Youngstown Belt Railroad
 | |
| Reporting mark | YB |
|---|---|
| Locale | Ohio |
| Dates of operation | 1997– |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Headquarters | Youngstown, Ohio |
The Youngstown Belt Railroad (reporting mark YB) is a part of the Ohio Central Railroad System, which was bought by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. in 2008, serving the area northwest of Youngstown, Ohio. It began operations in 1997, mainly on ex-Erie Railroad trackage owned by the affiliated Warren and Trumbull Railroad (W&T), which acquired the "Lordstown Cluster" from Conrail in 1996. It also leases a short ex-Baltimore and Ohio Railroad segment from CSX Transportation, formerly operated by the W&T.
The company operates in three separate areas near Warren, Niles, and Youngstown, connected by trackage rights over the Norfolk Southern Railway. In addition to its connections with affiliated railroads - the Warren and Trumbull Railroad at Warren and the Mahoning Valley Railway and Youngstown and Austintown Railroad at Youngstown - it interchanges in Youngstown with the Norfolk Southern at Haselton Yard[1] and with CSX.[2]
History
The YB's trackage near Youngstown and Niles includes pieces of a former main line, completed in 1856 by the Cleveland and Mahoning Railroad, a predecessor of the Erie Railroad.[3] Other ex-Erie trackage includes two branches to Leadville (connecting with the Youngstown and Austintown Railroad there) and the U.S. Steel Ohio Works,[4] and the portion of the line at Warren north of the Warren and Trumbull Railroad junction (opened by the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad as part of a main line to Dayton in 1863[3]). The remainder of the Warren line was opened in 1873 by the Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburgh Railroad, a Pennsylvania Railroad predecessor.[3] Conrail sold all of these lines to the Warren and Trumbull Railroad in 1996,[5] and later that year the W&T leased a connecting ex-Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line near Youngstown from CSX Transportation.[6] Effective January 1, 1997, the Youngstown Belt Railroad began operating this trackage under lease.[7]
References
- ↑ Norfolk Southern Corporation, List of Short Lines: Youngstown Beltline Railroad [sic], accessed February 2009
- ↑ CSX Corporation, Short Line Partners: Youngstown Belt Railroad, accessed February 2009
- 1 2 3 Christopher T. Baer, PRR Chronology, accessed February 2009
- ↑ Railroad Switching District: Youngstown Ohio, 1934
- ↑ STB Finance Docket No. 33012, 1996
- ↑ STB Finance Docket No. 33118, 1996
- ↑ Railroad Retirement Board, Employer Status Determination: The Youngstown Belt Railroad Company, 1997