Muskingum Electric Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Muskingum Electric Railroad was a private coal-carrying railroad owned by American Electric Power
, and started operation in 1968. MERR shuttled coal in two trains from the mine to a powerplant at Relief, Ohio (across from Beverly, OH), a distance of 20 miles. The trains were driverless and powered by automated General Electric
E50C's. The road also owned two private cars, Dover Fort and Oak Lane. The line is now defunct as the captive coal mine has since run out of economically recoverable coal. The coal was harvested by the largest dragline ever to be built, "Big Muskie
".
American Electric Power
American Electric Power is a major investor-owner electric utility in various parts of the United States. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S...
, and started operation in 1968. MERR shuttled coal in two trains from the mine to a powerplant at Relief, Ohio (across from Beverly, OH), a distance of 20 miles. The trains were driverless and powered by automated General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
E50C's. The road also owned two private cars, Dover Fort and Oak Lane. The line is now defunct as the captive coal mine has since run out of economically recoverable coal. The coal was harvested by the largest dragline ever to be built, "Big Muskie
Big Muskie
Big Muskie was a coal mining Bucyrus-Erie dragline owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company , weighing nearly and standing nearly 22 stories tall. It operated in the U.S. state of Ohio from 1969 to 1991...
".