PRR Interlocking Diagrams: Rochester to Cleveland Branches
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PRR INTERLOCKING  DIAGRAMS

ROCHESTER  TO  CLEVELAND

BRANCHES  AND  YARDS

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Low Grade Branch / E&A Branch

Starts from the Fort Wayne main line at ROCHESTER, but does not diverge away from the main line for some distance. The Low Grade Branch, in fact, constitutes the middle 2 tracks of what otherwise would appear to be a 4-track main line. It also maintains the milepost numbers of the Fort Wayne main.

New Brighton, Pa., M.P. 28.9
The Low Grade tracks drop slightly and the (outer 2) Fort Wayne tracks rise to a flyover. After jumping over the Low Grade, the Fort Wayne crosses to the right (west) bank of the Beaver River to continue its ascent. The Low Grade turns rather sharply to proceed northward along the left bank.

WAMPUM JCT., M.P. 41.8

Junction, from the south, of the Koppel Secondary, from WOOD interlocking on the Fort Wayne main line. Name change to the E&A Branch.

CASTLE, New Castle, Pa., M.P. 46.6

GRAHAM, Struthers, O., M.P. 60.8

Crossing of the LE&E.

Youngstown, O.

DIVISION ST., GIRARD, BELMONT ST., Girard, O., M.P. 67.7, 70.0, 73.9

DETOUR, BOANNA, Niles, O., M.P. 75.5, 76.6

Divergence, northward, of the PY&A Branch. Divergence, southwestward from BOANNA, of the Detour Branch.

NILES JCT., Niles, O., M.P. 77.8

Convergence, westward, onto the B&O main line toward Akron and Chicago. PRR had trackage rights from here to Ravenna, O., where there was a connection to the C&P main line toward Cleveland.

Detour Branch

Starts from the E&A Branch at BOANNA, continuing its milepost numbering, and turns southwestward. Serves the former Fisher Body, now Cheverolet Lordstown Assembly, plant at Lordstown (the large factory visible from the Ohio Turnpike and now served by new exits 15A/B).

Continues through Block-Limit Stations JN, BC, NZ.

Rejoins the Fort Wayne main line at CP in Sebring/Alliance.

PY&A Branch, PY&A Secondary Track

Starts from the E&A Branch at DETOUR and immediately diverges northward, continuing the E&A's milepost numbering. PY&A stands for Pittsburgh, Youngstown & Ashtabula.

NORTH WARREN, Warren, O., M.P. 80.9

Crossing of the Erie Second Subdivision, built as a freight bypass of Youngstown. This bypass was built in __ to avoid the longer route south into Youngstown and northwest back out of that city, plus the grades associated with entry into the Mahoning River valley. (Warren is actually not far from the divide between the watersheds of the Ohio/Allegheny and the watershed of Lake Erie, which includes the Cuyahoga, Chagrin, and Grand Rivers in this region.) (?Crossing of the old B&O main.)

Proceeds through not much of anything, through Block-Limit Stations BD, OW, RM, GR. At GR, M.P. 114.7, the name changes to No. 101 and No. 102 Secondary Track.

NP, Ashtabula, O., M.P. 124.2

Crossing of the NKP Buffalo-Chicago main line. Name changes to Ash Secondary Track.

OD, Ashtabula, O., M.P. 125.4

Crossing of the NYC Buffalo-Chicago main line.

West Street Yard.

E&P Branch

CASTLE, New Castle, Pa., M.P. 46.6

BRUIN, Shenango, Pa., M.P. 82.0

Crossing of the Erie main line.

THORNTON JCT., Girard Township, Pa., M.P. 127.6

River Branch

YELLOW CREEK, Yellow Creek, O., M.P. 0.0

ROCKVILLE, Steubenville? Mingo Jct.?, O., M.P. 19.6

MINGO JCT., ?, O., M.P. 20.2

Akron Branch, Akron Secondary Track

The former Cleveland, Akron & Columbus diverges from the Cleveland main at HUDSON and proceeds south to southwest.

CLARK, SILVER, PAYNE, M.P. 0.9, 5.8, 6.8

Cuyahoga Falls, O.
In the town of Cuyahoga Falls, it begins to parallel the B&O Pittsburgh-Chicago main line.

ARLINGTON [AY], Akron, O., M.P. 11.6

Named for the nearby Arlington St. Controlled by JO tower per the 1969 ETT.

JO, Akron, O., M.P. 12.9


Outside, looking east [Don Narris, "Ohio RR Page"]

This tower sat immediately alongside the sidewalk of E. Market and College Sts. in downtown Akron. The adjacent buildings were added later by non-railroad tenants. Were it not for the bay window, in later years painted Penn Central green, one would never have suspected it was a railroad structure, especially when looking at it from either of the two streets. The tower's odd shape on its north (TT east) side was the result of to it being shortened due to the widening of Market St. At that time a GRS machine was installed, replacing the earlier mechanical machine.

The PRR and B&O shared the trackage from here to WARWICK tower. The signal bridges were PRR, whereas the signals were B&O color-position light. Except for the home signals in front of JO itself, the Erie had separate signal bridges.

The Erie main line, arriving from Youngstown and Ravenna, O. It crosses the PRR/B&O on movable-point crossings, then parallels the PRR and B&O through the center of Akron. The Erie is also the first to peel off to the west, toward Ashland and Mansfield, O., where it will cross to the south side of the Fort Wayne. The Erie was abandoned through here in 1983.

The tower remained open until 1989 or 1990. It was razed on 5 April 2001 by the University of Akron, which has owned the property since the 1990s. [thanks to Steve McMullen for various info above]

A "video tour" of JO is available for $24 from Revelation Audio-Visuals, P.O. Box 129, Tallmadge, Ohio 44278; RVQ #26. [Steve McMullen]

LAMBERT, Kenmore [Akron], O., M.P. 18.4

BN, Barberton, O., M.P. 20.6

A tower (interlocking station and block station) with no interlocking directly outside its window. It controlled LAMBERT interlocking 2.2 miles away.

WARWICK, Clinton, O., M.P. 27.2

A complicated junction. Joint operation with the B&O ended here, and this railroad diverges to the west toward Willard, O. (?Mansfield) and Chicago.

The M&C branch diverges south-southeast to Canal Fulton and MACE tower on the Fort Wayne main line.

The Akron Branch changes name to the Akron Secondary Track and continues west, then south.

ORRVILLE, Orrville, O., M.P. 37.2

The CA&C crosses the Fort Wayne main.

From this point, the CA&C continues as a small branch line, in a southwestwardly direction, through Block-Limit Stations KN (55.7), BH (80.9), and GA (94.2). The largest town is Millersburg, M.P. 60.9.

B. & O. R. R. CROSSING, Mt. Vernon, O., M.P. 100.1

Crossing of the B&O's original main line to Chicago, the one that rather nonsensically (in the webmaster's opinion) ran due west from Cumberland, Md., then due north to Chicago Junction, then due west to Chicago. This location was not a block station on the PRR.

Block-Limit Station BG is passed (104.7).

CENTERAC, Centerburg, O., M.P. 113.9

Crossing of the NYC (which line?).

Block-Limit Station CQ (119.1).

LIND, Linden, O., M.P. 140.5

This was a Block Station only, controlled by JOYCE AVE. There was no interlocking and no interlocking station (tower) in this location (as of the 1959 ETT).

PENNOR CROSSING, JOYCE AVE., Columbus, O., M.P. 142.0, 142.1

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Mark D. Bej
bejm@eeg.ccf.org
+1 216-444-0119
2001.12.12