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RE: (erielack) Akron Questions
Speaking of the EL in Akron, in studying my EL Marion Division Trainsheets
I've become very interested in the activities in and around Akron
(especially from JO tower and west toward Sterling and Creston). I've had
some discussions with Paul B. off list and some other folks too, but was
wondering if anyone here could answer the following:
- - what locals were based out of Akron? Or did they originate in Kent? How
far to the west did the local work?
- - What industries/interchanges did they work?
- - Yard jobs in Akron? I would assume around the clock.
- - What was the switching arrangement with Quaker Oats? Frequency? Quantity
of traffic prior to closing? I have one document showing major online plant
closings which shows that Quaker Oats in Akron closed in 1969 with the loss
of 516 carloads; another portion of Quaker Oats in Akron closed in 1971 with
the loss of 257 carloads.
- - I'm aware from other documents I have of the 1st Barberton Run and 2nd
Barberton Run but know nothing specific of this local. Can anyone provide
specific info as to the industries/interchanges each worked, when each
Barberton Run ran and so forth.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks.
Steve
> -----Original Message-----
> From: erielack-owner_@_lists.elhts.org
> [mailto:erielack-owner_@_lists.elhts.org]On Behalf Of krinmich@aol.com
> Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 12:05 AM
> To: Smtimko_@_aol.com; doctorpb@bellsouth.net
> Cc: erielack_@_lists.elhts.org; caltrains@cboss.com
> Subject: Re: (erielack) Akron Questions
>
>
> Steve is esentially correct, but there are a few corrections
> needed. The track between Arlington and Warwick was actually a
> paired track arrangement. PRR (PC) (Conrail) owned one track and
> B&O owned the other track. PRR (PC) (Conrail) operated the
> section as a double track between the two locations.
>
> Before the PC merger, this had been PRR's through route to
> Columbus. So auto parts from Chrysler Twinsburg and Ford at
> Bedford would move via this route (informally known by its old
> initials of CA&C) to Columbus and points south. They would get
> off the C&P at Hudson and use the single track down to Arlington
> where the joint track started. Warwick to Orrville and Orrville
> to Columbus was single track and all secondary track. Orrville
> to Columbus was gone as a through route by my time, but I
> understand it had adverse grades, lots of curves, and
> insufficient passing sidings in terms of number and length. So
> very quickly PC started running the auto parts west at Orrville
> to Crestline and then the Big Four Route to Columbus.
>
> Under PC and early Conrail symboling, the trains were OM-8
> (Buckeye to Motor) and I think MO-7. Under Conrail, they were
> COMY and MYCO. So JO would still see a through train on the
> ex-PRR route until Conrail eliminated Hudson to Orrville as the
> route for the Twinsburg and Bedford traffic in the early 1980's.
> Akron also dispatched a Conway train that would take the M&C
> Secondary to Mace, Canton, and Conway. As Steve will also
> remember, there were 3 to 4 ex-EL route trains that used Orrville
> to South Akron and got on the EL there. With the beginning of
> Conrail, it actually brought more home road trains (in this case
> Conrail) to the route between Warwick and South Akron than had
> been there in a long time. As Steve says, the preponderance of
> traffic was B&O. And this was true even before PC pulled the
> Motor to Columbus trains off of the route. As Steve says, we
> would use the route Orrville to Hudson and around the wye to go
> east on the C&P towards Alliance for detour mov!
> es.
>
> Regarding the main line split switch derails, I can remember the
> EL superintendent at Marion around 1975 or 1976 complaining about
> them. They seemed prone to causing derailments because the wheel
> would pick the switch. And the split switch derail usually
> increased the amount of damage done when there was a derailment there.
>
> Before Conrail, JO was not a train order office for the E-L. The
> operator at JO never liked handing on anyway because he had to go
> down several flights to get from street level to the tracks
> located in the subway through town. What we would do at JO is
> use an E-L rule D-239 that allowed us to use manned towers to
> flag trains for movements against the current of traffic. In
> that case, we'd stop the train that was to be reversed.
