Yes, this likely is a pretty rare mileage event. There were no "named" passenger trains on this line that I know of. It was primarily a very busy freight connection.
The Youngstown Line was built to provide the New York Central with a connection to the NYC-owned Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad in Youngstown. When I worked at the P&LE Gateway yard in Struthers (just SE of Youngstown) every westbound train we made up was an NYC train headed for Ashtabula and other points west and east, while every eastbound train was a P&LE train headed for Pittsburgh and other points east.
It also provided the NYC/P&LE access to the ore boats on Lake Erie at Ashtabula. Millions of tons or iron ore were shipped over this line to the steel mills in Youngstown and Pittsburgh. Today no ore is shipped via this port, but it still serves as an aggregate terminal.
There are grades both ways on this line, at each end. Out of Youngstown the line climbs up out of the Mahoning River valley. NYC, Conrail and NS all used helpers here, however the traffic levels on the line now do not require helpers. In Youngstown the track is at 850 MSL. Just 5 miles north, the track is at 1,000 MSL. That's an average grade of just over .5%.
Up in Ashtabula, the grade is a bit steeper. The line starts downgrade just north of Carson Yard. The line descends from 850 MSL at Carson yard down to 690 MSL at the NKP wye in Ashtabula, a distance of just over 4 miles. This is an average grade of about 1.25%, which is enough cause the 765 to make a little noise when heading south out of Ashtabula!
I have a a scheduled photo shot with you and my son
that AM before the train leaves.
