Lake Erie and Western Railroad

Not to be confused with New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad.

Lake Erie and Western Railroad

Lake Erie and Western Railroad (red) and New York Central system (orange) as of 1918, including the leased Northern Ohio Railway
Overview
Locale	Midwestern United States
Dates of operation	1879–1922
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Lake Erie and Western Railroad was a railroad that operated in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The Lake Erie and Western Depot Historic District at Kokomo, Indiana, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

The beginning

The Seney Syndicate linked several short railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to form the Lake Erie and Western Railroad in 1879 and 1880. The Lake Erie and Western extended from the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway at Fremont, Ohio, 350 miles (560 km) westward through Fostoria, Ohio, to Bloomington, Illinois and Peoria, Illinois.

Acquisitions

In 1900, the Lake Erie and Western came under the control of the New York Central Railroad. After operating it as a separate entity for two decades, the New York Central sold the Lake Erie and Western to the Nickel Plate Road in 1922.

Sources

• Rehor, John A. (1994). The Nickel Plate story. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI. ISBN 0-89024-012-4.