(erielack) Akron freight house logo picture

[Philip Albano <palbano_@_earthlink.net>]

Henry and list,

The solid E within the diamond on the Akron freight house is intriguing in how it foreshadows the development of the modern EL diamond with the separated elements of the E and L. IIRC, this station was built around 1949 (or was that just the passenger station?). The Erie would have had to approve the blueprints for it, thus making one wonder if the Erie was thinking about changing from spelling out ERIE to a simple, solid E? Think about how a solid E within a diamond would have looked on say a Berkshire tender. Almost too modern for that era. Or is the Akron station logo an anomaly that somehow slipped in? The Corning, NY station was built during the same timeframe but had no solid E, just modern metal letters spelling out "ERIE" above the entrance. The only other evidence I can find of a solid E within the diamond is on page 119 of EL Color Guide to Freight and Passenger equipment by Larry DeYoung. Ballast hopper EL 424302 has a solid E - was this just a paint shop mistake? If so , there was more than one as I vaguely remember seeing these ballast hoppers and thinking the solid E looked odd.

Phil Albano

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