Old Trolley Tracks Uncovered On Mahoning Avenue

[AllanY2525]

I wonder why the trolley rails were not pulled up when the service ended. 

It was a common practice to black-top over them, because it was faster and less
expensive than excavating the street to pull up the rails, and the underlayment
beneath them.

[Towntalk]

Oh shaw, I'm just a lonely li'l old lady with too much time on her hands. 

[Peggy Gurney]

TT you are a fount of information.   

[Towntalk]

The head of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society asked that very question, and it would appear that the city just paved over the tracks because a section of tracks was revealed some time ago on lower Elm Street. Apparently the cost of hiring a crew to tear up the tracks was too high, and remember we are talking about the depression era.
SOURCE: WKBN- TV27

The fact that Youngstown's street railway company lines still exist came as a surprise to Mahoning Valley Historical Society Executive Director Bill Lawson. He said he has seen leftover rails in other cities, but never in Youngstown.
"I generally thought, like in most cities, once they abandoned the rail lines, especially during World War II with the demand for steel, they would have torn them all out and melted then down and used them for something else like war production, but there they are," Lawson said. "They have been paved over or torn out. It is really interesting and neat to see these tracks from Mahoning Avenue."
Lawson said Youngstown had a street railway company for about 60 years from the mid 1870's to about 1937. He admired the piece of history as it laid in a pile of cut out pieces.
"This is the bottom flange of the rail and then the mail rail part there and here's the top flange and then this groove where it is just filled in with dirt and concrete. That is where the street car wheels ran on the rail," Lawson said.
Lawson spoke with the contractor and was told they will be able to cut off a 6-inch piece of the rail line. It will then be put on display at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.

[jay]

I wonder why the trolley rails were not pulled up when the service ended. 

[Towntalk]

Was this information helpful?

[Towntalk]

The last streetcars on the 9 MAHONING and 21 STEEL took their last run on December 7, 1936 and gas buses began on December 8, 1936, and in 1939 electric buses were introduced..
http://www.chicagorailfan.com/ynghist.html
http://www.chicagorailfan.com/yngmapt.html
http://www.chicagorailfan.com/yngdate.html
The Mahoning-Steel portion of the Mahoning-Steel-Campbell streetcar line was converted to trolley coaches in 1939 with the addition of six 42 passenger Twin Coach 42GTT's and the Campbell portion was converted in 1940 with an additional eight 42 passenger Twin Coach 42GTT's.

[jay]

Crews working to repair a broken sewer line on Mahoning Avenue uncovered old trolley tracks just west of the Mahoning Avenue Bridge over Mill Creek. 
These tracks must be very old.  No one I know remembers when trolleys last traveled on Mahoning Avenue.