Cuyahoga Valley Line 4070 is in Akron on Oct. 27, 1979. The locomotive and its train will pull up to me and then back around the wye at Akron Junction on the Baltimore & Ohio. This will position the train for its trip back to Cleveland.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Erie Lackawanna E8A is stuck in the middle in the motive power consist of this EL train in Akron on October 1, 1972. The 813 was built in April 1951 for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western where it had the same roster number as shown here.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
The heritage of the Wheeling & Lake Erie’s Akron Subdivision dates Northern Ohio Railway, which would later become part of the Akron, Canton & Youngstown that began operations in 1912.
One lasting feature of the AC&Y is a 13-span 690-foot trestle built in 1926 over the Ohio & Erie Canal in downtown Akron.
This image was made on Aug. 22, 2006, in early evening. My memory is that I was on my way home after a trip to Coshocton to discuss an upcoming Akron Railroad Club steam excursion behind Ohio Central No. 1293.
I’m not happy about the utility pole in the image, but I couldn’t get into a better position to get both locomotives. The view is at the far eastern end of the bridge.
Two of this trio of locomotives pulling a stone train in Akron on Aug. 1, 2015, wear liveries that suggest they once worked for BNSF. SD40-2 No. 6388 wears Burlington Northern colors while the middle unit has a BNSF scheme. The train is shown on the CSX New Castle Subdivision.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Usually photographers stand on South Main Street when trying to get an eastbound on the CSX New Castle Subdivision with the iconic Firestone sign in the frame. But this image was made from Miller Avenue and incorporates both the Firestone sign and the Main Street bridge. The gravel path off the right is where the Erie Lackawanna mainline once ran. The track to the left leads to behind the Firestone complex. The photograph was created on May 20, 2010.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
CSX GP40-2 No. 4411 leads an eastbound through Akron on Aug. 20, 2021, in the top image. The same train and locomotive is shown in the bottom image earlier in the day making a setout/pickup in Clinton at Warwick Yard. No. 4411 was built for Conrail as No. 3303.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
Erie Lackawanna Alco RS3 No. 1014 is shown in Akron in January 1973 at the engine facility of McCoy Street Yard. In three years the EL would be folded into Conail, which would eventually raze and remove most of the EL infrastructure in Akron.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
On a recent Sunday, I had the opportunity to head to Wendy Park at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and check out the new foot bridge over the Norfolk Southern tracks at CP Drawbridge.
The foot bridge brings the Towpath Trail to its northern terminus at Lake Erie.
For us railfans it means an elevated vantage point to photograph NS Chicago Line trains. Lighting during the afternoon I spent there was perfect for westbounds coming off the Cuyahoga River lift bridge.
Depending on where the sun is you can get buildings in downtown Cleveland as your backdrop, or, as it was when I was there, FirstEnergy Stadium and the industrial structures on the east bank of the river.
To access the footbridge you park at Wendy Park or on the west bank near the Willow Street lift bridge over the old river bed.
A short walk up the ramp will get you to the best spots for photography. The fence is the large chain link so most camera lenses will fit between the links.
In Akron, the new Evans Avenue overpass over the CSX New Castle Subdivision at the east end of Akron Yard will be opening soon. The new bridge will have a fence on it over the tracks, but we’ll have to see what it looks like from beside the fencing for shots of CSX trains on the former Baltimore & Ohio.
Akron Railroad Club member Ron McElrath visited the bridge site on Sept. 17 and reported the bridge was about to open.
An access road descends toward the former grade crossing, which at the time still had working gates and lights despite the lack of a road.
The new bridge has a sidewalk that is fenced over the tracks. The Freedom Trail, which uses a portion of the former Erie Lackawanna right of way, offers good vantage points, particularly the wood stairs opposite the connection to the Wheeling & Lake Erie.
Article by Marty Surdyk
I found a photo I took on Sept. 22, 1984, of former Grand Trunk Western No. 4070 on the Cuyahoga Valley Line at the intersection of Portage Path & Merriman Roads in Akron.
I wanted to duplicate that shot with Nickel Plate Road’s 765 during its visit this month to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
On the Sunday morning ferry move to Akron I did that.
In the morning the sun favors the fireman’s side of a southbound train. However, at this location the railroad shifts facing west to east, thus the sun favors the engineer’s side.
The lighting was perfect for the 9:35 a.m. arrival.
Photographs by Edward Ribinskas
Thursday morning CSX ran its ofice car special across northern Ohio and Pennsylvania.
With two F40PHs and 11 passenger cars all decked out in a Baltimore & Ohio inspired livery it looked like the Capitol Limited had returned once again.
I first caught the special at Akron. The weather was foggy and overcast but my photos turned out okay.
Next was Youngstown where the weather wasn’t any better but I was interviewed by a local TV station curious as to why all the railfans were waiting on the Center Street bridge.
Then it was on to Station Square in Pittsburgh. The weather was much improved but we unfortunately were cloud skunked when the train arrived.
In times past the Capitol would have made a stop here.
Article and Photographs by Todd Dillon
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