 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Youngstown, Ohio |
| Reporting mark | YB |
| Locale | Ohio |
| Dates of operation | 1997–present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
TheYoungstown Belt Railroad (reporting markYB) is a part of theOhio Central Railroad System, which was bought byGenesee & Wyoming Inc. in 2008, serving the area northwest ofYoungstown, Ohio. It began operations in 1997, mainly on ex-Erie Railroad trackage owned by the affiliatedWarren and Trumbull Railroad (W&T), which acquired the "Lordstown Cluster" fromConrail in 1996. It also leases a short ex-Baltimore and Ohio Railroad segment fromCSX Transportation, formerly operated by the W&T.
The company operates in three separate areas nearWarren,Niles, and Youngstown, connected bytrackage rights over theNorfolk Southern Railway. In addition to its connections with affiliated railroads – the Warren and Trumbull Railroad atWarren, Ohio andYoungstown and Austintown Railroad atYoungstown, Ohio – itinterchanges inYoungstown, Ohio withNorfolk Southern atYoungstown, Ohio and withCSX at Ohio Junction. The track spans 5 miles and is rated for rail cars up to 286,000 pounds.[1][2][3]
The YB's trackage near Youngstown and Niles includes pieces of a former main line, completed in 1856 by theCleveland and Mahoning Railroad, a predecessor of theErie Railroad.[4] Other ex-Erie trackage includes two branches to Leadville (connecting with theYoungstown and Austintown Railroad there) and theU.S. Steel Ohio Works,[5] and the portion of the line at Warren north of theWarren and Trumbull Railroad junction (opened by theAtlantic and Great Western Railroad as part of a main line toDayton in 1863[4]). The remainder of the Warren line was opened in 1873 by theAshtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburgh Railroad, aPennsylvania Railroad predecessor.[4] Conrail sold all of these lines to theWarren and Trumbull Railroad in 1996,[6] and later that year the W&T leased a connecting ex-Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line near Youngstown fromCSX Transportation.[7] Effective January 1, 1997, the Youngstown Belt Railroad began operating this trackage under lease.[8]
