Pittsburgh And Lake Erie Railroad
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The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with
Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
in the Haselton neighborhood in the west and
Connellsville Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,637 at th ...
, Pennsylvania to the east. It did not reach
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
(at
Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...
) until the formation of
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
in 1976. The P&LE was known as the "Little Giant" since the tonnage that it moved was out of proportion to its route mileage. While it operated around one tenth of one percent of the nation's railroad miles, it hauled around one percent of its tonnage. This was largely because the P&LE served the
steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...
s of the greater Pittsburgh area, which consumed and shipped vast amounts of materials. It was a specialized railroad deriving much of its revenue from
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
, coke,
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
,
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, and
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
. The eventual closure of the steel mills led to the end of the P&LE as an independent line in 1992. At the end of 1970 P&LE operated of road on of track, not including PC&Y and Y&S; in 1970 it reported 1419 million ton-miles of revenue freight, down from 2437 million in 1944.


Route of the P&LE

The P&LE purchased many smaller railroads that operated in the areas of its main train line extending the line north to Youngstown and south to Connellsville. This provided a means of transportation from the steel centers of Pittsburgh to the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and St. Lawrence Seaway area.


P&LE Division

The original line ran between
Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
(at Haselton) and 24th Street in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
near the Jones and Laughlin Iron Works, opened in 1879. The P&LE's passenger terminal in Pittsburgh was on the south bank of the
Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...
, at the foot of the
Smithfield Street Bridge The Smithfield Street Bridge is a lenticular truss bridge crossing the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The bridge was designed by Gustav Lindenthal, the engineer who later designed the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. The ...
. The P&LE followed the left downstream bank of the Monongahela River past the terminal to the
Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
, where that waterway meets the
Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...
and becomes the
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
. The railroad continued northwest along the left downstream bank of the Ohio to the vicinity of
Beaver, Pennsylvania Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, the borough population ...
, where it crossed the river on the Beaver Bridge. From there it followed the Beaver River to just south of
New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is northwest of Pittsburgh, and near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, just southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, ...
, where it then followed the
Mahoning River The Mahoning River is a river located in northeastern Ohio and a small portion of western Pennsylvania. Flowing primarily through several Ohio counties, it crosses the state line into Pennsylvania before joining with the Shenango River to form the ...
west-northwest, crossing into Ohio just east of
Lowellville Lowellville is a village in eastern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, along the Mahoning River. The population was 996 at the 2020 census. Located about southeast of Youngstown, it is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. Geo ...
. From there it ran northwest into Youngstown, terminating at a junction with the
New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
known as Haselton. In the table below, mileage is reckoned westbound from the P&LE Terminal in Pittsburgh. The original line continued east past that station for a little over (listed in Youghiogheny Branch table below) to near 24th Street in the
South Side Flats The South Side Flats is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's South Side area. It is located just south of the Monongahela River. The neighborhood has one of the City of Pittsburgh's largest concentrations of 19th-century homes, which ha ...
neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where it met the
Monongahela Connecting Railroad The Monongahela Connecting Railroad or Mon Conn is a small industrial railroad in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a subsidiary of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company and a large portion of its work was for its parent company, though it also serv ...
and the Pittsburgh, McKeesport & Youghiogheny (PM&Y).


Youghiogheny Branch

The Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad ran from 24th Street in Pittsburgh, PA to Connellsville, Pennsylvania, in 1882. The PM&Y followed the
Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...
to
McKeesport, Pennsylvania McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. It ...
, then the
Youghiogheny River The Youghiogheny River , or the Yough (pronounced Yok ) for short, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. s ...
to
Connellsville Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,637 at th ...
, Pennsylvania. Mileage on this P&LE branch was reckoned from the passenger terminal back at the Smithfield Street Bridge.


Monongahela Branch

The Pittsburgh, McKeesport & Youghiogheny Railroad also followed the
Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...
to
Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the Sullivan Expedition, defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war ...
.


