|
|
Oberlin, Ohio NYC Passenger Depot |
John Thompson, Jr., Railroad Research and Historian from Elyria, Ohio, has been studying and photographing the railroads of Ohio.
Photos and text copyright John Thompson, Jr.
A CSX local on May 8, 2018. This local used to start in Lorain but now starts in Lester, Ohio. Notice the severed track from a lumber yard once served by the local. - A CSX local at the Chevrolet plant in Parma, Ohio on June 6, 2018.
- A CSX local at Elyria, Ohio on March 25, 2018.
- Norfolk Southern on the former New York Central Water Level Route through Elyria Ohio on April 2, 2018
- Former New York Central passenger / freight depot downtown Elyria, Ohio on April 2, 2018. The structure has undergone complete renovation in hopes of re-opening.
- A CSX local on May 8, 2018.
- The lift bridge over Black River on the former Nickle Plate Railroad in Lorain, Ohio on May 12, 2018.
- Two views (1 | 2) of the restored Lakeshore and Michigan Southern passenger depot and PRR Caboose on static display in Olmstead Falls, Ohio on May 14, 2018. The Cuyahoga Valley and West Shore Model Railroad Club (link) has an HO scale model railroad layout in depot; photo made May 21, 2018.).
- A paved road into a metropark that was once a right-of-way for a planned railroad that was never built on April 30, 2018.
- An abandoned New York Central coal bunker on the old Water Level Route in Elyria, Ohio, across the street from the police department, on May 14, 2018. This portion of the Water Level Route is now Norfolk Southern.
- The long-ago deactivated former Big Four (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis) interlocking tower in Grafton, Ohio on May 15, 2018. The Big Four is now part of CSX.
- CSX / Chessie Systems caboose on static display in Grafton, Ohio near the former Big Four interlocking tower on May 15, 2018.
- The Landmark feed mill in Grafton, Ohio on May 15, 2018. This mill is served by CSX; a switch locomotive moves cars around for loading.
The four-stall concrete coaling tower at the former NYC, now Conrail and soon to be Norfolk Southern, Collinwood Yard in east Cleveland, Ohio. The tower is abandoned but remains intact. (UPDATE 2019-02-11: This structure has been torn down by CSX.)- Stanley Yard Tower near Toledo, Ohio. The yard is rumoured to be closed. Photo taken in 1995. (According to a yardmaster there, Stanley Tower is still fully functional and is now part of CSX--April 7, 2003.)
- B&O interlocking tower between Willard and Lodi in Nova, Ohio. This tower was retired by the late 1980s but was still standing in early 1999. (UPDATE 2019-02-11: This tower was taken down after it began to lean badly toward an active railroad.)
- Former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie yard tower at Gateway Yard in Struthers, Ohio. Both yard and tower were abandoned in the early 1990s.
- New York Central passenger/freight depot in Centerburg, Ohio. Photo taken in 1995.
- New York Central passenger depot in Oberlin, Ohio, on what used to be the Norwalk or Southern Division. The tracks ran in front of the the depot on the side pictured. There was a small yard at this site, which was abandoned in in 1976 with the coming of Conrail and was removed shortly thereafter. This depot now serves as a day care facility.
- Former Erie-Lackawanna double-track mainline bridge north of Ashland, Ohio. The right-of-way and bridge are now in use by Ashland Railway, a shortline carrier. Photo taken in 1995.
- A second view of the Erie-Lackawanna double-track mainline bridge north of Ashland, Ohio.
- Bridge abutments across Paint Creek between Greenfield and Bainbridge on the former Detroit, Toledo, & Ironton. Photo taken in 1995.
- Bridge over Paint Creek on the B&O Chillicothe-to-Cincinnati line at Greenfield, Ohio. Photo taken in 1995.
- A second view of the Bridge over Paint Creek.
- One of two bridges at "Musselmans" point where two B&O lines from Chillicothe met and then parted again.
- Lorain & West Virginia bridge over the Black River, now abandoned. The bridge is 760 feet long and ninety feet above the river valley. The railroad was abandoned in 1979.
- A second Lorain & West Virginia Bridge, this one near Oberlin, Ohio. The path beneath was the NYC Norwalk or Southern Division, now a bike path. The railroad was abandoned in 1976.
- Huellet ore unloaders at Whiskey Island at Cleveland, Ohio, lakefront. This is the last set of these in existence. Photo taken in the early 1990s.
- Abandoned locomotives once used to spot ore jennies (hoppers) under the Huellets. These were parked near the Huellets.
- The Huellet ore unloaders that once stood on Whiskey Island in Cleveland were dissasembeled some years ago and stored in a warehouse in Cleveland, to be put back together for a permanent static display. Unfortunately, the warehouse was broken into and most of the Huellets metal was stolen by scrappers. Their status is such they will probably never stand again. This was the last set of unloaders that once were at all the Lake Erie port locations, such as Lorain, Ashtabula, Huron, Sandusky,and Toledo. (February 19, 2019)
- Former N&W Great Miami GP-30 at Vauces, near Chillicothe, Ohio, between CSX and Great Miami.
- Two-stall coaling tower in the NS yard in Bluefield, West Virginia.
- A view of the bridge support that carried the Cleveland Southwestern interurban under the Erie Railroad, just north of Ashland, and a second view. A small creek is also shown that the CSW skirted.
- The roundhouse in Chillicothe, not too long before it was demolished. Still visible is the turntable pit, which is now completely filled in.
- The heritage of the DT&I painted on a board of some kind and displayed in the former locomotive shops in Jackson.
- Stone bridge with the date 1892 chisled in the side from the former LS&MS southern division as it passed through Oberlin, Ohio. This bridge spans the Plum Creek. Right of way is now a hiking/bike trail.
- D&H locomotive working the B&O Lester/Lorain branch in 1991.
- Great Miami stone ballast car and a string of cabooses in Jackson, Ohio, August 2003.
- A switch locomotive at a small feed mill in W. Clarksfield, Ohio, just east of Norwalk, Ohio. There were also several C N round belly hoppers either waiting to be loaded, or, waiting pickup. The main line railroad through here is W&LE, the switcher is for the mill use only. It does not go on the main.
- An old car storage and repair building here in Elyria. It was for the Cleveland, Columbus, Southwestern railway, an interurban line. Building was used for pattern storage for a local foundry. When they sold it, their sign was removed, revealing this underneath.
- Two views (1 | 2) of the bridge over the Black River on the former B&O Lester-to-Lorain (Ohio) branch line. Area to the left of the bridge used to be part of a large sandstone quarry operation that was once the mainstay of industry in Grafton around the late 1800's. Many remains of grindstones wheels all along the river bank, as are many small quarry pits. On the end of the bridge visible, there once was an underpass for a small steam locomotive that worked the quarries. This bridge is not the original at this location. (Here is a scan of a vintage photo of the original bridge.)
- Nothing to do with railroads... This is an old road bridge that once had a wooden deck. Deck is gone, however, bridge structure itself remains, including sandstone abutments. It is in the backyard of a persons house, just north of Wellington, Ohio. Believe it is the first bridge crossing of route 58 over the Black River. Bridge is very narrow, leading to believe it was used by horse drawn wagons or very early automobiles. (Photo is scan from vintage newspaper article and was provided by Mike Fenick.)
