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May 2004

Vol. XXXVI, No. 5

In this Issue . . .

The April Archives Work Session had arecord participation of 30 people! The numberof members attending has grown with eachsession, and though it becomes a logistical andplanning exercise to have work, work sites, andsupervision for all these willing volunteers, theprogram has developed well . In fact, it hasdeveloped far beyond our best expectationsand hope . So, you'd better plan now to be apart of the action this October for the FallWork Session . Great thanks to Jeff Kehler forspearheading this .

Although it isn't always the case, manymembers get to work on a subject of particularinterest to them, or to do some research on theside, all of which are encouraged and are a plusfor all concerned . We will have jobs in Octoberthat range from the dirty and strenuous toindexing, computer entry, and administrativetypes of work.

The Annual Conference is looming aheadvery soon, July 14-18 . We have a great line-upof talks and sessions (as shown on flyers), andof course this is the Society's 35th anniversary,so I hope that many of you will be able toattend . Since it's in southern Ohio, it's a fairlycentral location for just about everyone to getto from one end of the C&O to the other . Ihope to see you there . Last year there was a bigdiscussion about the fact that people don'tbring model displays as they used to, so thechallenge was put out for everyone to bring amodel, or photos, or something C&O-relatedto display. As everyone knows at these meet-ings, I'm about the only one who is not a mod-eler, but even I have pledged to bring a model!

At the Spring Board of Directors' meetingwe decided to use Banc America Investmentsto manage our new Endowment account .This is being created using the generous

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On the CoverCSX 8367 leads an empty train past the signals at MP 62 .5 on the former C&O NorthernSubdivision in October 1996 . These signals are called "County Line" by the crews, forthe nearby boundary between Ross and Pickaway Counties . (W. Wardell)

bequest of the late George Richey, longtimeC&OHS member. We will be soliciting otherdonations to this, so that it can grow to sup-port the Society and ensure its stability andlong term survival .

By Conference time we plan to have somenew digital information products to sell anddemonstrate. We're finding that though thereis a market for these products, like everythingelse, we need a wide variety of offerings inorder to get attention .

I'd like to appeal again for magazine arti-cles . We are always looking for good materialto publish. We've been able in recent years tokeep a fairly good balance throughout theannual range of magazines, so that we covermost aspects of C&O railroading and model-ing, but we need more material all the time .Remember, you don't have to present a pol-ished article-just bring us the idea you wantto cover and we'll put all our resources for illus-trations and research at your disposal and helpyou bring it off in every way.

If you haven't reserved an HO T-1 fromBroadway Limited, be sure and do so at once .We will have only a limited number . Don't beleft out, as many people have been with pastlocomotive offerings .

This issue has an article about the C&O's800-815 coaches of 1935 . These are the carsthat we have been offering as HO model kitsfrom Branchline . We sold out of the first threenumbers, but have three exclusive new ones, soget them while you can! Next out are thePullmans for The George Washington. We'll beselling Branchline's names, and our own exclu-sive ones as well (see flyer) .

Thanks again for all of your interest andsupport of the C&OHS!

& PresidentDixon, Chairman &President

Official Publication of theChesapeake & OhioHistorical Society, Inc .

P.O. Box 79, Clifton Forge, VA 24422Research Inquiries (540) 862-0067

Orders/Order Inquiries 1-800-453-COHSFax: (540) 863-9159e -mait : cohs@cfw.com

www.chessieshop.com

www.cohs.orgISSN 0886-6287

© 2004 All Rights ReservedThe C&OHS is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the historicalpreservation and dissemination of information about theChesapeake & Ohio Railway, its predecessors and successors .Annual Regular membership dues within the United States $35 .00.

C&OHS OfficersChairman & President

Thomas W. Dixon, Jr .1387 Winding Creek Lane, Lynchburg, VA 24503-3776

Vice-President & Secretary C . Bryan KiddTreasurer

Attila Zombor

Headquarters StaffExecutive Director

Margaret T. WhittingtonDirector of Information & Development

Mac BeardAccounts Manager

Crystal K . BroughmanOffice Assistant

Brandy K . DudleyOffice Clerk

Dustin KiddEditorial Staff

Editor & Art Director/Production

Kevin J . Holland5014 New St ., Suite 105, Burlington, Ontario L7L 6E8

k evin .h@sympatico .caCurrent News Editor

Everett N . Young59 Vera Drive, Pikeville, KY 41501-1424

b riarhopper@setel .co mMotive Power Editor

Jerry Doyle6209 Beverly Court, Huntington, WV 25705

c ohsmpn@aol .comModeling Editor

Russ Hass6055 Route 66, Kane, PA 16735

rhass@pennswoods .netFreight Car Editor

Al Kresse8664 Gates, Romeo, MI 48065-4365

water.kresse@comcast .netChicago Division Correspondent

Jeffrey Kehler601 Sunblest Blvd . South, Fishers, IN 46038-1450

Kanawha Sub . Correspondent

William Sparkmon206 Golden Leaf Court, Franklin, TN 37067-4087

h udson303@hotmail .co mOhio Region Correspondent

Jeffrey Stickler883 E . Main St ., Logan, OH 43138

jeffstickler@buckeyeinternetcomMagazine Contributions Welcome!

Please send Current News, Motive Power, or Modelingsubmissions to the appropriate Associate Editor notedabove . Contact the Editor regarding feature submissions .

Back IssuesWrite : Stuart Hallett, Jr., 120 Stonewall Place,Newport News, VA 23606 . This publication is avail-able on microfilm . Write : ProQuest, 300 N . ZeebRoad, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 .From time to time, the C&O Historical Society may review models,books, etc ., of general interest to members, and note their avail-ability from various vendors . Such announcements and/or reviewsare provided as a service, and are not to be considered anendorsement by the C&OHS . The C&OHS, its officers, and staff dis-claim any responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, or misrep-resentation resulting from contacts made through the Magazine orat functions sponsored by the C&OHS .C&O, C&O For Progress, Chessie, Chessie System, and CSX trade-marks are the property of CSX Corporation and are used with per-mission .

Printed in the USACHESAPEAKE & OHIO HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

C&OH5 Calendar Directors

E. Sterling Hanger, Jr .Lars LembergTodd NystromChristopher Wiley

Jeffrey S . KehlerDan NavarreJesse J . SmithShows and events of interest to C&OHS members . Contact the editor to have a listing added .

2004 C&OHS Conference and Modeling Symposium Lancaster, OH July 14-18, 2004 Legal Counsel Franklin V. BongiovanniC&OHS Fall Archives Work Session Clifton Forge, VA October 6-9, 2004 Elections Officer

Archives Project CoordinatorConference Coordinator

John HenningJeffrey KehlerJesse J . SmithPresident's Message

C&O 800-series Coaches4Modeling the 800-series7

C&O in Central Ohio Today9

Please send items to :Everett N . Young59 Vera Dr., Pikeville, KY 41501-1424briarhopper@setel .com

Buckingham BranchLeases Virginia Linesfrom the Richmond Times-DispatchMay 5, 2004submitted by Robert Roadcapand Ray Saunders

Rail giant CSX Corp . will lease 200miles of Virginia track to a private contrac-tor, a pending deal that drew fire from amajor rail union .

Sources said CSX is close to turningover to a small Buckingham County railroadthe daily operation of a stretch of track thatstarts in Richmond, runs through Doswelland follows a rough arc across the state . Itruns through Gordonsville, Orange,Charlottesville, Staunton and Clifton Forge .

The new operator, Buckingham BranchRailroad, will also be charged with main-taining the track and bridge-some inmountainous regions of western Virginia .

The terms and timing of the deal havenot been made public, but rail officials con-firmed the agreement this week.

CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said yes-terday, "I can't talk about the real specifics ofthe transaction ." But he said the carrier has along-standing policy of selling or leasingunprofitable stretches of track. "A short linecan step in and do it," Sullivan said, withoutnaming Buckingham .

He noted Virginia has a shortline devel-opment effort that is "designed to accom-plish that end ." In fact, Buckingham BranchRailroad was created during a similar spin-off in the late 1980s .

A shortline operator generally has loweroperating costs because it's not bound byunion rules and wage scales, and because itserves a smaller customer base .

The cost-cutting was criticized by theunion representing about 400 track workersin Virginia . "The union's going to lose thebetter-paying jobs, and taxpayers will takecare of the tracks," said Randall Brassell,general chairman of the Allied EasternFederation of the Brotherhood ofMaintenance of Way Employees. "It's a realgood deal for CSX, but not for the taxpayersof Virginia," he said . Up to 20 railroadmaintenance workers will be laid off afterBuckingham Branch takes over, he said .

MAY 2004

Brassell noted that the Buckinghamrailroad has gotten nearly $3 million in staterail preservation grants since 1993 to makeupgrades and repairs in the Dillwyn area ."The whole deal is a scam to get the taxpay-ers to maintain the track," Brassell said .

Karen J. Rae, director of the statedepartment of Rail and PublicTransportation, denied the charge . In talkswith Buckingham Branch, she said she madeit clear "we don't intend to do major mainte-nance" on the 200-mile CSX corridor.

The state has a relatively small pool ofresources-about $3 million-that's dividedeach year for grants to nine shortline opera-tors, she said.

CSX officials have said for years theywere not making a profit on the 200-milestretch, according to Rae . In the early 1990s,the railroad was persuaded not to abandon aportion of its Richmond line .

"Railroads are in such desperate straitsacross the country that they're trying to getout of money-losers and focus more on thecore business," Rae said.

She calls the lease a "win-win" because itkeeps the track open with a Virginia-basedcompany. "Buckingham Branch is one ofour best short lines," she said .

Bob Bryant, a retired CSX manager,started the Buckingham Branch Railroadwith his wife and son 15 years ago. Hewould not comment on the specifics of thenew deal .

Last year, Buckingham Branch had 14employees and revenue of $1 million, butdid not make a profit, Bryant said in an ear-lier interview.

Asked this week about the union's con-cerns, he said, "We'll certainly not hurt any-one. It's our goal to stay away from contro-versy. We're small and fragile ."

The Maintenance of Way officials saidsome parts of the leased stretch are in "terri-ble shape" because of neglect by the railroad.

Four years ago, CSX was sharply criti-cized by the Federal Railroad Administra-tion, which oversees rail safety . The FRAordered repairs of track betweenCharlottesville and Clifton Forge, a corridortraveled by Amtrak passenger trains . Sincethen, no major problems have been reportedin the region, a FRA spokesman said .

CSX also maintains the right to operatetrains-often with empty coal hoppers-onthe new Buckingham line .

Some industrial customers were noti-fied last week about the pending change of

management . "They wanted to let us knowthat there would be some changes comingup," said David Butler, purchasing managerfor Ruffin & Payne Inc ., a lumber mill andbuilding supply company in Richmond .

Editor's Note: The former C&O linesaffected by this lease are the NorthMountain Subdivision, Piedmont Subdivi-sion and the Washington Subdivision .-ENY

Tony Ingram Named CSXT'sChief Operating Officer

Michael J. Ward, CSX Corporationchairman and chief executive officer andCSX Transportation president, announcedMarch 15th that Tony L . Ingram has joinedthe company as executive vice president andchief operating officer. Ingram, who willreport to Ward, joins CSXT from NorfolkSouthern Corp. where he was senior vicepresident-transportation network andmechanical . Ingram will be responsible forall CSX rail operations including transporta-tion, safety, engineering and mechanical,and service design .

"Tony is a terrific person with proventransportation expertise, coming fromNorfolk Southern's excellent team of indus-try experts and leaders," Ward said . "He iscommitted to the continued implementa-tion of CSXT's vision and core values, espe-cially our focus on improved safety, consis-tent and reliable customer service, efficientnetwork design and continued employeedevelopment."

Ward added, "Tony will bring intensefocus to our operations, which are neither aseffective or as efficient as they need to be .For example, in the first quarter our expenselevels remain too high and are largely offset-ting revenue gains . I have every confidencethat Tony will be a key contributor in trans-forming our operations and helping realizeour productivity and revenue growth goals"

Ingram, 57, a native of Dothan, Ala .,and a 33-year railroad veteran, joined NSpredecessor Southern Railway in Atlanta as amanagement trainee . During his tenurethere, he held positions in engineering andlabor relations before moving to train opera-tions . Ingram holds a bachelor's degree inbusiness administration from JacksonvilleState University, Jacksonville, Ala ., andattended Northwestern University'sAdvanced Transportation ManagementProgram and Duke University'sManagement Development Program ..

3

4

Thomas W. Dixon, Jr.

I t has been much remarked thatalthough the country was in the throesof the Great Depression in the years

1930-1933, the C&O was not as adverselyaffected as many other railroads because ofits foundation in hauling coal . Even with adiminished industrial need, coal was still theuniversal fuel and it continued to be carriedat reasonable levels. The C&O also hadreserves from the many good years betweenWorld War I and 1929 . As a result, the com-pany took advantage of depressed prices andexcess construction capacity to rebuild muchof its main line, including the huge tunnelproject of 1930-1935 .

Additionally, during these bad timesthe C&O chose to introduce The Sportsmanas its ultra-modern flagship train . Thoughplanned before the onset of bad times, theC&O persisted in introducing the train evenin the face of declining passenger traffic .Even more surprising is that at the very nadir

of the bad years, in 1932, the C&O intro-duced The George Washington.

Also during this period, many new pas-senger cars were purchased, aside from thoseneeded for the new trains just mentioned .Among the orders for new cars toward theend of the worst years of the Depression wasthe 800-814 series of coaches .

With a seating capacity of 74, theseheavyweight clerestory-roof cars were builtby the St . Louis Car Company, as their LotNo. 1568, in 1935 .

Unlike the fancy "Imperial Salon" carsassigned to The Sportsman and GeorgeWashington, these cars had the traditionalwalk-over seating, and looked like most carsof the 1920s. They were used on almost allC&O trains of the era except The Sportsmanand George Washington, unless excess capaci-ty was needed on these trains .

In 1939 the trucks from coach No. 805were scrapped (damage from a wreck?), and

C&O 800-814 SeriesHeavyweight Coaches

new trucks installed . The cars had been builtoriginally with secondhand trucks takenfrom cars in series 883-890 and 645-659 asan economy measure . Pullman mechanicalair conditioning, with center duct, wasinstalled in coaches 800-805 in 1936 and inNos. 806-809 in 1940 .

These cars were in the right place at theright time in the late 1930s and early 1940sas the build-up to World War II and the sub-sequent wartime traffic loads occurred .

In 1944 No . 811 was rebuilt as diningcar 980, and No . 812 became 981, the din-ing room cars of the twin-unit diner setStuart House and Carlyle House, for use onThe George Washington . At this time No .813 was renumbered to 811 and No . 814became 812, reducing the series from 15 to13 cars .

After yeoman service during the warNos. 801-809 were re-equipped with buck-et-style individual seats removed from cars

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

I

facing page: An exterior view of C&O coach No . 811(ex-813) in 1949 . (C&O Ry. photo; C&OHS Collection)

above : Builder's broadside of C&O No . 814 new at St .Louis Car Co . in 1935 . (C&OHS Collection)

right : The body of a Chesapeake & Ohio 800-814 seriescoach on the builder's erecting floor in 1935 . (St . LouisCar photo ; C&OHS Collection)

below : Interior of cars as built. (St. Louis Car photo ;C&OHS Collection)

MAY 2004 5

817-834. The seating capacity was reducedto 66 for Nos. 801-809, and remained at 74in 810-12. No. 800 was re-equipped withtrucks and seats taken from coach 815 (ofthe subsequent series) .

The series was put up for sale in 1949as surplus (both because of the diminishedpassenger traffic and the anticipated arrivalof new lightweight coaches), and in 1950Nos. 800-809 were sold to the Boston &Maine. Sometime before this it appears thatNo. 812 had been renumbered to 810 . Thereason for the disappearance of No . 810 isnot clear in any records or data in theC&OHS collection, nor final disposition of810 (ex-812) . If anyone has information,please let us know .

In recent months Branchline Trains hasreleased an HO model kit that very closelyresembles these cars, and Russ Hassdescribes how to detail one below . TheC&OHS has arranged for Branchline tonumber the cars in the 800-series speciallyfor Society sales . .

facing page, top to bottom: C&O mechanical diagramsfor cars 800, 801-809, and 810-12 with last updates,1949 . (C&OHS Collection)

Interior of C&O coach No . 811 (ex-813) in 1949 . (C&ORy. photo ; C&OHS Collection)

Building the HOBranchline C&O800-Series Coachby Russ HassModel and photos by the author

While the Branchline kit is not an exact copyof C&O 800-814 series heavyweight coach-es (the major difference is the kit's 22 win-dows vs. the prototype's 21), it captures thelook of the C&O cars very well .

If the last heavyweight passenger carmodel you built was an old Walthers kit with

MAY 2004

the metal sides, you're in for a pleasant sur-prise. Think of a Branchline, Tichy, orInterMountain freight car kit . Like these, thenew Branchline heavyweight coach kitcomes complete with trucks and couplers .

Aside from some difficulty getting theroof to fit, I encountered few problems inassembling the kit. If you don't already havea sprue cutter, you'll definitely want to pur-chase one before building this kit . Otherwise,the normal assortment of tools will suffice .Also I found it handy to copy the part's spruediagram rather than keep flipping throughthe instructions for reference .

I began by placing the factory-paintedcar side on a soft towel to prevent scratches .

Because the clearances on the windows aretight, check the draft angle on the castingbefore inserting the windows-they'll pop inmuch easier that way. Note that the "spare"windows aren't really spare; they're for thevestibule doors . One thing I thought wasmissing from the kit were safety tail gates . Ifyou want them on your model, paint andadd them now rather the waiting until afteryou install the vestibule walls like I did .

Here's where I would change thesequence of assembling the kit . After you'vesnapped the car sides in place and installedthe completed interior in the body core, testfit the roof. I had problems getting the roofto snap into the lips on the car side, and with

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top to bottom : Completed interior with sides added . Thebody core consists of the basic underframe and car endswith the doors .

Completed underbody.

Underbody with trucks and A/C compressor installed .

End view of car showing the Cal-Scale tail gate .

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the completed underframe it was almostimpossible to clamp the roof down for glu-ing without damaging the detail .

If you decide to glue the roof in placenow, install the correct clerestory vent sides,depending on whether your car had air con-ditioning or not in the period you're model-ing. Pullman mechanical center duct airconditioning was installed on C&O cars800-805 in 1935 and on cars 806-809 in1940 . Looking at photos, I couldn't see anyvent over the lavatory so I didn't install themushroom vents .

The detailed underframe on this kit issuperb. The only problems I had in assem-bling the brake rigging and other parts wasthe tight fit of the tabs into their slots due tobeing painted . A couple of quick swipes witha needle file or emery board takes car of this .The couplers have a couple of nice features .First, the coupler box is mounted on an armwith a centering spring, letting the car nego-tiate tighter radius curves . Second, the air sig-

nal and steam lines mount on the coupler boxso they don't interfere with the coupler swing .

The trucks are well done and easy toassemble, with free-rolling nylon bearings . Igave up trying to install the inside brake shoesusing their mounting pins . I was just not ableto line the pins up with the holes in the side-frames, so I filed the pins off and glued theshoes in place without any problems .

After installing the trucks I added thePullman mechanical air-conditioning com-pressor box in the open space between thetruck (without the generator) and the crossbearer. My placing of the compressor is pureconjecture, but it's the only open space avail-able on the underbody. Because of deadlinesI wasn't able to obtain the brine tank (hold-over coil box) and the PSC speed control andtransfer drive. When the parts come I'll installthe brine tank opposite the compressor .

The other part that I might replace arethe diaphragms. The Branchline parts lookgood but just don't extend far enough.When two cars are coupled together there isa two or three scale foot gap between thediaphragms . I'm going to try installing someAmerican Limited heavyweight diaphragmsand see if they'll reduce the gap a bit. _r-

Additional Detail Parts Needed :

Cal-ScalePassenger standard tail gates #190-309

New England Rail Service(P.O . Box 40, Newbury, VT 05051)Pullman A/C compressor box #255Hold-over coil box for Pullman mechanicalA/C #256

Precision Scale Co .Mechanical speed control #33247Mechanical transfer drive #33248

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

CURRENT OPERATIONS ON THECHESAPEAKE & OHIO IN CENTRAL OHIO

The former lines of the Chesapeake& Ohio in Central Ohio are not themost glamorous pieces of trackagein the world. Rarely will you find

them featured on the cover of Trains or anyof the other national railfan publications .Nor are they built like a racetrack like theNew York Central's Water Level Route orlike some of the lines in the desertSouthwest. However, their purpose and useare arguably every bit as important as CSX'sformer B&O Chicago main or the UnionPacific line through North Platte . As withmost of the former C&O, their significanceis based on moving coal .

This article focuses on the operations ofthe former C&O in Central Ohio . Theselines consist of three subdivisions : Athens,Columbus, and Northern . The AthensSubdivision consists of a portion of the ex-Hocking Valley line to Logan . Rail America'sIndiana & Ohio Central now operates themajority of this line, but CSX continues tooperate a 2 .5-mile section of the line fromParsons Yard to an industrial park south ofValley Crossing. The Columbus Subdivisionis the former Hocking Valley main line

MAY 2004

between Columbus and Walbridge, which ison the south side of Toledo . Lastly, theNorthern Subdivision runs between Russell,Ky., and Columbus .

Since this article is largely based on cur-rent events, a history of the lines will not beincluded. Readers interested in the history ofthe Columbus Subdivision portion shouldrefer to the 1984 C&OHS ColumbusConvention program called "The HockingValley Railway." References to the Northernand Athens Subdivisions can be found insame special issue and also in severalC&OHS Newsletters.

YARD OPERATIONSParsons Yard, located on the south side ofColumbus, is the center of operations for thethree lines. Named after the street on whichit is located, the flat yard has evolved signif-icantly since the Hocking Valley Railwaybuilt it in the early 1900s . The yard was builtto support the expanding coal operations ofthe HV and replaced the original Columbus

CSXT 465 leads a train of B&LE empties past the east end of Vauces Center Siding on the Northern Subdivision . Thedate is April 17, 2004, and the train is the Conneaut-Russell E463 . (W. Wardell)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

& Hocking Valley yard located downtown .Today the only remnant of the C&HV yardis Yard A, a connection track between theColumbus Subdivision No .1 track and theformer Conrail (ex-PRR) Buckeye Line atHV Junction.

The yard is divided into three main seg-ments: Mason Yard, New Yard, and ParsonsYard. In 1997 CSX tore out several stubtracks, a few tracks in the Mason Yard, andsold off or leased the former car shop build-ings. In the past couple of years, however, afew of the short tracks on the east end of theyard were put back in service, and a partial-ly covered shop building was erected behindthe yard office for light repair jobs. The115-foot turntable that used to turn H-8s isstill in service and now sees the occasionalRDSLUG set or CW44AC . The massive14-stall roundhouse still stands, althoughBuckeye Insulation and Drywall now uses it .CSX MofW forces, however, do maintain asmall presence in one or two stalls . The yard-master's perch, constructed in 1956 and

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called Hi-Tower, sustained a fire around1993 and was demolished . The yardmasternow resides in the "blue building" formerlyoccupied by the Parsons Operator and theOhio Division offices .

CSX has been successful in locating sev-eral industries on excess land surroundingParsons Yard. Essroc Incorporated, whichtakes in cars of cement, is located on theAthens Subdivision just outside of the yardnear Valley Crossing . McFarland Cascade,located on the former site of the car shops,takes in gondolas and flats of utility poles .The newest industry is Middleport TerminalIncorporated, located south of the round-house. Middleport Terminal takes in tanksof liquid asphalt for use by the highway con-struction industry. CSX's own Transflo bulkterminal at the south end of the yard hasexpanded into one of the larger terminals onthe system with nearly 200 car spots .Occasionally auto racks are also unloaded atthe yard for Columbus-area dealers .Although located outside of the yard limits,Contract Logistics was recently constructedsouth of the yard at MP 87 .5 on NorthernSubdivision. Contract Logistics is warehous-ing firm and requires a switch about fivetimes a week. Normally this work is done byone of the daily yard jobs.

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO HISTORICAL MAGAZINEMAGAZINE

Operations in the yard can sometimesbe a nightmare due to the reduction oftracks throughout the yard . As one retiredyardmaster once commented, "When theybuilt this yard it was impossible to getblocked in . Now it is impossible to movearound." Typically westbound trains yard inone of the five remaining tracks in theMason Yard or on the westbound or east-bound main (Parsons No . 1 or No . 2) .Eastbound trains normally yard in either theNew Yard or the Parsons Yard, dependingon what train it is . Usually the yardmasterwill direct the train to use the "third rail," alead track off of No . 2 main .

Several yard jobs work out of Parsons ona daily basis . First trick has three yard jobs :Y101, Y105, and Y120 . Called the "loads,"Y101 classifies cars in the yard . Y105 switch-es industries around the yard, transfers carsfrom the former B&O yard at EastColumbus, and pushes any coal trains up theformer Conrail Columbus Line Subdivision .Y120 switches industries on the formerConrail on the west side of Columbus. Whenlocal switching traffic is busy, trains Y121 andY150 will work as well .

Second trick has Y201, Y205, Y220,Y221, and Y222 . Y201 and Y205 are the sec-ond-trick versions of their 1st trick counter-parts. Y220 is the "B&O Puller" whichswitches customers on the ex-B&O C&NSubdivision, the C&O ColumbusSubdivision (within the yard limits), andoccasionally on the Athens Subdivision .Y221, which used to be known as the "shopjob," switches industries located near theyard. Y222, affectionately known as the"Busch Job," gets its name from its primarycustomer, the Anheuser-Busch brewery inWorthington. The brewery receives coveredhopper cars of grain, rice, hops, and an occa-sional car of carbon dioxide. This job runsMonday through Friday and usually has amother-road slug set for power.

Third trick once again boasts a "loads"job symboled as the Y301 . It also has a Y305which performs the same basic functions asY105, and Y320 which switches the CSXTransflo terminal on the east end of the yard .

Remote-control units also have a pres-ence in Parsons Yard. These mainly operateon first shift using the Y170 or Y190 symboland assist the "loads" in switching duties .

COAL AND OTHER COMMODITY TRAINSAll of the former C&O lines in CentralOhio were constructed by either the C&Oor its predecessors to provide a northern out-let for coal, which continues to be the pre-dominant traffic today. Coal trains originateat many locations in Kentucky and West

MAY 2004

Indiana & Ohio GP9 No . 63 (formerly C&O 6178) leads a short train out of Parsons Yard near Valley Crossing in1996 . The Geep is now long departed under the Rail America ownership and the line's trains are now not nearly asphotogenic . (W. Wardell)

CSXT caboose No . 903180 at Parsons Yard in June 1999 . Today the cab still makes frequent appearances on sever-al of the yard jobs that require long backup moves . (A . Fabro)

Virginia and traverse the NorthernSubdivision to Columbus . At Columbuscoal heads north on three different routes :the former Conrail Scottslawn Secondary/Toledo Branch, the former C&O ColumbusSubdivision, or the ex-Conrail (nee-NYC)Columbus Line Subdivision . Of the three,the least amount of coal goes via theScottslawn route. Coal trains W267 andW268 operate almost weekly using theScottslawn to Ridgeway where they head toIndianapolis . Depending on maintenance-of-way windows and crew availability, anoccasional lake or utility coal train will usethe Scottslawn/Toledo Branch instead of thenearly parallel Columbus Sub .

The majority of the coal trains head toWalbridge via the Columbus Subdivision . AtWalbridge trains either head to Michigan or

head to the docks to be transloaded ontolake vessels . Some metallurgical coal alsotravels the Columbus Subdivision as far asFostoria where it takes the turn towardsGarrett, Ind ., and Chicago . The majority ofthis traffic is for Bethlehem Steel and ishauled in oversized BSCX tubs designed toalso handle coke . Late in 2002, CSX alsostarted hauling coal for Inland Steel. Thesetrains operate with INLX 3-bay hoppers andat the rate of one or two per week .

Coal traffic on the former ConrailColumbus Line Subdivision amounts to oneor two loaded movements daily along withthe associated empty trains . These coal trainsusually carry "V" symbols and operate toCleveland Electric Illuminating inAshtabula, the Bessemer & Lake Erie dock atConneaut, Ohio, and several locations in

11

Former Conrail SD40-2 No . 8812 leads AK Steel Ore train K170 east at Columbus Sub MP 6 .3 on October 23, 1999 .

CSX 135 brings a westbound coal drag past Linworth Center Siding on March 15, 2004 . Both, A. Fabro)

12

New York State . The Conneaut coal trafficused to move via the Columbus Subdivisionto Fostoria and Willard, but this haschanged due to the division of Conrail . Coaltrains for the Columbus Line Subdivisionuse the former C&O from Parsons Yard toYard A just north of LM Cabin in down-town Columbus . At Yard A these train swingeast onto the former CR/PRR Buckeye Linebefore entering the Columbus LineSubdivision at CP-138 adjacent to the

Columbus Convention Center . The conven-tion center sits on land once occupied byColumbus Union Station, which wasdemolished in 1976. The Columbus Lineencounters a steep grade leaving downtownand most coal trains using this route requirepushers in the form of yard jobs out ofParsons Yard . Instead of using a yard job,occasionally a dedicated pusher job is calledunder the symbol H200 or H201 to assisttrains up the Columbus Line .

`

Ta

During the Great Lakes shipping sea-son, loaded and empty ore trains traverse theC&O between the Presque Isle ore docks inToledo and the AK Steel blast furnaces atAshland, Kentucky. Using the K170 symbolfor both the loaded and empty moves, CSXtreats these trains as some of the hottest traf-fic through Columbus . Tonnage on thesetrains can approach 18,000 tons at times . Inpast years, these trains sometimes accountedfor up to four trains daily, however volumeswere down significantly for the 2003 ship-ping season. Coil and slab steel trains oper-ate several times a month as dictated by theever-changing steel industry, K525 andK529 being the most common symbols .

When in season, grain can also make upa substantial amount of traffic and tonnageon the C&O. During the grain rush ofOctober, November, and December, it iscommon to see several unit grain trains dailyfrom northern Ohio and Michigan headedfor the feed mills of the South . Along withthese unit trains, local grain trains based outof Columbus run west to pull or spot cars atone of the grain elevators located the C&Obetween Columbus and Fostoria . All eleva-tors are located north of Delaware, withsome of the busier elevators located at UpperSandusky, Morral, and Harpster . Usually alocal will head west, either "engine light" orwith empties, and shift cars around beforebringing them back to Columbus . The sizeof most grain trains is 65 cars . If only a little

.work is needed, the Carey Turn (H792)takes care of the needed switching.

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

Several other grain trains use theColumbus Subdivision between Parsons andLM Cabin. These trains take care of thegrain traffic that originates on the formerB&O Midland Subdivision betweenColumbus and Cincinnati . Most of this traf-fic is generated at the Cargill facility north ofWashington Court House, but the Indiana& Ohio also interchanges grain traffic off theformer DT&I at Washington Court Houseand off the former B&O at Midland City.Grain trains off the Columbus and MidlandSubdivisions are frequently combined inColumbus to head east over the Northern as130-car drags . When not in season, grainaccounts for about two trains a week,depending on demand .

As far as other traffic goes, in the late1990s CSX began routing molten sulfurtrains on the C&O in an effort to take sometraffic off the B&O. These trains are trans-ferred from the Canadian Pacific at Chicagoand end their trip in Lee Creek, NorthCarolina, where the sulfur is used in makingfertilizer. These trains offer the best chanceto find foreign power on the former C&O,coming out of Chicago often with CP sys-tem power or that of UP, BNSF, or even NS .The trains operate with eastbound symbolsof K887, K891, K893, and K895 and west-bound symbols of K888, K892, and K896 .Occasional potash and aggregate trains arealso run, but their frequency and pattern isvery unpredictable .

FREIGHT TRAINSWhile coal makes up most of the daily traffic,several "Q" trains are scheduled on theNorthern and Columbus Subdivisions daily .Q634 runs from Russell, Ky., to Willard,

Ohio. Q634 and its eastbound complement,Q635, could be considered "slop" freighttrains, often moving dead locomotives, stor-age cars, or maintenance-of-way equipment .These trains perform almost all the switchingon the Northern Subdivision, but the onlystop on the Columbus Subdivision is atFostoria to pick up or set off blocks of traffic .

Q690 also runs from Russell to Willard,but unlike Q634 it carries a block ofChicago traffic . This train has also beenobserved running a Columbus-Garrett-Chicago route thus bypassing reclassificationat Willard. This train is normally arespectable 70-100 cars, but often only ratesa single unit.

The other daily freight is the Chicago-to-Columbus Q691, which operates intoColumbus with a crew from the formerB&O yard at Garrett, Indiana. Q691 nor-mally has 60-90 cars, but this can varydepending on business .

The latest addition is Walbridge-to-Russell Q637. This train used to traverse theColumbus Subdivision, but was rerouted tothe former Conrail Toledo Branch after thesplit. However on April 1, 2004, CSXdowngraded the former Conrail Stanley yardadjacent to Walbridge and the train has nowreturned to the Columbus Subdivision. Thewestbound counterpart Q636 is only aColumbus-to-Walbridge train but is routedover the former Conrail and as such onlyuses the former C&O from Parsons to LMCabin. As of late April, CSX had decided toreopen Stanley as a flat switching yard, and itremains to be seen what effect this will haveon Q637 .

The only regular freight on the AthensSubdivision is the five-days-a-week Indiana

& Ohio Central train from Logan toColumbus. The train operates as a turn toColumbus and handles all of I&OC's inter-change traffic . Train lengths normally rangefrom five to 30 cars, but as many as 60 carshave been handled recently. A Rail AmericaGP40-3 handles most road freight dutieswhile a former Pittsburgh IndustrialRailroad SW1500 is assigned to work theindustries in Lancaster. I&O trains mustrequest permission from the ParsonsYardmaster to enter CSX track east of ValleyCrossing.

H792 is a daily-except-Saturday localoperating out of Parsons and running as farnorth as Upper Sandusky. Power for thetrain is usually a GP40-2/RDSLUG set .Currently the train stops at Linworth toswitch up to three lumber distributors ;Prospect ; Marion, which has several indus-tries including Marion Steel and the MarionJoint Rail Industrial Park; Mortal ; Harpster;and Upper Sandusky. H792 also now carriesIndianapolis traffic from Columbus toMarion . This traffic formerly moved onQ311 via the former CR Scottslawn viaRidgeway. If the Indianapolis block is large,CSX will sometimes run the traffic under anH992 symbol with the power returning toParsons after dropping the cars in the centersiding at MD Cabin .

TRAFFIC AND CHANGESSINCE THE CONRAIL SPLITSince the Conrail split, the ColumbusSubdivision has seen the most changes of theformer C&O lines in Central Ohio. Thetrain count has decreased slightly on theColumbus Subdivision between HVJunction and Marion, while north of there it

BNSF C44-9W No. 4016, HLCX SD40-2 No. 7197,and SP AC4400CW No . 130 bring empty grain trainG022 into MP 4 on the Columbus Sub . on April 27,2004 . (W. Wardell)

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A westbound coal train on C&O No . 1 passes LM Cabin during the President's Day snowstorm of February 15, 2003 .

(A. Fabro)

Eastbound local H792 bridges the Scioto River and is about to cross the former T&OC diamond at LM Cabin in July2002 . (W. Wardell)

has increased . North of Marion a number ofQ trains operate to and from the formerConrail Indianapolis line via the recon-structed northwest connection . Thisincludes the Q146 intermodal train fromChicago that heads west at Marion on theformer Conrail before swinging south intoCSX's Columbus intermodal facility via theScottslawn Secondary. Its counterpart,Q147, runs the same route in reverse .Routing these trains all the way toColumbus via the Columbus Subdivisionwould require a runaround move to accessthe intermodal yard at the former ConrailBuckeye Yard. In addition, clearances on thethrough-truss bridges around LM Cabin arenot adequate for double stacks .

F. . i r.v i

At the same time, traffic on theNorthern Subdivision has stayed about thesame or increased slightly due to some newcoal and steel business . On an average day,approximately 12-16 trains traverse the por-tions of the Northern and ColumbusSubdivisions covered by this article . Loadedor empty coal trains account for the majori-ty of the traffic, but as mentioned previous-ly coal is not the only bulk commodity han-dled on the former C&O, as ore and grainadd significantly to the traffic count .

Overall, Parsons Yard has seen a slightincrease in traffic, in and out, mostly due thenumber of locals that are now based therecovering former Conrail territory. The num-ber of freight trains has actually decreased

with the rerouting of Q314/Q315 to bypassColumbus and run to Newark, Ohio . Alsonot visiting Parsons anymore is the NewarkLocal H783, which used to come in six daysa week and swap blocks . Now any Newarktraffic is blocked either via Cincinnati to rundirect to Newark on Q314, or one of theyard jobs will set it out at East Columbus onthe ex-B&O C&N Subdivision and eitherQ314 or H783 will take the block toNewark .

New post-Conrail locals for the yardinclude the previously mentioned Y120,Y222, and H786 . H786 departs ParsonsYard Monday through Friday, howeverwhere it goes depends on what day it is. OnMonday, Wednesday, and Friday the traingoes up the Columbus Subdivision toDelaware where it accesses the DelawareIndustrial Track (ex-CCC&STL trackage)via the newly restored connection with theD.I.T. This new connection enabled CSX toabandon the D.LT from the C&O east toCP-114 on the Columbus Line Subdivision,a distance of 1 .5 miles . This trackage includ-ed the large deck-girder bridge over theOlentangy River and State Route 23 . Thelast time the train went over this piece oftrackage was on June 24, 2003 . CSX wastedno time dismantling the abandoned track asall rail and ties have been torn up and clearedfrom the property. This included theremoval of the diamond at the crossing ofthe D .I .T. and the Columbus Subdivision .

On Tuesday and Thursday, H786 trav-erses its old route up the Columbus LineSubdivision where it switches customers inDelaware, Mount Gilead, Edison, and SimsStation . Occasionally this train will go all theway to Galion, however it usually only goesas far as Edison where it accesses a piece ofex-NYC (T&OC) trackage to switch cus-tomers in Edison and Mount Gilead.

CSX has even had this train performdouble duty and switch customers on boththe Columbus Line Subdivision and theColumbus Subdivision . The train will firstgo up the Columbus Line, come back toCP-138 and take the Buckeye Line to theDennison Avenue Switch where it accessesthe Yard A connection, and then take theMud Track to the Columbus Subdivision .While Yard A turns a train south towardsLM Cabin, the Mud Track turns northtowards HV Junction, thus creating a wye .In fact, these tracks are used to turn powerwhen the turntable in Parsons Yard is out ofservice.

Until mid-2002, the C&O lines stillhad an active block tower in Columbus . LMCabin (Little Miami), known as SciotoTower by Norfolk Southern, was closed on

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

August 4, 2002, with all operations assumedby the CSX "CR" Dispatcher. Located indowntown Columbus, LM governed themaze of tracks in the vicinity. The CSX dou-ble-track Columbus Subdivision twiststhrough the area, crossing the double-trackNS Cincinnati Line (ex-CR/PRR), NS WestVirginia Secondary (ex-CR/T&OC) in frontof the cabin, and then crosses the NSBuckeye Line (ex-CR/PRR) approximatelyone mile north at HV Junction . In additionto governing these interlockings on theColumbus Subdivision, LM also governedthe connection between the NS CincinnatiLine and the CSX (ex-B&O) Midland Subat CP Russ, as well as the CP-138 interlock-ing where the CSX (ex-B&O) C&N andColumbus Line Subdivisions and the NSBuckeye Line and Weber Connection allcome together.

LM Cabin was built in the 1920s andwas maintained by Norfolk Southern, butstaffed by CSX. On a typical day 40-50trains pass through the plant, with high-traf-fic days having up to 70 trains . With thenumber of trains and the somewhat complextrack layout, NS reportedly wanted to keepthe tower open with a computerized controlsystem. CSX won the argument and tookremote control of the plant to Jacksonville .Along with the closing of LM, many changesoccurred to the signaling and trackwork onall the routes that it controlled . Some ofthese improvements include a new crossoveron the Columbus Subdivision south of LMnamed "River," as well as new crossover onthe NS Cincinnati Line to improve access tothe former Conrail Toledo Branch, nowowned by CSX .

Though not in Central Ohio, theColumbus Subdivision still has one otheractive tower along the line, F Tower inFostoria, Ohio. F Tower was built in theearly 1950s as a joint project of the B&O,C&O, and NYC in an effort to consolidateoperations and expedite the movement oftrains through town . In March 1999 theGRS ENtry-EXit interlocking board wasreplaced with a set of computer screens . Thesignal system in the interlocking was alsoreplaced . The board now is in the hands ofthe Marion Union Station Association whereit is being restored .

Somehow escaping CSX's demolitionprogram, two coal towers still stand in thecenter siding between Crawford and Carey,Ohio, around MP 72 . The towers are inreasonably good condition but require asomewhat extended hike to reach . A photo-graph of the towers still in use appears onpage 30 of the March 2003 T 1 special issueof C&O HISTORY .

MAY 2004

TRAIN SCHEDULES

CSX is currently working on installing a

Old and new signals at MA Cabin at Marion, Ohio, on

few new signals on the ColumbusSubdivision, but complete signal replace-ment is not scheduled until late 2004 or2005. Many signals have been replaced,some with "hood" style signals, others withstandard C&O style signals . One odd instal-lation is at the MP 4 crossover, adjacent tothe Ohio State University campus alongState Route 315 . The eastbound signals werereplaced with standard C&O signals, but thewestbound signals were replaced with hood-ed signals with the exception of the top fix-ture on No .1, which is a standard C&O sig-nal. On the other hand, no signals have beenreplaced to date on the NorthernSubdivision, but as with most other C&Olines these are slated to be replaced in thevery near future .

RAILFANNINGRailfanning the former C&O in CentralOhio can be challenging, though veryrewarding. The Columbus Subdivisionoffers several locations to view the action .The most famous is Marion Union Station,where the line crosses the CSX (ex-CR, neeCCC&STL) Indianapolis Line Subdivisionand comes within a few hundred feet of theNS (ex-PRR) Sandusky District.

Many other spots are accessible alongthe line at the multiple grade crossingsformed by the grid-like nature of the roadsnorth of Columbus . Public roads also fol-low the Northern Subdivision, but in con-trast to the Columbus Subdivision, almostall road crossing are grade separated . With atop speed of 50 mph, the C&O is definite-ly not a racetrack, however due to the busypublic roads and slower speed limitsthrough small towns, keeping up with atrain can be a challenge .

The primary radio frequencies in use are160.230 for the road channel (AAR 08),160.320 (AAR 14) for the "CR" desk dis-patcher on the Columbus Sub . and 161 .520(AAR' 94) for the "CR" on the Northern . TheParsons Yardmaster can be heard on 161 .160

June 27, 1999 . (A . Fabro)

(AAR 70) . Other frequencies needed if rail-fanning around LM Cabin are 160 .800 (AAR46) for the CSX Columbus Line Subdivision,160.860 (AAR 50) for the CSX ScottslawnSecondary Subdivision, NS road channel160.980 (AAR 58) for the Cincinnati andBuckeye Lines, and 161 .070 (AAR 64) for theNS West Virginia Secondary.

Many rail lines have been built andmany have been dismantled ; yet the formerC&O continues to prove itself daily as beinga valuable piece of trackage for CSX .Whether itis moving coal or grain, or pro-viding an alternate route due to track workor derailments, the former C&O lines inCentral Ohio will continue to be an integralpart of the core CSX system for many yearsto come . e~ .

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Train Notes Days Schedute (approximate, as of Aprit 2004)

H786 See Text Daily Dep . Parsons 0645, Arr. Parsons 1730

H792 Carey Local M-F Dep . Parsons 0700, Arr. Parsons 1855

Q634 Russell-Willard Daily Dep . Russell 1600, Arr. Parsons 2335 ; Dep . Parsons 0300, Arr . Willard 0930

Q635 Willard-Russell Daily Dep . Willard 2030, Arr. Parsons 0345 ; Dep . Parsons 1530, Arr. Russell 21 15

Q636 Columbus-Walbridge

(via CR) Daily Dep . Parsons 0830, Arr. LM Cabin 0900

Q637 Walbridge-Russell Daily Dep . Walbridge 0730, Arr. Parsons 1530; Dep . Parsons 1800, Arr. Russell 2215

Q690 Russell-Willard Daily Dep . Russell 0730, Arr. Parsons 1230 ; Dep . Parsons 1430, Arr . Willard 1900

Q691 Chicago-Columbus Daily Dep . Chicago 1800, Arr. Parsons 0745

CURRENT OPERATIONSON THECHESAPEAKE & OHIOIN CENTRAL OHIO

above : CSX 7896 leads a westbound past LM Cabinin downtown Columbus, Ohio, on October 23,1999. The interlocking was known as "Scioto" onConrail and was closed in August 2002 . (A . Fabro)

left : Former Conrail 7324 leads train E492 (Miller,Ind .-Russell, Ky .) under the newly constructed 1-670bridge at HV Jct ., just north of downtown Columbus,on May 3, 2004 . (W. Wardell)