Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway

Despite the long term challenge of the Conrail merger, the reborn WLE is looking at a promising future. With the varied traffic base of bulk commodities, heavy on-line traffic, and interline potential, WLE has a strong foundation on which to continue building. Under aggressive and efficient management, the WLE is determined in becoming one of the more successful regionals to emerge in recent railroad history. WLE’s legacy requires it. WLE intends for its employees, its customers, and the communities it serves to benefit from this new Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway.

The current Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway is the second regional railroad to bear that name. In 1990 the Norfolk and Western Railway, a subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Railway, sold portions of its lines in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including most of the lines of the original W&LE and the Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad, as well as a lease on the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad, to the Wheeling Acquisition Corporation -- a total of nearly 350 miles. At its formation, trackage rights were granted by CSX Transportation from Connellsville, Pennsylvania to Hagerstown, Maryland, a remnant of the old Alphabet Route of which the original W&LE was a participant. Total miles of operation near 900, and principal shops are in Brewster, Ohio