FAIRPORT, PAINESVILLE & EASTERN
RAILROAD/RAILWAY
The Gist of It …
The Fairport,
Painesville & Eastern Railroad was a short line railroad located in
northeastern Ohio. It was established
in 1910, and was intended to extend from Fairport Harbor (in Lake County) to
Austinburg (in Ashtabula County).
Though the FP&E briefly made it as far east as Harpersfield Township
(just east of the Lake County-Ashtabula County border), it never made it to Austinburg,
and for most of the railroad's existence Perry, Ohio was the eastern end of the
line. The FP&E was an independent
railroad until 1968, when the Norfolk & Western Railway and the Penn
Central Company jointly took control of it.
Despite being owned by a couple of 'big railroads' and having a slightly
different name (Fairport, Painesville & Eastern Railway instead of
Fairport, Painesville & Eastern Railroad ), the FP&E continued to operate until it was merged into
the N&W in 1984. The former
FP&E main line between Perry and Fairport Harbor still exists today, but
now it is just a branch line of the Norfolk Southern Railway, and is known as
the Fairport Industrial Track (part of the Pittsburgh Division).
Some Background …
I have been interested in trains since
my childhood, so having been born and raised in the city of Painesville it was
natural for me to have an interest in my hometown railroad (actually the
FP&E went through Painesville Township rather than the city of Painesville
proper, but that's close enough for me).
In addition to the hometown connection, it turns out I have some family
connections to the FP&E as well: My
great-grandpa John S. Merrill was on the FP&E's Board of Directors from
1913 through 1917, and my great-uncle Bill Lockhart worked on the railroad from
November 1938 to November 1952 (his last position was Fireman). Since I grew up in the 1970s—long after my
relatives' experiences with the railroad had passed—I had no awareness of the
family connection to the railroad; instead, my interest in the FP&E was
sparked by my experiences of the railroad as a youngster: seeing yellow diesels
with loud clanging bells switching cars in the West Yard whenever my parents
took my sister and I to a function in Fairport Harbor (usually the Mardi Gras).
Up until the
end of 2008, I had a very small collection of materials about the FP&E, and
thought that there wasn't much more information to be had. Then a discussion on the Yahoo Group
"clevelandrails" led me to do some web searching, and suddenly I
found leads to a whole slew of information I didn't know about before:
Interstate Commerce Commission reports.
Fortunately, I found a library close to home that had all the ICC
reports ever published, and was able to make copies of every ICC report I could
find on the FP&E. These documents,
along with other materials I found/collected afterward, enabled me to figure
out a good portion of the history of the rail line—and now I'm ready to
assemble this information to share with others.
By following
the links below you will find information such as a detailed chronology/history
of the FP&E, some system maps, a detailed roster of the FP&E's diesel
locomotives and rolling stock, some photos of the diesels, and details about
the FP&E's operations. In addition,
for those that want to collect their own materials on the FP&E I have some
information on resources you can find/use.
And since you can't really talk about the Fairport, Painesville &
Eastern without talking about its most important and largest customer—the
Diamond Alkali Corporation (later Diamond Shamrock)—I have a webpage dedicated
to information about the Diamond's Painesville Works.
The Good Stuff …
Click here to read my
chronology/history of the FP&E.
Earlier versions can be found in posts I made at the
"clevelandrails" Yahoo Group (click here to visit),
and on George Elwood's website "Fallen Flags and Other Railroad
Photos" (click here and scroll
down.)
Click here for maps of
the FP&E.
Click here for the
FP&E's diesel locomotive roster/history.
(I have very little information about the FP&E's steam
locomotives;
until that situation
changes this is the only locomotive roster I have to offer.)
Click here for some
pictures of FP&E diesel locomotives and links to other FP&E photos
that can be found on the
world wide web.
Click here for the
FP&E's freight car roster.
Click here
to read a transcription of the FP&E's Employee Time Table #1, issued in
1932.
Click here
for information about the FP&E's operations during the diesel era.
Click here
for traffic data from the FP&E's diesel era.
Click here for a guide
to some FP&E resources.
Click here
for information about the unique relationship between Diamond Alkali and the
FP&E.
Click here for
information about the Diamond Alkali/Shamrock Painesville Works.
Click here
for information about the other industries served by the FP&E.
Click here to see
FP&E photos from my & other people's collections.
Questions?
Comments?
Contact me at:
Created by Scott Nixon
July 2009
Updated:
September 2009, October 2010, April 2011