Akron Barberton Cluster Railway
The Akron Barberton Cluster Railway (reporting mark AB) is a Class III railroad that operates on 73 miles (117 km) of track in and around Akron, Ohio.
History
ABC Railway's beginnings trace back to the organization of the Akron and Barberton Belt Railroad (ABB) which had been formed in the late 19th century. ABB owned 62 miles (100 km) of track in and around Akron, Ohio.
By the 1980s, ABB's traffic had fallen due to a lack of business in the tire industry in Akron. In 1994, the new Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway purchased the ABB. After the ICC and W&LE signed an agreement and contract in 1993, W&LE made arrangements to form a new railroad in Akron using the former ABB as its basis.
In early 1994, WE created Akron Barberton Cluster Railway (ABCR) from the former ABB assets. It also included the former Erie main line from Barberton to Rittman and from Kent to Ravenna, Ohio sold by Conrail. In 1997, ABCR was granted permission to tear out 45% the former ABB "Loop" line which looped from the grade in Barberton and Firestone Park to the WE's Brittain Yard in Akron. In 1999, ABCR took the line out of service, and in 2001, they tore the line out completely with expenses paid off by parent railroad company, WE.
Current system
ABCR has trackage rights on CSX's New Castle Subdivision from the yard in Akron south to Barberton, where it swings off around their headquarters area. ABCR is headquartered in a small building off a local road in Barberton, Ohio. ABCR uses the restored Erie Railroad line from Barberton to Rittman, Ohio.
In 2002, the railroad acquired the line to the General Electric factory in northern Ravenna, Ohio. ABCR has purchased trackage rights with METRO Regional Transit Authority in 2006, to connect to the Canton area.
References
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- Akron Barberton Cluster Railway
- Ann Arbor Railroad
- Ashland Railway
- Ashtabula, Carson and Jefferson Railroad
- Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad
- CSX Transportation
- Camp Chase Railway
- Canadian National Railway
- Central Railroad of Indiana
- Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad
- Cleveland Commercial Railroad
- Cleveland Works Railway
- Columbus and Ohio River Railroad
- Flats Industrial Railroad
- Indiana Eastern Railroad
- Indiana Northeastern Railroad
- Indiana and Ohio Railway
- Kanawha River Railroad
- Lake Terminal Railroad
- Mahoning Valley Railway
- Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad
- Newburgh and South Shore Railroad
- Norfolk Southern Railway
- Northern Ohio and Western Railway
- Ohi-Rail Corporation
- Ohio Central Railroad
- Ohio Southern Railroad
- Ohio Terminal Railway
- R.J. Corman Railroad/Cleveland Line
- R.J. Corman Railroad/Western Ohio Lines
- Republic N&T Railroad
- U S Rail Corporation
- Warren and Trumbull Railroad
- Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway
- Youngstown and Austintown Railroad
- Youngstown and Southeastern Railroad
- Youngstown Belt Railroad
- AK Steel
- Centrus
- Dupps Company
- Railservice
- Temperance Yard Corporation
- U.S. Rail Corporation
- Buckeye Central Scenic Railroad
- Byesville Scenic Railway
- Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
- Hocking Valley Scenic Railway
- Lake Shore Railway Association
- Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad
- Toledo, Lake Erie and Western Railway
- Zanesville & Western Scenic Railroad
- See also: Former carriers in Ohio
- List of United States railroads by political division