We told the wayback machine to take us to the 1970s in Akron and pushed the random selection button. We wound up going back to June 1976 for some early Conrail action. Former Penn Central F units are leading train AMA heading to Hudson and then to Motor Yard in Macedonia.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
A pair of CSX locomotives power a westbound auto rack train through downtown Akron on July 16, 2015. The two units have contrasting liveries, which was common at the time this image was made. The photograph was made near the traditional railfan hangout spot near Voris Street.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
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
During 2007 the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad operated its four-car Rail Diesel Car fleet between Canton and Akron. The trains typically were three-car sets as shown in these two images.
In the top photograph, a train from Canton is passing beneath the CSX New Castle Subdivision at Akron Junction and passing the CSX yard office near Arlington Street. The train will be at Northside station in a couple of minutes.
In the bottom image, an RDC train bound for Canton passes through the Goodyear complex in Akron. It is about to pass under a bridge that once carried tracks of the Akron & Barberton Belt.
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 Akron Railroads blog today features a remembrance of Jim Mastromatteo who died this week at age 60. Jim was a longtime member of the Akron Railroad Club and served as its secretary from 2016 to 2020. He counted a number of railroads as among his favorites but, arguably, the Wheeling & Lake Erie was his most favorite.
The photograph above is one he made in downtown Akron on the W&LE’s Akron Subdivision. I chose it in part because one of my memories of Jim was seeing his sitting next to this line near Summit Street one afternoon waiting for a train to come.
I also had considered using this image in my second Akron Railroads book and it was one of the last ones to be dropped from consideration. It is scanned from a slide. As far I know Jim always used slide film and never made the transition to digital photography.
Photograph by Jim Mastromatteo
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
Technically, this is a Conrail train. The image was made on July 2, 1976, in Akron and Conrail was a mere three months old. But NW2 No. 410 still wars its EL livery and markings and is working the former EL tracks. So we’ll call it an EL train even if it isn’t.
Photograph by Robert Farkas
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