the winter of 1855-56 undercapitalized and in debt. The surveyors had failed to take into account the swampy areas to the east and west of Hudson. The company also failed to estimate their costs properly, especially in the cost of quarried stone that was needed for the trestles. As construction costs escalated and investments dwindled, the officers of the company realized they were in trouble.

By 1856, all construction on the railroad stopped, and the company, despite its initially high expectations, was soon insolvent. The effect on Hudson was enormous: numerous investors lost large portions of their savings. Repeated attempts were made to either revive the Clinton Line or to use its right-of-way for another railroad. None succeeded.

Above is shortened from "The Clinton Line Falls Off the Tracks", James F. Caccamo, Ex Libris v.9 #3 Summer 1988