"Keep this before you as you ride along." So proclaimed John S. Reese in his Guide Book for the Tourist and Traveler over the Valley Railway! originally published in 1880. The Valley Railway began operations between Cleveland and Canton, Ohio, that same year as both a passenger and freight line. Reese's guide book provides a snapshot of the early history of this independent railroad company as well as the communities it passed through at a time of rapid economic growth. The Valley Railway hoped to play a role in that growing prosperity not only with industrial development but also in promoting recreation and tourism. It was in that spirit of boosterism that Reese penned his guide. As you page through this facsimile edition, you will have a sense of the 1880 environment in which the Valley Railway functioned as well as the history and heritage that the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad interprets today.