
Fondly remembered among rail enthusiasts were the famous P-Motors, the electric
locomotives that replaced steam engines for the seventeen-mile route across Cleveland
and through Union Terminal. The electric engines were used on this portion of
the route because the terminal tracks were entirely covered by buildings and streets,
and smoke from the steam locomotives would have been a real problem. The electric
engines ran until 1953, when they were moved to New York City for suburban rail
service and soldiered on until the 1970s. By the 1950s rail traffic had declined
to the point that the relatively small number of diesel-powered trains did not
create too great of a pollution problem at Union Terminal. (Sherwin-Williams Company)