Shortline Spotlight: The Youngstown and Southeastern Railway

Article By Ian Cole

Not a lot of shortline  railroads can say they started out as an interurban route. But that is actually the case of the Youngstown  and Southeastern, whose predecessor  the Youngstown  and Southern was created in 1903 and ran interurban  passenger service from 1907 to 1948. The railroad ran from the steel giant Youngstown, Ohio  to the small town of Darlington, Pennsylvania.

The Y & S also had two other branch lines, one that went to the village of Leetonia, Ohio, and the other to the town of Smith's  Ferry, Ohio and both lines  would become abandoned later on. The railroad exchanged owners a handful of times, at one point being jointly owned by the Pittsburgh  and Lake Erie  Railroad and the Pennsylvania  Railroad.
In 1996 the local owner at the time illegally  closed the line at the time and repairs were blocked by the company. The line then went on to become the Central Columbiana and Pennsylvania  Railroad, however that operation  would only last two years. Ohio Central went on to operate  the line until 2006 when the modern day Youngstown  and Southeastern  Railroad  Company was founded.

That railroad  became a hauler of garbage to the Negley, Ohio landfill, however operations to the landfill would only happen for a few years as the landfill and railroad  never came to terms in 2012. However the railroad continues  to haul steel pipes and fracking sand down to Signal, Ohio and Darlington, Pennsylvania.

The railroad also has a modest locomotive  shop down in Negley, Ohio. However  beware railfans, security  is tough so it's  virtually  impossible  to get in unless you know somebody. The railroad  also boasts Two depots that are still standing. One in Columbiana, Ohio that serves as an office, and the other in North  Lima, Ohio where the engines are normally  parked. The line also has a 10 mile per hour speed restriction  so it is fairly easy and convenient  to do chases of.  Locomotive  power that the railroad  uses consists  of all EMD power including GP 18s GP 10s and GP 9s. The railroad also has a nice variety  of paint schemes including one based on the Paducah  and Louisville railroad.

If you are ever in the Youngstown  area this is a great railroad to take some time to railfan. They typically  run every other day to the south of North  Lima and vice versa to the north on days that they are not operating south of North Lima.
One final  note for horn fans. A couple of the engines use RS5T and S5T  horns.

Gone But Not Forgotten: Kinzua Bridge

Many structures are not what they used to be, and the Kinzua Bridge is no exception. Having been built in 1881 thanks to the advocation of General Thomas L. Kane seeing a need for a through railroad route to Buffalo, New York. The cornerstone of the bridge  was placed in August of 1881, and was the largest railroad bridge  in the world at the time.  Ironically,  the original  bridge was replaced roughly 20 years later due to the fact railcars were now being made with heavier steel and other dense materials. Due to this matter,  the bridge  needed rebuilt to support these cars. The replacement  weighed 3,500 tons and was 2,100 feet  long. While the bridge was used quite  frequently  by trains,  The Erie Railroad decided  to operate the last freight train over the bridge on June 21, 1959. It was then turned into the Kinzua Bridge State Park in 1963. In 1977 the bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1982 the Knox and Kane Railroad began operations from Knox to Mt. Jewett, Pennsylvania with the option  to go out onto the bridge by train. In August  of 2002, the operation  was closed due to the deterioration  of the bridges  structure. The State of Pennsylvania   hired a contractor to do the necessary  repairs  to the bridge, but on July 21, 2003 an F1 tornado travelling at 94 miles per hour destroyed 11 of the 20 towers  on the bridge. In 2009, the bridge was envisioned  to become the Kinzua sky walk allowing the visitors  to walk across the remains of the railroad  trestle and look down at the aftermath  of the tornado through a glass floor. The Kinzua Bridge  Sky Walk opened  on September  15, 2011 and is free to visit and view what the wrath of mother nature  can do. While the Sky Walk  is an excellent  landmark, it is only a shell of it's  former self. The bridge  was considered  to be the "8th wonder of the world" and before the collapse was the 4th largest railroad bridge of all time, and the 2nd largest in North America. She may be partially gone, but certainly  not forgotten.