The Lake Shore Electric Railway commenced operation in 1893 on the north coast of Ohio, providing transportation to Cleveland, Lorain, Sandusky, Toledo, and on to Detroit, Michigan. The Lake Shore Electric Railway connected with many other electric railroads to offer a comprehensive quilt of transportation. This allowed increased commerce, ease of transportation, and access for the industrial-era family to visit such recreation spots as Linwood, Crystal Beach, Avon Beach Park, Mitiwanga, Rye Beach, Ruggles Grove and Beach, and Cedar Point, among others. An unimaginable feat in the late 1800s, the Lake Shore Electric could travel from Lorain to Cleveland (approximately 30 miles) in under one hour, making the railway a huge success. Unfortunately this success only lasted about 40 years.
Thomas J. Patton, owner of what was once the Beach Park station, now home to Artstown Shopping Center, has been collecting Lake Shore Electric Railway photographs and memorabilia for the past nine years. Dennis Lamont, of the Lake Shore Railway Association, and Albert Doane, administrator of the Lorain Historical Society, assisted Patton with the creation of this book.