Centerburg Ohio

[bambulance_dave]

Does anyone have any history on the lines that ran through Centerburg? I know that two lines ran through there at one time, a Penn Central (Former Columbus and Akron Central) and a NYC (Former Toledo and Ohio Central). The Penn line comes up from Sunbury (ultimately Columbus) along rte 3/36 and you can still see the row in some places. The NYC comes up from Croton (Hartford and ultimately Newark and points south). The NYC (T&OC) depot is still standing (Insurance Agent) just north of the new high school, I do not know about the Penn depot or if there even was one. From what I can tell, all of the tracks ect have been removed, however the grade is still easily visible at Lytle Rd from where the Penn line's trestle crossed over rte 3/36 before heading north into Centerburg, Mount Vernon, Millersburg and ultimately Akron. Mapquest still shows the lines as active ConRail, and according to that map, the lines crossed east of the end Survival Rd. Does anyone know when the lines were abandoned and removed? Or when the last train went through? Also is there anything left of the diamond or if there even was one? The old NYC (T&OC) from Newark to Johnstown (just south of Croton) is now a very nice bike trail and has been that way for atleast 13 years. Part of the same line is still in use by OCR. It is an industrial spur (or so) that runs south from the east/west OCR/CSX line that runs through Newark. The spur comes off just east of the Keller Rd crossing and heads south crossing Irvingwick Dr. It services Boeing (old Newark Air Force Base), MidOhio Industrial Park, Newark Industrial Park, and a new grain elevator or mill just north of Hebron. Then the line becomes another bike trail just south of Hebron, running along Canal Rd and the old Ohio and Erie Canal, ending at SR 79. If anyone has any more info it would be greatly appreciated.

[shlustig]

The PRR line was the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus (CA&C) which served as a through-route until Hurrican Agnes(?) in the 1970's washed out portions south of Orrville. The line began at Hudson where it met the C&P. From Akron Jct. to Warwick, the B&O had trackage rights for their mainline until CSX acquired this portion after the great butane burn-off in the late 1980's.

The NYC line was the T&OC Eastern Division which lasted as a through into early Conrail. This ran from Toledo Stanley Yard via Fostoria, Berwick, Bucyrus, Martel, and Edison. The T&OC Western Division via Bowling Green, Findlay, Ridgeway, and Columbus was upgraded, and the Eastern was abandoned with only a few short segments kept in use. The main T&OC shops were at Bucyrus, and the Eastern Div. Dispatching Office was at Fostoria.

Hope this helps.

[bambulance_dave]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate you time. I hope to walk the old row's someday as well as the old line that runs south of my house through Mount Perry. It was at one time a NYC, running from Fultonham (SE of Zanesville), through Thurston to Columbus. I guess that OC owns it now, according to their webpage.

[midland sub]

There's two different books I would recommend for you to read about your question. A Sample of the Penn Central and When the Railroad Leaves Town. The Penn Central book goes into more detail about the operations in the late '60's and early '70's. It mentions the pending abandonment of parts of the lines because of washouts and a better routing on a nearby NYC line. There's also some great pictures of where the T&OC line crossed the PRR Panhandle line that the Ohio Central still operates.
The other book is about cities after railroads abandon lines includes Westerville on the PRR line. It mentions the Penn Central's reasons for moving freights off of the line and also goes into detail about when the last trains traveled the line. A washout south of Orrville in 1969 severed the line to through freights. Penn Central continued to use the line and abandoned the Orrville to Holmesville segment in 1972. During the formation of Conrail by the USRA the line from Holmesville to Westerville wasn't to be included in Conrail. The line did survive into Conrail by a subsidy from the Local Rail Service Assistance Program and the state of Ohio. After these were discontinued in 1979 the Holmesville to Howard section was abandoned. The Northeast Rail Service Act in 1981 allowed Conrail to quickly abandon the line in late 1981 with the last trains operating in early 1982. The line was still in place in Columbus from I want to say Westerville Rd south to the where it connected to the B&O C&N/PRR Panhandle line near I-670 through the late '80's. A short stub still remains today operated by the Ohio Central. It begins near the I-670/I-71 junction and preceeds north for a mile or so where it connects to NS's Sandusky line. When you fly in or out of Columbus you can see what's left of the line from the plane. i' not sure if the OC still serves the scrap yard on the line, as most times it seems they use it to store cars. All of this in the above mentioned book. There might also be something about the PRR line in the book PRR Lines West. Both it and the Penn Central book are great sources to see how much the area around I-670 has changed in the last 30 yrs. Especially with your interest of the Ohio Central in the area in yourpost about their derailment there.

