Shortline Railroad

[Randy]

Sunday in Meadville Pa I happened upon this locomotive in the former Erie Lackawanna (now Norfolk Southern) Meadville yards. The yards then passed to Conrail in 1976 and become property of Norfolk Southern in 1999. The Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad is a Shortline owned by the Livonia, Avon, & Lakeville Railway Company operated from Meadville Pa to Buffalo NY. The locomotive is Western New York & Pennsylvania #426 an Alco Century Class 425 formerly of the Chicago Belt Railway. This locomotive was built in 1966 at Scenectady New York and is still in use.

[Rachel]

What's a Shortline Randy?

[Randy]

A shortline is a railroad that runs on tracks abandoned or sold off by a major railroad. These are usually backed up by local, state, and government funding to provide service to online shippers that would not have freight service if the line were abandoned. They also call them DO Lines or Designated Operator Lines. This stretch of railroad had been abandoned in the mid-nineteen seventies by Conrail as redundant. The line from Meadville Pennsylvania to Buffalo New York was rebuilt in 2000-2001 and has shown to be profitable not only to the WNYP but also to online industry. Norfolk Southern lent funds and track equipment to WNYP for renovation in trade for an agreement to let NS run Unit Coal Trains over the line in a Per Diem Cost Agreement.

[Randy]

I forgot to mention, these pics were taken with my GAF L-17 with VR 200 film.

[kamera]

Randy,

You fooled me...I was expecting somehow an old puffer-belly more associated with 'shortline railway' like in the monopoly game... ;D ;D

These modern engines, for the yard or long distance, just do not appeal to me like the old steamers. I even liked the streamlined ones of the 70's better.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

[Rachel]

admin said:

A shortline is a railroad that runs on tracks abandoned or sold off by a major railroad. These are usually backed up by local, state, and government funding to provide service to online shippers that would not have freight service if the line were abandoned.

Thanks Randy. As far as I know we don't have anything like that in the UK. The nearest thing is publicly subsidised bus routes which are uneconomic commercially but are deemed a necessary public service.

Some privately preserved railways in the UK do run regular passenger services, at least part of the year, and even the odd commercial freight service.