For those of you who might not be familar with the area, CSX Q314 is
the Cincinnati-Newark OH through freight operation over the Midland
Subdivison (the old B&O St. Louis Line east to Midland City, then
north/east over the old line to Wheeling through Wilmington,
Washington Court House (WCH), and Columbus). It drops blocks from
Queensgate yard for the locals at Washington Court House, East
Columbus, and Newark.
I was in WCH this morning visiting my dad, and heard Q314 pull into
town as I was leaving (around 1:15). I stopped briefly at the east
end of Potter siding on the west edge of town, and watched the power
(AC44CW's 552 and 203) pull the head-end Court House block into town,
then shove the cut back into the siding. Just your standard cut of
grain for the dog food plant and the livestock feed operation, phosphate for the fertilzer plant, and lumber for Lowe's distribution center
We decided to "roll him by" at Bloomingburg (five
miles east of WCH). As the end of the train came up, I about had a heart attack. Tacked on the end was classic B&O bay window caboose in good old Chessie System yellow paint.
This had to be a car consigned for display or a scrapper - the
windows were all broken, and a glimpse of the interior showed it to
to be gutted. In addition, smoke trails above the windows and doors
suggest it had been torched.
Its appearance on the rear end indicates it may have been bound for
Newark and the east end of the old Wheeling Divison main, the remnant
of the Sandusky line up to Fredericktown/Mount Vernon, or interchange
to the Columbus and Ohio River/Ohio Central.
And to top it off, the ex-CR caboose kept at B-Burg for use in
switching move at the Cargill elevator was in the siding
just east of the crossing, complete with red paddleboards. What a
photo that meet would have made!
There won't be too many more shots of cabooses passing on the Midland
Subdivision again.
the Cincinnati-Newark OH through freight operation over the Midland
Subdivison (the old B&O St. Louis Line east to Midland City, then
north/east over the old line to Wheeling through Wilmington,
Washington Court House (WCH), and Columbus). It drops blocks from
Queensgate yard for the locals at Washington Court House, East
Columbus, and Newark.
I was in WCH this morning visiting my dad, and heard Q314 pull into
town as I was leaving (around 1:15). I stopped briefly at the east
end of Potter siding on the west edge of town, and watched the power
(AC44CW's 552 and 203) pull the head-end Court House block into town,
then shove the cut back into the siding. Just your standard cut of
grain for the dog food plant and the livestock feed operation, phosphate for the fertilzer plant, and lumber for Lowe's distribution center
We decided to "roll him by" at Bloomingburg (five
miles east of WCH). As the end of the train came up, I about had a heart attack. Tacked on the end was classic B&O bay window caboose in good old Chessie System yellow paint.
This had to be a car consigned for display or a scrapper - the
windows were all broken, and a glimpse of the interior showed it to
to be gutted. In addition, smoke trails above the windows and doors
suggest it had been torched.
Its appearance on the rear end indicates it may have been bound for
Newark and the east end of the old Wheeling Divison main, the remnant
of the Sandusky line up to Fredericktown/Mount Vernon, or interchange
to the Columbus and Ohio River/Ohio Central.
And to top it off, the ex-CR caboose kept at B-Burg for use in
switching move at the Cargill elevator was in the siding
just east of the crossing, complete with red paddleboards. What a
photo that meet would have made!
There won't be too many more shots of cabooses passing on the Midland
Subdivision again.
