Akron Railroads

In the six decades preceding 1960, Akron's network of railroads had been relatively stable. Then a series of mergers began that year, changing the face of the city's railroad network. By the early 1970s, the industrial base—particularly the rubber industry—that had sustained the region's economy was in decline, and the fortunes of the railroad industry fell with it. The self—described rubber capital of the world was hit hard, and the production of tires for the automotive industry all but d...