Mark

[bambulance_dave]

Thanks a bunch for the info, I really appreciate it and I will check out those books. I am a real junkie for railroad history. I was up in Centerburg today and glanced at the old row's but due to time constraints I couldn't go exploring. I also am infatuated with the rail history of Newark and Licking county. I remember when I was a kid you could see the old tower on the far east side of Newark there off of Coffman Rd there where the old T&OC crossed the east/west lines of the old PRR now CSX/OC. I could have swore that I saw an old roundhouse, but I was only a kid and cannot be for sure. Does anyone have any old pictures of the old Union Station in Newark. The PRR station still exists and I have acctually boarded a couple of excersion trains there. One was the Buckeye Central Scenic RR traveling on the old B&O (FMR Newark, Somerset, and Straitsville) line south to US 40, and then again on the OC (Engine # 1293) on the old PRR line to Dresden.

[shlustig]

Happened to look at an old NYC Ohio Central division employee timetable from the early 1950's and found that there was an interlocking tower at Centerburg at the PRR crossing.

Don't know if it lasted until the lines were abandoned or not.

[Lew]

Tower was certainly gone by 1970 and probably well before that, I suspect very early 1960's. I've only ever seen one picture of it and that was hanging on the wall of the restaurant in the old Erie depot in Kent, Ohio.

[ChiefTroll]

When I was the NYC Track Supervisor at Thurston in 1966, my territory included the T&OC Eastern from Thurston to Mount Gilead Jct (and the Mt. Gilead RR), the Western from East Columbus to Bremen, and the Zanesville and Western.

The crossing at Centerburg was named "Centerac" by the PRR, and it was an automatic interlocking (first train on an approach circuit got the signal to cross and anyone else waited). There was not much conflicting traffic on the OC. I don't know when the tower was closed, but the automatic interlocking apparatus did not look to be very new in 1966.

The NYC line through Mount Perry was the Z&W from Thurston to Zanesville, with a branch from Fultonham to Crooksville (and earlier to Rendville and Shawnee).

The OC Eastern was intact from Thurston to Stanley in 1966, but there was virtually no through traffic on it.

[Lew]

In about 1970, I visited Centerburg and caught the PC local returning to Columbus from Mt. Vernon. They had to stop and flag the diamond, the automatic interlocking signalling was presumably in bad shape by then, for whatever reason, they were unable to get a favorable aspect to proceed.

During that same day, I stopped and visited the operator at Mt. Vernon, at the tower with the crossing with the B&O Lake Erie Sub. He was a former PRR man, had worked the tower at Centerburg, had been a fireman on the CA&C during WWII, but I had to stand and talk to him through the screen door, he wouldn't let me in the tower, kind of a crusty old guy but he did talk to me, the only time I was ever not let into a tower.

I also recall that there was a yard engine still assigned to Mt. Vernon at that time, don't know exactly what it was but it was setting near the old PRR freighthouse, a EMD switch engine.

Speaking of the freighthouse, the operator also told me that the CA&C dispatchers had once been located in that building.

Realize this is not really about Centerburg but thought I'd throw it in.

[dutchdrop]

I worked PC Local AD 5/6 out of Columbus during the seventies. We would work north to Millersburg, take rest and return to Columbus the following morning. It was a great run for scenery and since we had railroad to ourselves there was little stress. I remember the conductor's name was Remley and he knew every tie between Columbus and Holmesville, which was the northern end of the line at that time. As I vaguely recall the crossing of the Eastern at Centerburg was an automatic interlocking. Line was never rebuilt after July 4th 69 washout. PC didn't consider it usable as through line between Columbus and Akron because of steep hill south of Kilbuck and hence never rebuilt washed out section north of Holmesville.