Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad

Categories: Ohio railroads | Pennsylvania railroads | New York Central Railroad | CSX Transportation | Former Class I railroads in the United States

Pennsylvania and Lake Erie Railroad
Image:Logo of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad.gif

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Locale Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Youngstown, Ohio
Dates of operation 1875 – 1993
Track gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) (AAR reporting mark PLE), also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Haselton, Ohio, in the west following the Monongahela River to the Golden Triangle, then the Ohio River north to Beaver, Pennsylvania. From there it follows the Beaver River to New Castle, Pennsylvania, then the Mahoning River, and finally crossing into Ohio just below Lowellsville, Pennsylvania.

From 1877 the company operated the Smithfield Street Bridge and the Jones and Laughlin Iron Works, both in Pittsburgh, PA. It purchased many smaller railroads that operated in the areas of its main train line extending the line north to Lake Erie. This provided a means of transportation from the steel centers of Pittsburgh to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway area.

The company was taken over in the 1920s by the New York Central Railroad but operated as an independent subsidiary, even after New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad merged to form Penn Central.

In 1993 the company was taken over by CSX Transportation. The headquarters at the bottom of an incline in Pittsburgh has been converted into a shopping center, Station Square. The passenger station has been placed on a list of historic edifices and spruced up.

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Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America

United States: AMTK, BNSF, CSXT, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, UP - Canada: CN, CP, VIA - Mexico: FXE, TFM

Former or fallen flag Class I railroads of the United States (Detailed list)

ACL, ACY, AD, AGS, AA, ASAB, ATSF, AWP, BAR, BLE, BM, BN, BO, BRI, BSLW, CA, CAGY, CBQ, CEI, CG, CGW, CI, CIM, CMO, CNJ, CNTP, CNW, CO, CR, CRP, CRR, CS, CV, CW, CWC, DH, DLW, DM, DMIR, DRGW, DSA, DSL, DTI, DTS, DWP, EJE, EL, ERIE, FEC, FWD, GA, GBW, GCSF, GF, GMN, GMO, GN, GSF, GTW, IC, ICG, IGN, ITC, KOG, LA, LAT, LIRR, LHR, LN, LNE, LSI, LV, MEC, MGA, MI, MILW, MKT, MON, MP, MSC, MSTL, MTR, MV, NC, NH, NKP, NNE, NOTM, NP, NW, NWP, NYC, NYCN, NYSW, OCAA, OE, OT, OW, PC, PLE, PM, PRR, PRSL, PSF, PSN, PWV, RDG, RFP, RI, RUT, SAL, SAUG, SBD, SBM, SCL, SLSF, SI, SIR, SN, SOU, SP, SPS, SSFT, SSW, STLH, TAG, TC, TM, TN, TNO, TP, TPW, UTAH, VGN, WA, WAB, WC, WLE, WM, WP, YMV