Welcome to Akron Railroads

Welcome to Akron Railroads, formerly known as the Akron Railroad Club Blog, a site once connected with the Akron Railroad Club. The ARRC meets every month but December in Akron, Ohio, at the New Horizons Christian Church.

This site is not formally connected with the ARRC but instead serves as an archive of past postings about ARRC meetings and activities as well as railfanning adventures and photographs posted by some members.

Also included in the site are historical overviews of the railroads of Akron and Northeast Ohio as well as some news and information about current railroad operations in that region.

For more up to date information about the ARRC, visit the club’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AkronRailroadClub/

Special Alco Unit Two for Tuesday

Got word that Delaware-Lackawanna Alco M630 No. 1776 was out of Bellevue trailing second on NS train No. 316. All reports didn’t say if it was facing east or west.  My preferred shot would be the trestle only if was facing east. Luckily three railfans were already waiting so I stopped and asked if they knew. They said definitely east. The monster train showed up at 12:22 p.m. on Monday afternoon.

Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

Penn Central in Columbus, Alliance Two for Tuesday

We’ve got some Penn Central oldies but goodies for two for Tuesday. In the top image SW1200 No. 9027  is working in Columbus on Jan. 13, 1973. With it is a trio of cabooses of various models and heritages. In the bottom photo Alco C628 No. 6307 is leading a train coming north from Bayard and bound for Cleveland. It is shown in Alliance in July 1972 crossing the Fort Wayne Line.

Photograph by Robert Farkas.

EL Monday: Still Sporting the EL Look

It’s the early Conrail era and GP7 No. 5987 is in Akron in September 1979 still wearing its Erie Lackawanna livery albeit with the EL lettering marked out.

Photography by Robert Farkas

Steam Saturday: One Sunday on the Strasburg

Here is a trio of photos from the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania that I made earlier this year. The images were made on a mostly rainy Sunday.  The views include former Canadian national Mogul-type 2-6-0 No. 89 passing the Red Caboose Motel, loking good at Groffs Grove by Cherry Hill Road, and a sunny shot late in the afternoon from the engineer’s side. The 89 was built in February 1910 by Canadian Locomotive Company for the Grand Trunk Railway and came under CN ownership when the GT was acquired by CN in 1923. the 89 was retired by CN in 1958 and acquired in 1961 by F. Nelson Blount, the founder of the Steamtown USA. The Strasburg purchased it in 1972.

Photographs by Paul Woodring

SEPTA Gets Grant for New Rail Cars

A $13.3 million federal grant will help the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority buy new rail cars for regional rail service.

The new cars will replace Silverliner IV railcars, which experienced a series of fires in 2025 that led to their being sidelined for repairs. The Silverliners were built by GE between 1974 and 1976

Full replacement of the more than 200 SEPTA Silverliner IV cars is expected to cost $2 billion for 234 new cars.

The transit agency is reviewing proposals from manufacturers for construction of the new cars, to be known as the Silverliner VI. Once a builder is selected, it will take five to seven years before the first cars enter service.

SEPTA officials have said they plan to use low-interest loans and grants to pay for less than half of the replacement cost.

The Federal Transit Administration grant came from the agency’s Rail Vehicle Replacement Grant program.

Freight Car Friday: Seen in Clinton

ABTX (Abbott Laboratories) boxcar No. 10037 is in Clinton in the late 1960s.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

R.J. Corman Three for Thursday

Here is a trio of scenes on the R.J. Corman Cleveland Subdivision, all featuring GP9 No. 9003. In the top image the 9003 is near Clinton in early 1999. The next two images were made at the crossing of the Wheeling & Lake Erie at Justus, also in early 1999. The middle images shows the train before crossing the W&LE while the bottom image is on the diamonds.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Cleveland RTA Gets First New Railcar

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has received the first of its new Siemens S200 light rail vehicles.

The first car was at the Brookpark RTA facility where it will undergo testing.

Cleveland RTA has ordered 24 new cars from Siemens and has exercised two options for additional LRVs, doubling the total order to 48.

 The cars will be the first new light rail equipment for the RTA’s Red, Blue, and Green lines in more than 40 years.

CSX Installs New Power Switches at Queensgate Yard

CSX said it is adding 42 power-operated switches at the north end of its Queensgate Yard in Cincinnati.

That will bring the number of powered switches at Queensgate to about 170.

In a statement, the Class 1 railroad said reducing the need for manual lined switches will help improve safety, efficiency and reliability. This in turn will improve the flow of rail traffic and lead to more consistent yard operations.

Grant to Help Pittsburgh Transit Buy New Railcars

Pittsburgh Regional Transit has been awarded a $82.8 million federal grant to be used to buy 45 new rail cars for its light-rail fleet.

The Rail Vehicle Replacement grant was awarded by the Federal Transit Administration.

The total cost of the procurement is estimated at $777 million, including the vehicles, station modifications for accessibility, platform adjustments, facility improvements and other costs associated with designing, manufacturing and deploying the new fleet.

The new 170-foot light-rail vehicles will replace PRT’s 76 existing 80-foot LRVs, which have exceeded their useful design life and reached technical obsolescence, PRT officials said in a press release.

The new vehicles will feature upgraded propulsion systems designed to improve energy efficiency and ride quality. PRT estimates that the new high-efficiency vehicles could reduce energy consumption across the light-rail network by up to 5 percent.

PRT officials said the new LRVs will maximize passenger space and accommodate volumes that currently require multi-car trains. Wheelchair lifts and flat interior floor layouts will provide accessible boarding at every station across PRT’s light-rail system.

The transit agency will use its capital bonding capacity while pursuing additional grants to help finance the overall project.