BADDOW PASS

December 13, 2007

Unless you live around the Glenmont area or are an old railroad buff, it’s likely you’ve never heard of Baddow Pass. The location of Baddow Pass is about two and one-half miles southwest of Glenmont at the intersection of TR 14 and CR 75. The Pass is a man-made railroad cut through native sandstone for the CA&C Railroad. It is approximately 1400 feet long and 30 feet in depth at the deepest point as the roadbed approaches CR 75 from the north.

The CA&C was completed to Millersburg in 1854, extended to Mt. Vernon in 1873, and completed to Columbus in 1874. The railway entered Holmes County near Fredericksburg and had five stations in Holmes County (Holmesville, Millersburg, Killbuck, Glenmont, and Baddow Pass). In laying out the best track route, it was found that trains out of Glenmont would have to climb an elevation of 240 feet over to a high point between Glenmont and Brinkhaven (the next station, which is in Knox County). Because trains can only pull up a slight grade, a man-made cut had to be created through this high point which was located at the hill north of CR 75. This huge cut became known as Baddow Pass; but even with this cut, it was one of the steepest railroad grades in Ohio. Trains northbound over the pass were required to use special braking procedures to prevent runaways and those traveling south toward the Pass often had to use helper engines to push the train up the steep grade. A special siding was built at Baddow Pass to accommodate these helper engines.

At one time Baddow Pass had a post office in a house near the railroad siding. This house also had a small general store and provided food for railroad employees or people getting on or off the train at the Pass. In l905 Baddow Pass was enough of a little community to warrant mention of its goings-on in The Glenmont Herald newspaper.

Over the years freight traffic dimished greatly for the CA&C but continued maintenance and repair of the roadbed was still needed. Eventually the CA&C was in financial trouble. It was the immense damage from the flood of 1969, however, that finally brought a halt to the train traffic through Baddow Pass. Today, the little community of Baddow Pass no longer exists, and only the winds and wildlife still go through the sandstone cut at Baddow Pass.

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When the track was still in place at Baddow Pass, an automobile bridge on CR 75 was built over the railroad. This old bridge can be seen in the photo. Today the bridge is gone, and this gap has been filled in on CR75.

Some day people will be able to once again see and appreciate the huge man-made cut called Baddow Pass as the Rails to Trails project continues southward from Killbuck to connect with the already completed Trail from Danville to Mount Vernon.