History

The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad was the creation of William McCreery, a prominent Pittsburgh businessman, merchant, and railroad builder. McCreery had suffered at the hands of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
in a business that had a loss or failed. The Pennsylvania Railroad at the time used discriminatory rates which became a hot issue in Pittsburgh. On May 11, 1870 McCreery and ten other people filed Articles of Association with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State. The stated length of the railroad was for . After 2 years the starting group was not very successful at raising the required funds and in 1877 many of the directors were succeeded by a new group of Pittsburgh businessmen. The new group was James I. Bennett, David Hostetter, James M. Baily, Mark W. Watson and James M. Schoonmaker, all influential. In the spring of 1877, the first rails were laid down in Beaver Falls, which had the largest population other than Pittsburgh. The other reason for this was around February 1877
Jacob Henrici Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Jacob in Islam, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel (name), Israel, is regarded as a Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religi ...
of the
Harmony Society The Harmony Society was a Christian theosophy and pietist society founded in Iptingen, Germany, in . Due to religious persecution by the Lutheran Church and the government in Württemberg, the group moved to the United States,Robert Paul Sutto ...
had business there. Henrici would also become a director in 1877. On July 6, 1877, McCreery resigned and Bennett was elected to president with Jacob Henrici becoming a director. Henrici was the key due to his Harmony Society ties which was a communal religious group founded in 1805. In 1880,
William Henry Vanderbilt William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbi ...
's
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833 and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinois, primarily along the ...
bought stock to the tune of $200,000 in the P&LE. The P&LE would stay in the Vanderbilt's New York Central system until Conrail. Also in 1877, an agreement between the P&LE and the Atlantic & Great Western (Erie) and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway was reached for routing traffic at
Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...
Ohio. The final track laying between Pittsburgh and Youngstown was on January 27, 1879. At the opening in 1879, the P&LE was a poorly built, single track line. Fortunately for the railroad it was an immediate success and money was soon available for improvements.


South Penn and Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad

In 1881, the P&LE became linked with the notorious
South Pennsylvania Railroad The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed, but never completed, Pennsylvania railroads in the nineteenth century. Parts of the right of way for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused for the Pennsylvania Turnpik ...
(South Penn). This would lead to
William Henry Vanderbilt William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbi ...
to control of the P&LE as a link in the South Penn and the building of the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad. The South Pennsylvania Railroad was planned to connect to the PM&Y. Vanderbilt did this by buying
Henry W. Oliver Henry W. Oliver (February 25, 1840 – February 8, 1904) was an American industrialist. Biography Henry W. Oliver was born in Ireland in 1840. Two years later his family settled in Pittsburgh. Oliver began working at the age of thirteen as ...
's and the Harmony Society's stock in the P&LE. Then Vanderbilt, aided by Andrew Carnegie, advanced the PM&Y all of the funds to build to Connellsville, Pennsylvania and then lease it to the P&LE for 99 years. The PM&Y in the end was the only part of the South Penn that was built, but it would be an important part of the P&LE. The PM&Y opened in 1883 and leased to the P&LE in 1884. Concurrently in 1883, to get the P&LE ready for the expected new business due to the South Penn linkage, the McKees Rocks shops were built.


Vanderbilt and the "Little Giant"

The company came under more formal control in the 1887 by the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway's president, John Newell, took over as president of the P&LE in 1887. Under Newell, Reed and Colonel Schoonmaker; the P&LE would become the "Little Giant". From 1887 to 1927, the P&LE would become a heavy duty railroad, with double track all the way from Pittsburgh to Youngstown. The P&LE operated as an independent subsidiary, even after New York Central and
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
merged to form
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
.


PM&Y and the Monongahela Railway

The making of coke in Connellsville had been a big part of P&LE traffic, but by the early 20th century it had lessened. The development of by-products distillation processing of coke had moved to the Pittsburgh area. The P&LE then extended up the Monongahela River to Brownsville, Pennsylvania in 1901. The Pennsylvania Railroad at the same time had extended to Brownsville. Both the PRR and the P&LE had plans to extend even further up the river into
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
coke fields. Most likely due to the South Penn, they decided to work together by using the
Monongahela Railway The Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Rail ...
. The Monongahela Railway then was extended south to Martin, Pennsylvania reaching the Kondike Coke fields. Later in 1915 it reached
Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...
.


Conrail and CSX

When
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
was formed, the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad again became an independent company because P&LE was owed $15.2 million by Penn Central, and operated as such until its merger into
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
(CSX). Starting in 1934, the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
(B&O) bought trackage rights over P&LE from McKeesport to New Castle. The B&O's route through Pittsburgh had excessive grades and curves. In the last years of the P&LE, CSX used the line more than P&LE leading to the merger. Most of the online customers had long been gone, with only the main line still intact. In 1993 the company was purchased by CSX. The CSX designated the P&LE as a new subsidiary, the Three Rivers Railway. However, in 1993, CSX leased the TRR, and there is currently no de facto distinction between the former P&LE and any other portion of CSX's system.


