Route of the Phoebe Snow

Just a vignette about #3 --

In Summit there was a hobby/train store on the main street in town. It backed up to the DL&W cut about 500-700 feet west of the station. When #3 came departed they would open the back door of the store. The loud E8s on acceleration created an ecstatic moment for everyone throughout that store.

About 1990, it seemed that part of the DL&W remained near Elmira Heights behind the rapid transit car factory. They may have been using it as part of their yard.

Actually it the car manufacturer (ABB, etc.,) used it as a test track, complete with catinary!

I've been by the Elmira DL&W tracks recently, they're pretty overgrown and don't look like they've been used for at least a year.

In eastern Ohio, the Erie trackage around Youngstown still exists, it may be broken in places. It's operated by the Ohio Central. The cutoff around North Warren MAY still be there, otherwise it's gone.

From Leavitsburg to Ravenna, it's gone. Ravenna to Kent is still in use, operated by Akron Barberton Cluster. Kent to JO Tower in Akron is in place but has trees growing through the ties (JO Tower is gone). Akron from JO to Lambert (in Barberton) is gone, except for a track from the CSX main leading to the old Erie freight station (now Akron Beacon Journal newsprint warehouse). The ABC uses the CSX main to get there.

From Lambert to Rittman it's operated by Akron Barberton Cluster running right past my house. Rittman to West Salem is gone, West Salem to Mansfield is operated by Ashland Railway. Mansfield to Harding is operated by Norfolk Southern to serve the GM plant.

Mansfield to Galion is gone, Galion to Marion is still there, it was the shared line with Big Four, now part of CSX's Greenwich to Indy & StL main.

West of Marion has been covered by someone who knows that area a LOT better than I.

Anyways assuming West Salem-Ashland is still in service, the old Erie Kent Division mainline still has track in service on approx 61.5 of it's 113.4 miles, or only 54%.

rangerjim94 wrote:The portion between Mt. Morris and Groveland was reactivated recently when American Motive Power began doing contract work in the former Foster Wheeler plant in Dansville. This also reactivated the Dansville & Mount Morris line as well. The portion between Mt. Morris and Greigsville is also in use as part of the Rochester Southern's G&W Subdivision as well.From Greigsville to Lancaster, it is all gone. Very little is left of the Lackawanna in New York State, unless you count the NYSW operated Syracuse and Utica branches and the Oswego Branch (CSX).

Another section of the former Lackawanna is alive and well- operated by the Bath & Hammondsport between Wayland and Painted Post. Except for 3 small sections of the former Erie Rochester Division (in Bath, Cohocton and Painted Post), it is indeed the former DL&W main, complete with heavy rail.

The section between Bath and Wayland is owned by SCIDA and has been operated by the B&H since April, 1976. Stan Clark's Champagne Railroad operated over the section between Bath and Cohocton from 1993 until his death in 1995. Thus I got to ride on a short section of the route of the Phoebe Snow!

LAL took control of the B&H in 1996 and elected not to continue the excursions, opting instead to grow the freight business. In late 2001, they took over the former remainder of the EL Wayland branch, between Bath and Painted Post. They now operate 43 miles of track, mostly ex-Lackawanna. Trains run several days per week so this section of the former DL&W (like the NYSW) is at least active.