Passenger service south from Lorain

[renf]

Did the Lorain and West Virginia or the Lorain, Ashland and Southern ever offer passenger service? I think not.
If you follow the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern line west from Oberlin to Kipton, you pass under a rail
bridge. I infer that is the former Lorain and West Virginia line. However, I think the Lorain, Ashland and
Southern also had a bridge across the LS&MS in the same area. Is that correct? Thank you.

[bluestreak81]

I don't believe the L&WV ever ran passengers when built or before it originally went out of service in the late 60's. It does offer excursion trains now, however during summer and fall. They now own the ROW from Wellington junction to Lake Ave in Elyria. The bridge you pass under that you are referring to is the L&WV as you said. I do believe the LA&S did have their own bridge, too. The L&WV operates on 6 miles of serviceable track. The goal is to reach Oberlin which will require that bridge to go back into service and then eventually the port in Lorain.

[bdconrail29]

Did the Lorain and West Virginia or the Lorain, Ashland and Southern ever offer passenger service? I think not.
If you follow the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern line west from Oberlin to Kipton, you pass under a rail
bridge. I infer that is the former Lorain and West Virginia line. However, I think the Lorain, Ashland and
Southern also had a bridge across the LS&MS in the same area. Is that correct? Thank you.

The bridge you are seeing on the west edge of Oberlin yes, is the Lorain and WV line. The LAS did NOT have a bridge across the NYC in Oberlin; it was an interlocked tower. You can get to the site via the bike trail either from the west/east on the NYC or from the south up the LAS right of way, which is now also a paved bike trail. The LAS portion of the bike trail ends at the NYC and forms a T, which was where the tower was. The LE&WV didn't have passenger service that I know of, but he LAS did briefly. I highly recommend finding a used copy of The Rattlesnake and the Ramsey: The Story of the Lorain, Ashland, and Southern Railroad by William S. Snyder.

[renf]

Am I correct in thinking that the Lorain and West Virginia once had a depot in Oberlin but that structure was
moved to Wellington where it stands now. Thanks for the tip about the book about the Lorain, Ashland and
Southern.

[bdconrail29]

Am I correct in thinking that the Lorain and West Virginia once had a depot in Oberlin but that structure was
moved to Wellington where it stands now. Thanks for the tip about the book about the Lorain, Ashland and
Southern.

Not quite. The depot at Wellington at the LE&WV was originally the LS&MS freight depot at Oberlin. It sat where the McDonalds is located in Oberlin.

[CR900945]

Regarding the Lorain and West Virginia. When I lived in Lorain in the early 1970's, I followed the line one day in 1972. The track was still intact complete with crossing signals at some road crossings. I seem to recall an overhead bridge where the L &WV crossed the NYC Norwalk branch. It was just west of Oberlin and was a steel girder-plate bridge.

[bdconrail29]

[bdconrail29]

And for the LAS in Oberlin, it crossed the NYC here:

[bdconrail29]

In 2014, the end of the line was Hughes Road (looking north):

[bluestreak81]

CR900945 Which crossings in the 70's had crossing signals?

[alannagy06]

The following crossings on the L&WV had crossing signals: Ohio Route 18 (west of Wellington) both on the east and west wyes, US Route 20 (Pittsfield TWP), Ohio Route 511 (formerly Ohio Route 10) at the west Oberlin city limits, had Wig Wag signals, Ohio Route 113 (near South Amherst), and Ohio Route 254 (Sheffield TWP/Elyria TWP). The flashers at Route 113 were gone by 1976, maybe earlier. The flashers at Route 254 was removed in late 1982. The crossing was paved over around the summer of 1980.