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Re: (erielack) Railroads "That Should Never..." A&GW
Paul,
I think the choice of routes for the A&GW was much more rational and
promising at the time than for the NY&OM. Remember the A&GW (and its
predecessors) had a connection with the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad as a
goal, another broad gauge line. This would allow through routing without
gauge change or transshipment from New York via the New York & Erie,
A&GW and O&M to St. Louis and the Mississippi River. From there you were
in the heartland of the country. Oswego was a bit far removed from that
heartland. :) Also the railroad landscape was a whole lot less crowded
when the A&GW's predecessors started building than when the NY&OM did.
Again context is important, it wasn't only six foot gauge versus
standard gauge at the time, there were others like "Ohio" standard gauge
as well. Breaking bulk and transshipment between rail lines and rail
lines, canals and waterways was a huge issue at the time. Some profited
from the practice, but for a shipper it was definitely a bad thing.
For those interested in the early history of the A&GW I strongly
recommended reading Pete Gifford's and Robert Ilisevich's book based on
William Reynolds journals and correspondences "European Capital, British
Iron, and an American Dream". A classic and sometimes painful account of
how men with a vision to better their region got pushed aside by
capitalists (as in financiers) who hand other ambitions.
Regards,
Will Shultz
Paul Stumpff wrote:
> Well, the A&GW original routing was to get to Cincinnati [Ohio River and
> gateway to the South] rather than Cleveland or Chicago. That is why the line
> known by everybody as the 'Bypass'[2nd Sub of Mahoning Div] was actually the
> original line. Cincinnati and Indianapolis were important destinations for
> Erie into the 20th Century [via trackage and hauling rights from Dayton].
> Cleveland and Youngstown let alone Chicago were afterthoughts.
>
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