Akron Barberton Cluster Railway company

The WLE has been in existence since May of 1990 and incorporates over 800 miles of primarily former Norfolk Southern trackage in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. The company is privately held, employs nearly 400 people, and has general offices in Brewster, Ohio. The WLE is the largest regional railroad in Ohio and among the largest in the country.

The WLE has a fleet of sixty locomotives and maintains a major Locomotive and Car Repair Shop at Brewster, Ohio, for light and heavy repairs. Additionally the WLE owns and leases over 2,400 railroad cars including gondolas, open top hoppers, covered hoppers, covered steel coil gondolas, tarp-covered gondolas, intermodal flat cars, and box cars.

Over 150,000 carloads are handled annually. The WLE hauls a variety of commodities including iron and steel products, lumber and paper products, chemicals, industrial minerals, plastics, petroleum, aggregates, coal, grain, food products, and waste products. There are over one hundred thirty customers directly located on the WLE.

The WLE offers customers the benefit of direct interchange with three Class I railroads - CSXT, Canadian National, and Norfolk Southern. Access to three Class I railroads helps the WLE provide competitive rates. The major Ohio connections are as follows:
CSXT at Willard (Greenwich), Ohio. The WLE interchanges at Willard Yard seven days per week. Other interchange points are at Akron and Wellington, Ohio, Connellsville, Pennsylvania, and Benwood, West Virginia.
Canadian National (CN) at Toledo (Lang), Ohio. Service to Toledo is Monday thru Saturday. For Fiscal Year 2006 which ended June 30, 2006, over 15,000 cars were handled with CN.
Norfolk Southern (NS) at Bellevue and Canton, Ohio. The WLE interchanges seven days per week at Bellevue and six days per week, Monday thru Saturday at Canton. Secondary interchange points are at Hagerstown, Maryland and Clairton, Pennsylvania and Chatfield, Martins Ferry, Orrville, and Shannon Run, Ohio.

In addition to interchanging with three Class I railroads, there are the fourteen regional, short line, and switching roads which connect with the WLE.