The Lake Erie & Eastern was a Pittsburgh & Lake Erie subsidiary (built 1912-1915) that connected the P&LE, entering Youngstown, Ohio at Struthers, with steel industries around Brier Hill, as well as providing a connection with the Pennsylvania's Erie & Ashtabula branch at Girard. From there the New York Central (owner of the P&LE) had trackage rights over the Pennsylvania to Niles Junction, where it used trackage rights over the Baltimore & Ohio to Ravenna and Brady Lake, Ohio, and there used the tracks of NYC subsidiary Lake Erie & Pittsburgh, finally regaining Central rails at Marcy, Ohio, on the south side of Cleveland (whew!). This arrangement lasted until the Penn Central merger, at which time the LE&P was abandoned. Northeast Ohio railroading truly has a fascinating and tangled history…
Here we see a short transfer run on the LE&E mainline, seen from the Wick Avenue Bridge. Not surprisingly, the Geep is lettered for the LE&E's parent, P&LE. The Baltimore & Ohio's mainline through Youngstown is at the far right.
