Akron & Barbeton Belt

Company History: A&BB was the result of a 1902 merger of 3 shortlines. It ran between East Akron and Barberton, Ohio. It was later extended to Rittman. The line was 19 miles long. In the steam era, A&BB used a small fleet of 0-6-0’s built to PRR designs and a 2-6-0. These had dog houses on their tenders which were used in lieu of a caboose. Cabooses were not acquired until the 1940s. Dieselization came with the 1942 arrival of four Baldwin switchers. Major customers included PPG (glass,) Babcock & Wilcox (boilers) and O.C. Barber (matches.) For most of its life, A&BB was jointly controlled by Akron Canton & Youngstown, Baltimore & Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Erie. In 1964, an RS-3 was bought from the PRR. This and the Baldwins were retired in 1972. A&BB replaced them with leased power from Precision National and others. During this period, the & in the name became optional. Switchers wearing A&BB colors reappeared in 1982. In 1994, Wheeling & Lake Erie bought all the shares and established the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway to run the line. Akron & Barberton Belt became a fallen flag.

Successor/Parent History: The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (reporting mark WLE) was a Class I railroad mostly within the U.S. state of Ohio. It was leased to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) in 1949, and merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1988. A new regional railroad reused the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway name in 1990 when it acquired most of the former W&LE from the N&W.

At the end of 1944, W&LE operated 507 miles of road and 1003 miles of track; that year it reported 2371 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 0.002 million passenger-miles.

The current Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (reporting mark WE) is a Class II regional railroad that provides freight service, mainly in the U.S. state of Ohio. It took its name from the former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, most of which it bought from the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1990.

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