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Here we cover the west end of the railroad, that portion of the Erie Lackawanna that in better times, was truly the speedway
of the railroad with its long stretches of tangent track, few curves, gentle grades and all the other ingredients that helped
make this a railroader's railroad, the Marion Division was the last part of the Erie to be completed and made the Erie one
of the last trunk lines from the east to enter Chicago. Major classification yard was at Marion,Ohio, which also hosted the
diesel shop assigned to work on the freight diesels. Among the traffic handled on this division was; dairy products, grains,
automotive parts, tires,and other rubber products. Portions remaining in operation are: North Judson to Monterrey and Glenmore
to Lima, Ohio. The last part of the railroad's west end to be build was known as the Chicago and Erie.
PRINCIPAL INTERCHANGE POINTS WITH OTHER RAILROADS
Marion: C&O,PC, N&W
Lima: PC,N&W,B&O
Decatur: PC,N&W
Huntington: N&W
Chicago: ATSF,BN,IC,GM&O,MILW,CNW, CRIP,GT,EJE
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The Marion to Chicago main stem of the Erie had its origin, first as the
Chicago and Atlantic Railroad in association with the Atlantic and Great Western, then reorganized as the Chicago and Erie
Railroad, which was merged into the parent company at the turn of the century. This restructuring and overhaul of the railroad's
corporate structure and long term dabt was done under the able leadership of Frederick Underwood, who also electrified the
Rochester-Mt. Morris commuter line, built the freight bypass River Line and made other improvements to the Erie property.
This main stem of the Marion division continued to carry through freight traffic right up to the railroad's last day of existence.
The line from Hammond, IN to Decatur was for a time, operated as the Erie Western Railway. Only the North Judson to Monterrey
stretch is still in operation in Indiana. In Ohio, Indiana Hi Rail operates what had been the Spencerville and Elgin RR between
Lima and Glenmore,Ohio, once a part of the Erie Main. Most of the Dayton Branch, too is gone as well. Out of the six Erie
Lackawanna divisions, the Marion Division took the most hits, proportionately in terms of track removed from service and taken
up. Marvin Kent, the founder of the Ohio city that bears his name, was one of the founders of the railroad. For the west end
of the railroad, the huge yard at Marion, Ohio was the primary freight classification facility for the west end of the Erie
Lackawanna system. It was at Marion's diesel shops that the freight diesel fleet was primarily assigned for its maintenance,
while passenger units called Hornell,NY home. March 31,1976 was the Marion Division's last day of operation as one knew it.
LINE ABANDONMENTS- These were as follows:
A.Main Line
1.Hammond,IN-North Judson,IN
2.Monterey,IN-Glenmore,OH
3.Lima-Kenton
4.Dayton Subdivision-Marion to Urbana,Oh
5.Barberton to Marion
Thus, much of the Marion Division took a beating on the scheme of things as far as Conrail was concerned.
Today, very little remains of the Erie Lackawanna east-west mainline across Ohio.
PRINCIPAL FREIGHT CONNECTIONS ON THE MARION DIVISION;Akron;PC,ACY,Lima;PC,N&W,C&O,Marion;C&O,N&W,PC;Decatur;PC
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