Company officers

Presidents of the railroad were as follows: * William McCreery 1875-1877 *
James I. Bennett James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...
1877-1881 *
Jacob Henrici Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Jacob in Islam, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel (name), Israel, is regarded as a Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religi ...
1877-1885 * John Newell 1887-1896 After Newell the presidency would be held by the president of the NYC with the active management of the local vice president. Vice Presidents: * James H. Reed 1892-1896 * Colonel James M. Schoonmaker 1886-1927 *
James B. Yohe James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...
1917-1919 WW1 Supervisor 1920-1929 V.P. * Curtis M. Yohe 1929-1953 * John F. Nash 1953-1956 With Nash the active management went back to the president. *
John W. Barriger III John Walker Barriger III (December 3, 1899 – December 9, 1976) was an American railroad executive; he successively led the Monon Railroad, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad. ...
1956-1964 *
Curtis D. Buford Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French ''courtois'') which derived from the Spanish Cortes (surname), Cortés (of which Cortez is a variation) and the Por ...
1965-1969 *
Henry G. Allyn, Jr Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
c. 1969-1983 * Richard Thompson c. 1983-1986 * Gordon Neuenschwander c. 1986-1993


Pittsburgh Terminal and P&LE passenger trains

The P&LE's Pittsburgh passenger train station (interior seen in the lower right photo) sat adjacent the south bank of the Monongahela River at the foot of the Smithfield Street Bridge. The Pittsburgh Terminal was the railroad's headquarters, passenger train shed, and freight warehouse complex. In the upper photo, the terminal sits along the Monongahela river. The roof of the freight house is to the right of the terminal train shed. The former P&LE headquarters building at the bottom of the
Monongahela Incline The Monongahela Incline is a funicular located near the Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Designed and built by Prussian-born engineer John Endres in 1870, it is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the United Sta ...
has been converted into a present-day shopping center,
Station Square Station Square is a indoor and outdoor shopping and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States across the Monongahela River from the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. Station S ...
. The passenger station has been placed on a list of historic edifices, modernized and converted to a restaurant. During 1910 - 1930, the P & LE operated 50 passenger daily trains on its 65-mile Pittsburgh - Youngstown portion of its system. Ticketing agreements with the Erie RR and the P & LE's parent New York Central, passengers boarding in Pittsburgh could ride coaches or sleepers west to Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis, and north to Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, Albany and Boston. The Baltimore & Ohio RR obtained trackage rights in 1934 on the P&LE, and Chicago-New York trains such as the ''
Capitol Limited The ''Capitol Limited'' is a daily Amtrak train between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, running via Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Service began in 1981 and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Capitol Limited'' which ended in 1971 u ...
'' (Chicago-Washington), ''
Columbian Columbian is the adjective form of Columbia (disambiguation), Columbia. It may refer to: Buildings * The Columbian Theatre, a music hall in northeastern Kansas * The Columbian (Chicago), a building in Illinois Published works * ''The Columbian' ...
'' (Chicago-Washington) and ''
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
'' (Detroit-Baltimore) operated over the P & LE between New Castle Junction and McKeesport. These trains stopped at the Terminal located in Pittsburgh's South Side. The trackage charing arrangement continued until
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
assumed responsibility for the nation's passenger rail service in 1971. P&LE operated commuter trains into Pittsburgh. In 1964, it ran one round-trip between Youngstown and Pittsburgh as well as one additional southbound and two additional northbound trains on the section between
Beaver Falls Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
and Pittsburgh. Latest by 1968, only the section between College Hill, Beaver Falls, Aliquippa and P&LE's Pittsburgh Terminal was served by one single roundtrip commuter train per day. In 1978, P&LE tried to drop that last commuter train, which was met by fierce objections. With state support, P&LE continued to operate the commuter run but eventually ended the service on July 12, 1985, after passenger counts had dropped significantly. The
PATrain The PATrain, also known as Mon Valley Commuter Rail, was a commuter rail service owned by the Port Authority of Allegheny County in the Monongahela Valley in the US state of Pennsylvania. Service began in 1975 when the Port Authority assumed owne ...
commuter operation continued to use some P&LE-trackage until 1989.


