Rail operation to begin soon

ROGERS -- A new railroad shipping enterprise that will employ more than a dozen people is expected to begin operations in about two weeks.
The Columbiana County Port Authority is contributing $200,000 of its own money to the nearly $1 million project, Tracy Drake, port authority director, said Tuesday.
The agency also is leasing 9.2 acres of property it owns in Elkrun Township to Signal Rail Transfer Inc. to serve as a site for the enterprise, which will be along state Route 154 west of Rogers.
Signal Rail is installing a rail siding and crane next to the Central Columbiana & amp; Pennsylvania Railway, which is owned by the port authority.
The facility will unload up to 3,600 railroad cars a year bearing construction and demolition debris material. Most of the material will come from the East Coast, Drake said.
The debris will be loaded onto trucks and hauled to landfills.
Signal Rail was formed by county businessmen Amos Rawson and Tom Lyons, who own A & amp;L Salvage on state Route 45, south of Lisbon, Drake said.
The men hope to eventually expand the business to handle lumber, bricks and other materials besides debris, Drake said.
The addition of the new business on the Central Columbiana probably will prompt the railroad to add about a half-dozen jobs, he added.