Tag Archives: Kenton Ohio

Vestige of the Erie Railroad, near Kenton, Ohio

Looking east toward oblivion.

Former Erie Railroad mainline east of Kenton, Ohio.  West of the Pennsylvania-Ohio line, the former Erie route was fragmented following the creation of Conrail in 1976.
Former Erie Railroad mainline east of Kenton, Ohio. West of the Pennsylvania-Ohio line, the former Erie route was fragmented following the creation of Conrail in 1976.

On June 14, 2010, I spent the day tracing the route of the old Erie Railroad between Marion, Ohio and the Ohio-Indiana state line. At Marion, the former Erie line is still active, albeit integrated with other routes. West of Marion, it’s largely abandoned. In some places the former double-track mainline is easy to follow, in others it has been ploughed under with virtually no evidence left to hint that it was ever there.

At Kenton, Ohio, I found this vestige of Erie double track, where the line crossed County Road 140, east of Main Street. I’m looking east, toward Marion. I can only imagine The Lake Cities (Jersey City-Chicago) racing west across this crossing, or one of Erie’s magnificent S-class Berkshires hitting the crossing with tonnage.

I was happy to find track in place to give me some sense of what the railroad was about. Who knows what I’ll find if I return in ten years time.

Exposed with my Lumix LX-3 digital camera.

 

 

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