Muskingum Electric

Company History: The MERR opened in 1968 to move coal from the American Electric Power mine to their power plant near Beverly, Ohio, 20 miles away. The railroad was actually owned by Southern Pacific who used the line to test possible electrification methods for their own lines. Like similar roads such as Black Mesa & Lake Powell or Deseret Power Railway, the MERR was electrified (with GE E50C electric locomotives) and isolated from the North American railroad network. Unlike those other lines, MERR trains were designed for operation with no one in the locomotive cabs. Modules between the rails set the speed of the trains and triggered air horns. When that system failed, regular crews were used. Two trains were run at a time, with an E50C for each train. The last hopper in each train was equipped with headlights and airhorns so trains could be run in push-pull service. In 2002, the mine played out and the railroad was abandoned.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.