Shops and Yards

;Gateway Yard The Youngstown Gateway Yard was a major hub location on the railroad, until the creation of Conrail. Gateway Yard was opened in October 1957, to be a modern hump yard. The yard was approximately stretching for a distance of just over from Lowellville, Ohio to Center Street in Youngstown, Ohio. Gateway Yard was made up of three principal yards, and an assortment of smaller, special-purpose yards. The principal yards were arranged linearly, with the eastern limits of the Departure Yard in Lowellville. The Hump Yard was located in Struthers in the center of the facility, and the Receiving Yard was to the west. The special purpose yards were "Diesel Servicing Facilities", "Gorilla Park" and "Interchange" yards. The "Interchange" yard was made up of six tracks, four were for interchange to and from the B&O Railroad and two of which were for general use. The other interchange was with New York Central Railroad which was a direct interchange. The western yard limit was the end of track for the P&LE. Beyond the western end of the Yard was the NYC mainline that continued to
Ashtabula, Ohio Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...
. The yard was constructed when the P&LE was under the control of the New York Central Railroad. Conrail routing most of the traffic around P&LE facilities in the area. After the 1993 CSX takeover of P&LE, Gateway Yard was closed and most tracks have been removed. The yard tower still stands but has been heavily vandalized. ;McKees Rocks The McKees Rocks Yard facility was home to a yard, major locomotive rebuilding and general maintenance, as well as freight car repair and maintenance. On the westernmost end of the McKees Rocks yard, the P&LE interchanged with the PC&Y. However, the PC&Y facilities were just behind the P&LE Locomotive facilities in the main yard, and trackage from the PC&Y crossed the P&LE Mainline at this point, servicing several local businesses in the Bottoms section of McKees Rocks, finally making the previously mentioned interchange. Most of the McKees Rocks facilities are now gone. The entire McKees Rocks locomotive facility, shops, and yard is to be replaced by a regional CSX intermodal facility. In 1904, P&LE built the O'Donovan Bridge for easier automobile access from Island Avenue to The Bottoms without crossing the railroad tracks. This was replaced in 1931 by the
McKees Rocks Bridge The McKees Rocks Bridge is a steel trussed through arch bridge which carries the Blue Belt, Pittsburgh's innermost beltline, across the Ohio River at Brighton Heights and McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, west of the city. At long, it is the longe ...
, which extended to Ohio River Boulevard but still provided access to The Bottoms via Helen Street exit. The McKees Rocks Community Development Corporation has plans to adaptively reuse the building. ;College The College Hill neighborhood of Beaver Falls had a small yard located just below
Geneva College Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional undergra ...
along the Beaver River. There was also a small roundhouse on the property, plus the College Hill Station. Today, only the station remains.


Subsidiaries

* Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad (Leased 1888 and merged in 1965) * Pittsburgh, Chartiers and Youghiogheny Railroad (1/2 P&LE, 1/2 CR) *
Mahoning State Line Railroad Mahoning may refer to: Communities * Mahoning, Ohio, an unincorporated community in Portage County * Mahoning County, Ohio * Mahoning Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania * Mahoning Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania * Mahoning Township, Law ...
(Leased 1885) *
Monongahela Railway The Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Rail ...
(1/3 P&LE, 1/3 B&O, 1/3 CR(PR)) *
Montour Railroad The Montour Railroad was a short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service in southwestern Pennsylvania. At its height in the 1930s, the railroad served 27 mines transporting nearly seven million tons of coal annually in Alle ...
* Lake Erie and Eastern Railroad (1/2 P&LE, 1/2 CR) *
Youngstown and Southern Railway The Youngstown and Southeastern Railroad is a short-line railroad subsidiary of Midwest & Bluegrass Rail that operates freight trains between Youngstown, Ohio and Darlington, Pennsylvania, United States. The line is owned by the 'Columbiana County ...


See also

*
Washingtonian (B&O train) The ''Washingtonian'' was one of two daily American named passenger trains operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) during the 1940s–1950s between Baltimore, Maryland and Cleveland, Ohio, via Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, P ...
*
Shenandoah (B&O train) The ''Shenandoah'' was an American named passenger train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), one of four daily B&O trains operating between Jersey City, New Jersey and Grand Central Station in Chicago, Illinois, via Washington, D.C. and P ...


Notes


References

* *December 1992 Trains has info on the CSX sale.


External links

*
Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
(HAER) No. PA-641,
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, Locomotive Repair Shops

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Historical Society



P&LE 1960 system map



Finding Aid to Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company Records
at the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

* ttp://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Baltimore%20Div%20ETT%20%234%201-1-2005.pdf CSX Baltimore Division Timetable {{DEFAULTSORT:Pittsburgh Lake Erie Railroad Companies affiliated with the New York Central Railroad Railway companies established in 1875 Railway companies disestablished in 1993 Defunct Ohio railroads Defunct Pennsylvania railroads Predecessors of CSX Transportation Former Class I railroads in the United States Transportation in Pittsburgh Railroads controlled by the Vanderbilt family