The New Castle Subdivision is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line owned and operated by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

in the U.S. states of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The line runs from

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek, it is northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, approximately so ...

west through Youngstown and Akron to

Greenwich, Ohio Greenwich is a village in Huron County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,409 at the 2020 census. The town is located along U.S. Route 224, approximately 15 miles south of Norwalk, the county seat. It is served by a branch of the Willar ...

along a former

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

line. Its east end is near Mahoningtown, at the west end of the New Castle Terminal Subdivision. Its west end is at the Willard Terminal Subdivision, just east of the Greenwich Subdivision junction at Greenwich. It junctions with the Newton Falls Subdivision at

Newton Falls, Ohio Newton Falls is a village in southwestern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,557 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Mahoning Valley, Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. The city takes its na ...

, and the CL&W Subdivision at

Sterling, Ohio Sterling is an unincorporated, census-designated place in northwestern Milton Township, Wayne County, Ohio, United States with the ZIP code of 44276. The population was 432 at the 2020 census. History Sterling was plat In the United S ...

History

The first tracks along this route were opened in 1879 by the

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE; ), also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio, in the ...

, connecting

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

via New Castle. The Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Toledo Railroad opened tracks from New Castle to Youngstown and a line continuing west to Valley Junction (near

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

) in 1884. On August 1, 1887, much of PC&T's railway was leased by the Pittsburgh and Western Railway Company for passenger service directly between

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Soon thereafter, the PC&T Railroad would be absorbed into the P&W Railroad. By 1902, the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie ...

took over the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad and converted all of its tracks to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

. As the P&LE improved their single-track line, B&O's route followed a similar path between Pittsburgh and Youngstown. B&O's route, however had high grades and curves throughout Pittsburgh. By 1934, the B&O opted to instead purchase

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

between

McKeesport McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. A suburb of Pittsburgh, it is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela River, Monongahela and Youghiogheny River, Youghiogheny rivers. The population was 17,727 as of the ...

and New Castle. It would prove to be a major rail line through the region, connecting major industrial cities such as Youngstown, Akron, and Pittsburgh. B&O eventually merged with other railroads to form the

Chessie System Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the Western Maryland Railway (WM), and Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT). Trains operated u ...

in 1973, which would own the tracks on the current New Castle Subdivision between New Castle and Greenwich. Chessie System later merged with

Seaboard Coast Line Industries Seaboard Coast Line Industries, Inc., incorporated in Delaware on May 9, 1969, was a railroad holding company that owned the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, its subsidiary Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and several smaller carriers. Its railr ...

to form

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

in 1980. By 1993, the P&LE was purchased by CSX, giving the company full control over the New Castle Subdivision and the New Castle Terminal Subdivision.

New Castle Terminal Subdivision

The New Castle Terminal Subdivision runs for 14.7 miles northwest from the terminus of the Pittsburgh Subdivision in

West Pittsburg, Pennsylvania West Pittsburg is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southern Taylor Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Taylor Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Lawrence County, Penns ...

to the terminus of the New Castle Subdivision near New Castle. Much of the line coexists with the CSX New Castle yard. It junctions with the

P&W Subdivision The P&W Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation, the Allegheny Valley Railroad (AVR), and the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The line runs from Rankin north through Pitts ...

near Mahoningtown.

References

{{reflist CSX Transportation lines Rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania Rail infrastructure in Ohio Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines