Let's start spring break out-Ohio style! If you click on the photo of the two NS engines of the Captina Mine run you will notice that it is snowing! Yes, it is Ohio and yes it is April, so what else is new?
I caught these two engines in the yard at Powhattan Point. I am wondering, is the left one getting sand or fuel?

On http://american-rails-forums.com/ a member asked about the cars on the old B&O line on the Harmar Side of Marietta. As I was returning home, I stopped and took some shots of the attractions there. Unlike Tuesday, on this day the sun was out and it was close to 70 degrees!

I don't know what the engine is beside the C&O caboose. Obviously this caboose didn't ride these rails when B&O ran the show.


Here are two coaches that have been, at one time, converted to a restaurant? I don't know as the cars are empty and a for rent sign hangs in front of one.









One car still had Christmas lights and decorations showing through the windows.
Hopefully, someone more knowledge about the B&O than me can identify the cars.





This is an interesting boxcar. C&O? B&O? Chessie?
The letter stands for "Historic Harmar Village Bridge Company"
To the left of the car is the bridge across the Muskingtum River.


Well that is my short visit to Marietta.

Around "Round Town"
Returning from a men's retreat down on the Hocking Hills region, I decided to detour through Circleville to see what railroad action I could find on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
I have passed through Circleville many times to watch trains in Chillicothe, but now I decided would be a good time to visit roundtown. Here are the results of my short trip.

First shot is back towards state route 22, Main St in town. To the left is the remains of the old papermill and just pass it is the grain elevator. Last time I was here, the siding was full of covered hoppers waiting for their share of the grain. The NS main is to the right, just out of view. As always, click on the photo for a larger view (or right click, open in new tab/window).

Here comes a very, very long hot shot with containers. I am standing on a fairly sharp curve and the train has slowed considerably down for the curve, as well as being in town. This long train will block a lot of street crossings! It is heading south to Portsmouth.
Here is a MOW car going the other way. My wife called me and I was on the cell phone when I saw the train approaching. This is the result of one handed photography. Good thing my DLSR has an "A" button!
I think this is what remains of the old PRR line from Lancaster. The shot is towards the east and this is an old station that is now a self store place.
Here is what happens when a railroad loses a business. Either the grain elevator is closed, which I suspect, or just does not use rail anymore...the tracks are weedy and have a heavy layer of the dark rust of misuse on them. This is westward and was once part of the PRR line.
This is the same elevator and looking east. In the distance you can see where the station is.
Turn around from the above photo and this is what you see. The old tracks passing under state route 23. They once headed to Washington Court House from Lancaster.

Driving around roundtown, you can tell where there were once more tracks laid out. The signs are there, but the tracks are no longer. What a place to have seen thirty to forty years ago!

As I left my mother's today, I decided to head east on RT. 78 and go to Powhatan Point to see if I could find NS' Captina coal train being unloaded. An impulsive turn to the right, instead of the left, paid off!
As I headed North on Rt. 7, what did I see looking back at me? A NS thoroughbred!

This is the "rear end" of the train or is it the front end? For today, it is the rear, as the train was slowly moving northward as it unloaded its coal at the transloading site along side the Ohio River. In this rather distant view, you can see the "front" of the train as it slowly advances through the unloading bay. To the left of the photo is the fuel point for the engines.
I decided to take Rt. 148 west towards Barnesville, just to see how the tracks followed the twisting hills of eastern Ohio. And what, to my surprise, I find another train heading back to the mines! Here it passes a farm on its way west.
NS uses a push-pull method to get the trains to and from the mines. Here is the engine at the rear crossing a bridge on its way to the mine. It is crossing Captina Rd and creek.
Here it is, peeking around the turn at Armstrongs Mills, just before the crossing.

Here it comes! Just before the crossing and as it comes across the highway. As you can tell, daylight is fading fast!
Just past the first mine you come to, the highway passes over the bridge. I just got a shot of another drag heading back to Powhatan Point! Wow! Three in one day!
Evening comes quickly down in the hollows of eastern Ohio and light is fading fast. I have one last shot to take. Hand held, slow shutter and I think it came out just fine. In better times, I would have had set up my tripod, taken some test shots, and been ready. Instead, its out of a window hoping no one rear ends me on the highway,since there was no place to pull over on the road.
Well, this was quite an adventure! I am glad I took a different route home!

CHRISTMAS IN ILLINOIS
2008

During my visit with family in Illinois, my nephew and I went on a small safari to look for some trains.
Our first "catch" of the day was the Amtrak Illinois coming south from Chicago towards St. Louis.

In the first photo, the engine just peeks out past Lenox tower near Mitchell.
(click on link for map of area).
My next shot gets more of the engine coming through. I can't say it was racing through, it was moving at a more sedate pace. The next show is one of car passenger cars passing the tower.

Realizing that we were racing the sun, and with nothing seemingly coming our way, we went to another location to look around. Here we caught an UP coal drag heading the opposite way. A quick turn a round on route 203 and we have this photo.


Unfortunately, the engineer stopped the train while it was on the crossing and we were stuck and unable to cross back over to route 203! So, we took quick side trip, but were unable to find a way around the train. Coal trains are very long...
Eventually, he moved out, but also cut down on our time (it is winter and the days are short!) for photography.