> Qualified man off of the train would get on the phone with JO,
> and after the operator had placed blocking devices on all
> affected signals, the operator would advise the crew member that
> he was holding all west or all east for him at JO. Most of the
> times we'd be crossing an eastbound over at the only interlocked
> facing point crossover for miles located at Sterling. That was
> usally around some other eastbound that had stalled on No. 2 on
> the ruling grade at Wadsworth. Although JO would not hand on an
> order and did not have an order board, we wou!
> ld get most JO operators to copy a hold order. Then we'd write
> a right over order at Sterling and give to the eastbound to use
> No. 1 from Sterling to some trailing point switch (usually Silver
> Creek) and the eastbound would get the order on the move at
> Sterling without stopping. Not exactly kosher, but it worked and
> was safe. There were also no block lines between towers on the
> EL Kent Division so the Marion dispatcher would have to call the
> JO operator to advise when eastbounds were by Silver Creek
> Interlocking or when westbounds departed Kent (with divisional
> crews) or by SN (Interdivisional crews). When you gave JO the
> eastbound you had to let him know if it was going to work at
> Akron or not. As I recall, JO always seemed to EL the break on
> the traffic there. I don't remember getting too many delays from
> B&O trains there.
>
> I didn't see your original question, but from Steve's email I've
> gathered you had some questions about clearances. I don't
> remember any height problems through Akron. Anything that could
> run on the 2nd Sub of the Mahoning Division could run through
> Akron. You have to remember that we just never had too many
> clearance problems on the EL. Now there may have been something
> around Akron where a particular track might have had to be used
> at Akron, but I don't remember anything. Any regular high cars -
> tri-levels and hi-cubes - had no problems. I can't tell you if
> there would have been a clearance problem if double stacks had
> been running then.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Smtimko_@_aol.com
> To: doctorpb_@_bellsouth.net
> Cc: erielack_@_lists.elhts.org; caltrains@cboss.com; KRinMich@aol.com
> Sent: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 9:11 PM
> Subject: Re: (erielack) Akron Questions
>
>
> Paul and List----
>
> First, let me remind you that I'm a Mahoning Division guy, and
> Akron was on the Marion Divn so my knowledge of JO is limited to
> my dealings with it when I was Supervisor of Operating Rules for
> Conrail's Youngstown (and later Pittsburgh) Division. By the
> time that I took that position (1984) JO was closed except for
> when trackwork was being done, we called an extra operator.
>
> Second---The B&O did not own the route! The Erie crossed the
> PRR's Akron Branch at JO Tower. The B&O had trackage rights over
> the PRR from AY (Arlington--a few miles north of JO) to Warwick
> (about 12-15 miles south of JO). Actually, the operator at JO
> never saw a PRR or PC train under normal circumstances. The PRR
> had a yard at Akron, and the trains operated south from Akron to
> Warwick, over the M&C Secondary from Warwick to Mace and then to
> Conway via Canton, Alliance, etc. The only time a PRR train
> would traverse JO Tower is when there was a derailment on the M&C
> or P-FW-C Line and the AC-4 would operate
> Akron-Hudson-Alliance-Conway. That was rare.
>
> Third--The derail on the EL had a guard rail so if the train
> passed the stop signal, the engine would derail toward the EL EB
> main and remain upright. Normally, the derail would derail the
> equipment to the right, but in this case, it would foul the PRR
> traffic (read B&O) and also the signal equipment between the two
> roads. By the time I hired out (1965) most all of the
> interlockings had the derails removed. You still had to throw
> the levers in the tower to make the proper locking in the locking
> bed, but there was no physical derail. SN Jct was that way as
> was Deforest, Shenango and others. There may have been a couple
> of locations that the derails were left in but I do not remember.
>
> As far as the clearance is concerned. I don't know. EL
> frequently moved cars up to 18'6" high. Not certain what
> restrictions were involved at Akron. Perhaps Keith Robbins can
> assist or maybe Cal Banse knows. Hopefully they will respond.
>
> SMT
>
>
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