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 circa
1913-1917, and my great-uncle Bill Lockhart was an Engineer on the railroad
from 1936 to 1951 (roughly). 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 that I wrote, scans of some maps I have, a detailed roster of
the FP&E's diesels, and pictures of some of those diesels. 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 Railroad/Railway
without talking about its most important and largest customer—the Diamond
Alkali Corporation (later Diamond Shamrock)—I have some information about the
Diamond's Painesville Works as well.
The Good Stuff …
Click here to read a
chronology/history of the FP&E.
Earlier versions of this history 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 on the FP&E's steam
locomotives, so until that situation changes this is the only locomotive roster
I have to offer.)
Click here for some
pictures of FP&E diesel locomotives.
Click here for the
FP&E's freight car roster.
Click here for a guide
to some FP&E resources.
Click here for
information about the Diamond Alkali/Shamrock Painesville Works.
Click here for aerial
photos of FP&E and Diamond facilities.
Questions?
Comments?
Contact me at:
Created by Scott Nixon
July 2009
Updated:
September 2009