Here is our next stop, at Duplo yard. This was once a Missouri Pacific yard, and today belongs to Union Pacific Railroad. Across the main street of Dupo, is a model shop (Reynolds Railways) that has an observation deck to view the yard. This is were I took the following photos.
Here is a shot north towards the yard tower.
This view is of the engine house and shows quite a number of engines waiting to go to work. While we were there we watched one crew load up and set out into the distance to go to work.
As the sun begins to set, we say our goodbyes to the store owner and call it a day. It was time to go back and have a wonderful dinner with family and look at the photos taken today.


The crew heads their train out for an evening of work.

Ohio Central in Zanesville
on a rainy night

On my way to pick up my mother in SE Ohio, I stopped by OHC's Zanesville yard as usual to do a quick look see. And what did I find? An engine identified as #4094, ex -Monongahela, ex-CR, ex-NS now New Castle Industrial sitting there in the wet dusk.
A quick couple of test shots and a decision to risk a flash and here it is. Unfortunately, as mom and I came back by the next day, it had already left the yard, so no nice daylight shot...
Back further in the yard are these two covered hoppers. I'll let you identify their previous owners (just click on all photos to enlarge). As you can see, they have quite a bit of rust on them!

Today's railroad adventure:
Train meets!

You must realize that taking photographs out of the window of a thick passenger car window is difficult and if the train is not on curve, well...all you can see is straight out the window!
But, in the mountains of California, our Amtrak met two trains on its journey from Los Angeles to Seattle.
The first, top right is the northern bound Coast Starlight meeting the southbound version. We are just outside LA and climbing out of the basin that LA is in. Our next meet is in the mountains waaaayyyy north in Oregon. Here Amtrak is meeting a waiting UP freight heading south. Note that we have gone from sage brush and brown grass to evergreens. As we moved through these mountains, there was still snow on the ground---in early July! As always, click on the photos to see a larger view.
Our next meet is a view of the old and the new! As we arrived in LA, we went through the BNSF yards at Barstow and here are two buddies waiting in the yard. The old ATSF and the New BNSF.
I must comment, when I look at engines etc. in hobbie stores in OHIO, why do I see so many ATSF and UP engines? What has happened to B&O, C&O? Oh well, I digress.
Finally, our last meet of the day is a very, very long BNSF freight somewhere in the desert east of LA. I think we are nearing Barstow, but I don't remember (note: Take notes! )
Unlike here in OHIO, where trees and our numerous southern OHIO hills keep things hidden from view, out west you can see the long, long, long trains. Literally and I mean literally, for miles. It is hard to keep the entire train in the frame as you can see.
The west is dry, brown, but wonderful to look at from an Amtrak window. Taking a trip to LA via the SouthWest Chief was the way to go.

As I travel through Zanesville on my way to my mother's, I like to swing by the Ohio Central Yard and take a look. It still amazes me how much it has changed from the days of CSX when the yard was frequently empty. The last time I posted, the yard was being rebuilt and today it seems to be done. There is new ballast and fencing all around. And plenty of cars in the yard. Either a sign of good times for the railroad, or just a place to park cars-who knows? I choose to think it is a sign of good times, from the look of the former Conrail engine waiting with the freight behind it.
As it was past visiting hours and I had a long drive ahead, onward I went. Until next time I come through.
Photos: Back south past the egg plant; the former B&O station behind the tank cars with the setting sun; former Conrail engine showing some of the scope of the yard.

Departing Chicago

My wife and I are leaving Chicago on the Southwest Chief.
We had orginally planned to travel west on the California Zephyr, but due to flooding in Iowa, we had to change plans. The Zephyr was only going to Denver and there were no trains to Denver from Chicago.

We were on the first Chief west since the Mississippi floods had closed the tracks in June.
As the train left on time, we settled into our roomette and started out on our journey.
Our itinerary was Chicago to Los Angeles via the Chief, LA to Seattle via the Coastal Starlight and then back to Chicago by the Empire Builder.
First photo is the Chicago skyline as you leave Chicago. Photo 2 is of a suburb just outside Chicago. The view from the Superliner cars is fantastic.

After a good dinner, a good night's sleep, we woke up in Kansas with a brief stop in Hutchinson. Originally, we were supposed to stop here very early in the morning, but due to the very high water in Iowa, the back up of freight on the BNSF, we were way behind schedule. If we had known we were going to be having breakfast going through Hutchinson, we would have called some good friends that live here! Hey come on down to the station for a quick hello!
Our next stop was Dodge City, Kansas. I think everyone (at least my age) know what famous sheriff wondered these streets (at least on t.v.).
Above is a view of the Chief at the station and below is the station.

Here is a photo of our car attendant, Fred, who was very good at his job. A good car attendant makes the trip a whole lot smoother. If you travel by train a long way, get at least a roomette.

The horn sounds-"all aboard!" and goodbye to Dodge City. As we leave, I take a quick photo of a Santa Fe caboose sitting by the station. I quickly learned that taking photographs through a window of a moving train is quite a feat. Especially when the train is moving across flat land at speed!

The I&O on a June Morning.


Today on the Indianna and Ohio RR (I&O) in Lancaster, I spotted the local switching cars at the Anchor Hocking glass plant.
The first two photos are of 2602 backing up on the main to switch over to the plant siding.
The engineer then switched directions and move back down the siding to clear the switch to move into the plant.
The last photo shows the cars being shoved into the plant. Each car has sand for the glass plant. The last time I watched this event, one car was leaving quite a trail of sand behind as it moved. All along the tracks you can spot little piles of sand in the middle of the track from leaking cars.

As always, right click on the photos and open as a new tab or window to enlarge the view.