Nostalgia & History > The end of the Erie in Akron

It's September 2nd,1980, and Conrail is done with the former EL in my hometown of Akron,Ohio. All that is left is to salvage what they can, hence this work train dragging in rail lifted from the main a bit west of town. It was a slow process, and painfull to watch the piece of railroad that captured my young railfan interest disappear before my very eyes. Even those nice B&O Blue EMDs couldn't help the sadness this day. How many of you out there have had to watch a similar scene?
RAD

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Although I was in Terre Haute and not home, the D&H's old Albany & Susquehanna line (commonly known as the Albany Main) was torn up this summer by CP. I never had much of an opportunity to railfan this unique bit of local history -- as a youngster I was only able to spend occasional time trackside, and those times were spent on the far-busier Conrail Selkirk Branch (that, and my parents would have nothing to do with chasing a train!) -- and I'll always feel remiss in having zero photos of trains operating along the eastern end of the line.

Below, the scene on the evening of August 09, 2004, at MP A7.0 in Slingerlands, NY.

-Dave
http://www.davehonan.com/

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I watched them tear up the MKT Rotan branch from Waco to Rotan, Tx. I watched them tear out the Rock Island from Dublin Tx to Graham TX (former Wichita Falls and Southern) and saw the Katy from DeLeon Tx to Cross Plains, Tx. And, the Cisco and Northeastern (T&P sub) from Cisco to Breckenridge Tx. The Weatherford, Mineral Wells and NW (T&P sub). And finally, the Quannah Acme and Pacific (Frisco Sub.) from Floydada to Quannah Tx. I've seen to much of that and never went to see another funeral. Too many memories and too painful.