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.](https://i0.wp.com/briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Old-Erie-Railroad-co-road-140-Kenton-Oh-P1180586-1.jpg?resize=474%2C267)
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.