The story
The Jones and Laughlin Steel Company (J&L) incorporated the Aliquippa and Southern Railroad in November 1906 to serve its new plant at Aliquippa, downriver from its Pittsburgh location. The majority of the line was opened by the end of 1910, and in 1921 the Interstate Commerce Commission declared it to be a common carrier. Although the vast majority of its service was to J&L, several other local businesses shipped over the line.
LTV Steel acquired J&L in 1968, and in 1985 it shut down most of the Aliquippa plant. The bankrupt LTV sold the railroad to the Ohio Central Railroad System in late 2002, and the newly created Aliquippa and Ohio River Railroad began operations on November 15. The rail access has since attracted businesses such as Wolfpac Technologies to the Aliquippa Industrial Park, developed by the Beaver County Corporation for Economic Development on the old steel mill property. Major commodities shipped over the line include bricks, aggregates, and plastics.
The company was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2008 as part of its purchase of the Ohio Central Railroad System.
From Wikipedia’s article on Aliquippa and Ohio River Railroad, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4