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Re: (erielack) Erie, Lackawanna, and NKP 1881-83

Phillip,
 
You get a distorted view of EL's relationship with Youngstown if you look at the city today without an appreciation for what's changed since EL days.  Back in 1977, the largest employer in town was Youngstown Sheet and Tube, which had one set of mills on the north side of town (Briar Hill Works) that stretched for miles, and an even larger set on the south side of town (Campbell Works).  There were many other manufacturing concerns as well, steel mills and steel product fabricators.  The EL shipped in iron ore to the Youngstown-Warren area by the trainload.
 
All that's gone now, including much of the EL 1st Subdivision from Cleveland to Youngstown.  The largest employer in town is Youngstown State University, followed by the local hospital system and local government.  The EL used to run through the downtown area (and the old EL passenger station is still there, although there are no longer tracks beside it.)  The area's population has dropped as thousands of people have migrated from the rust belt to the sun belt (yours truly among them).  Literally miles of factories have been flattened and carted away.
 
Think of it as an area that should have turned into a ghost town but has somehow managed to hang on, and it should make more sense to you.
 
Jeff Larson
ELHS #2683 
 
- -----Original Message-----
From: martinpl3_@_earthlink.net
To: erielack_@_lists.elhts.org
Sent: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:50 AM
Subject: RE: (erielack) Erie, Lackawanna, and NKP 1881-83


(snip)
I spent about an hour Sunday morning, looking around Youngstown.  It's one
of those funny citys with apparently not many people in it, buildings that
look burned out; but also with an impressive center street.  I got a look
at the B&O Station Restaurant, a nice brick building, with a car port at
the front entrance like Madison's, and a small spot for Amtrak parking,
with Amtrak's phone number posted.  I took a look in Amtrak's folder, and
it doesn't go toYoungstown anymore.
Philip Martin  
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