Alliance Ohio area

[JCagle]

I'm going to be in the Alliance Ohio area next weekend, and I was wondering if anybody had any hot spots I should check out, or any suggestions. I'm thinking about the former Nickel Plate by 62 between Lewisburg and Alliance, and the area on the North of Alliance. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[CP Alliance]

Finally, someplace I know something about. The best place in Alliance is the Amtrak station. The origianl station is owned by NS for MOW uses. Amtrak uses a little bus shelter-like thingy. Don't worry, most  of the employees are old Conrail people and are very nice. There you will see all the trains, no matter which way they go. There are couple of good places along of route 183 and if you like ice cream, I would suggest a stop at Burger Hut. It is right by the tracks. CP73 is near the 183 crossing and there is a pull off spot that will allow you to get some pictures. If you like Pennsy signals, the FT.Wayne line west of Alliance is all Pennsy signals. Although, I have never been west of Canton to see what they are like. The Home Signals to CP Alliance, except the westbound ones on the FT.Wayne line, are also Pennsy. Another good place is off of Railroad Street, Oyster Road, or Mahoning Avenue. To the east, I would suggest Sebring or Salem. The tracks go straight through Sebring so any place is good. in Salem, I would suggest Pittsburgh ST or the location of the old station before Conrail removed it by a two train derailment. I can't remeber for sure where exactly.To the south is the Cleveland Line Single Track (known as the Bayard).  There four crossings (including the one at the station) within Alliance and westbounds will hold at the distant signal in the Mahoning Yard ( I wouldn't call it a yard as it only has two tracks). I have been in there several of times and have never been kicked out. Usually all of the NS people wave and talk to me. For east bounds on the Bayard, the best place to go is Bayard, but it is kind of far. There are also plenty of bridges and crossings south of Alliance. A good crossing is at MP58.0. That is known as MOULT on NS and is the location of a high car detector. The street is Rt. 172. I don't know about the Nickel Plate as they never made it to Alliance unless there are two Alliances. Alliance only had the NYC and the PRR. There is a Nickel Plate Road ( it's a name of a street) near Canton and I think it is off of 62.  If you are interested, they are rebuilding a portion of the old NYC Alliance Branch ( which was riped out several years ago) to service a trash dump. If you do need anymore help, us locals will be able to help. You should be able to find us whne you are there.

[JCagle]

Thanks for the info. I was referring to the street Nickel Plate Road near Lewisville. From what I have gathered in some discussions the NKP used to run through the Minerva area and it ran to the South of Alliance. I don't know how much free time I will have this weekend, but I'm planning on taking at least a little time to get out and explore the tracks. I have also been told of a place near Berlin Lake where there is some sort of bridge. Is there much traffic on that line over the weekend or is it mainly weekday and local stuff?

[CP Alliance]

The only rail line I could find that had a bridge over Berlin Lake was the NYC Alliance Branch. That branch was ripped up a long time ago.  The bridge may still be there, I don't know for sure. Seems to me that the concrete piers are still there. Although, I could be thinking of a different place. The line is being rebuilt between downton Alliance and a garbage dump just outside of town so it can take trash trains but, the progress has stopped for some unknown reason. If you want to look at it, find Rush St, Webb Ave, South Range, and the dump is located on Oyster Rd. Its best to bring a map. The NS main goes through Limaville (close to Berlin Lake) but, I know of no bridges. The Lordstown Secondary goes near that lake on its way to North Jackson but, NS took that line out of service between Sebring and the Co-Steel plant in North Jackson. The only train that ran on there anyhow was C01 out of Columbus. It now runs out of, I think, Hazelton Yard near Youngstown but, I am not positive. I have never took a pic off of Nickel Plate or in Louisville for that matter so I can't tell you any good place. I tried but, the train outran me. You are correct about the NKP in Minerva. The track came from the W&LE when the NKP got them. Minerva had three RRs. The W&LE/NKP, a PRR branch, and the NYC Alliance Branch. The NYC to Hopedale,OH and the PRR branch (used to store cars) are owned and operated by the Ohi-Rail in Minerva. The W&LE branchs are leased to the Ohi-Rail. http://www.ohirail.com  They operate as needed so a train is a hit or miss. If you are short on time, I would stick with the main. There is a PRR bridge in Damascus over 135. Just look for a church turn left to the first street. I think it is marked 135. The roadis right next to an old store called the Dairy Isle that recently closed.