(rshsdepot) P&LE Was a Major Force Before Falling With Steel

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_home.com>]

The following story discusses some of the PL&E stations in
western Pennsylvania

P&LE Was a Major Force Before Falling With Steel

 STEPHANIE BORRELLI, For The Daily News August 28, 2001

Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Co. wasn't a prominent railway in
the McKeesport area, but it is important to the city's rail
history.

P&LE, a relative late-comer among the railroads of western
Pennsylvania, was the baby of a Pittsburgh businessman William
McCreery.

It was organized in 1875, and the line began its operations in
1879 out of its home office in Pittsburgh, now known as Station
Square.

The railroad was a subsidiary of the New York Central in 1889,
but it maintained its own identity when New York Central and the
Pennsylvania Railroad merged to form Penn Central Feb. 1, 1968.

When Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970, P&LE was on its way back
to independence. Penn Central ownership of P&LE continued until
Feb. 27, 1979.

P&LE's principal offices and freight yard were located in
Pittsburgh, but its services eventually ran right through
McKeesport to Connellsville.

Its tracks through McKeesport were acquired by leasing the
Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad Co. in 1884 for
a term of 999 years.

Eventually the PMcK&Y purchased stock in another McKeesport
railroad, the McKeesport and Belle Vernon.

In January of 1890, P&LE bought lines from the Belle Vernon
Junction to Belle Vernon, and 10 months later the PMcK&Y and the
McKeesport Belle Vernon consolidated into one railroad, making
P&LE bigger and more powerful.

All of P&LE's tracks were used to haul coal, iron ore and coke,
but the company also had a passenger service.

The PMcK&Y station, later McKeesport's P&LE station, was located
along Lysle Boulevard where the statue of President John F.
Kennedy now stands.

Passengers could board the train at McKeesport all day and
venture all over the area. It had stops in places such as West
Newton, Elizabeth and even at its main station in Pittsburgh.

Even during World War I, with the small amount of passengers it
transported, these railroad stations were filled with young men
leaving their homes to fight for their countries.

With the start of World War I, P&LE's profits began rising.

The year 1916 brought more U.S. involvement in the war and the
P&LE was called upon to handle war-related traffic.

During WWI, the government established the United States Railroad
Administration to ensure smooth operation of the nation's rail
network.

The P&LE movement of coal, coke, iron ore, limestone and finished
steel increased the railroad's traffic flow during the war, but
not all was this good during the second world war.

After World War II, cars and airplanes began to impact the
railroad passenger business.

Because most of P&LE's profits came from the coal industry, it
was not too heavily impacted by the decline of passenger
transportation. But by the 1970s, its passenger traffic had
disappeared.

This caused many of its stations to close and deteriorate.

P&LE also was there to help other stations in the area.

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, a predominant railroad in McKeesport,
cut right through the heart of the city, causing a nuisance and
hazard to McKeesport's residents and businesses.

The P&LE gave B&O permanent rights over its line surrounding the
edge of the city, and both railroads shared the expense of this
joint section of rail.

P&LE depended on the steel industry, and when it began to decline
in the 1980s, so did the railroad.

P&LE sold its New Castle-to-McKeesport line to CSX in July of
1991 and ended service Sept. 11, 1992. CSX purchased what
remained of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie trackage.

The original Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad yards were adopted
by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation in 1976 and
turned into a thriving entertainment complex.

The current tracks, where the old P&LE once ran, are now occupied
by CSX.

Some of P&LE's stations surrounding the area are vacant or under
renovations.

In 1936, a station built in Elizabeth now stands vacant, and
there's a Glassport-McKeesport station which rots away every
year.

Many travelers used these stations to go back and forth to work
or to visit family. Now all that's left in these spots are
memories.

Some of the stations which have been torn down are being rebuilt
for other purposes.

The P&LE station in West Newton is being rebuilt by the Regional
Trail Corp. of the Youghiogheny River Trail.

The original station was built in 1910, then torn down in the
80s. This station will act as the RTC's offices, and a restored
combine car will act as an educational center.

The YRT North Section is a 43-mile, limestone-surfaced trail
built along the former P&LE tracks. The north section of this
trail has been completed from Boston to Connellsville, and trails
extending to other areas currently are under construction.

P&LE memories can be revisited by spending a day at Station
Square or hoping on your bicycle and going for a ride.

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