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  • Railfanning NW Ohio

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in the American Midwest, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas. For questions specific to a railroad company, please seek the appropriate forum.
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in the American Midwest, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas. For questions specific to a railroad company, please seek the appropriate forum.

Moderator: railohio

 #459014  by scottychaos
 
Greetings Ohioans,

Im going to be visiting NW Ohio (Defiance area) in a few weeks, and want to try to get some railfanning in.

I would specifically like to try to find the Susquehanna SD70's on the Indiana & Ohio..where can they normally be found?
Does the I&O have a "base" with an enginehouse where the SD70's might congregate?

And there is there anything interesting to see on the Maumee & Western in the Defiance area?

(I dont care about CSX or NS..we have them out here too..boring! ;)
im mainly interested in shortline railfanning.)

thanks,
Scot in Western NY.

 #459044  by CSXT 700
 
The Susie Q 70's can be hard to find, not shure if they are still out of service or not. I beleave that two of them are back in service. The I&O runs a nightly train from down south, going all the way to CN's Flat Rock, Mi., yard at night. Delta, Oh., where the I&O cross the NS Chicago Line, will be the best place to see anything. The train usualy leaves the Delta area, in the evening, around 6:00 or so, to run up to Flat Rock, returning early morning, usualy before the sun is up. Then about 9:00 or so the south bound job comes on duity, and switches out the train, as it is usualy not blocked by the CN, they add cars from the steel mill across the NS main from the steel mill. Usually they depart anywhere from 11:00 to 1:00 PM. Power varies, mostly the many varations of 40-2's they have, lately it has been one of the ex-CP SD40-2 in RA Red & Gray (old railtex, looks like UP only with red), one or two of the CEFX ex-SP tunnle motors (someone has removed the CEFX from above the number boards, and there are no other outside modifications, true ex-SP speed lettering), the ex-CP SD40 in dual flags, or one of the ex-UP, exx-sp, SD40R's. Have not seen anyting on any of the 70's up here lately, but you never know. Used to see them quite regularly, almost everyother day.

In Delta, across from the steel mill, and NS main is a I&O yard office that houses the road crews, and a local job, in a trailer. Usually have one unit sitting aroud, most of the time it is one of the SD40-2 types. As far as the "roundhouse", I thought at one time it was in Lima, but I have never seen any amout of unts just sitting around as one would expect. I beleave it is somewhere down in southern Ohio now, but not shure where.

All of the MAW power is stored in Defiance, they have a ex-IC GP11(?) that they use for regular power. Sitting in there "yard" is also a ex-BN GP20 high nose, and a ex-SF GP9R. Not real shure about there opperations, as everytime I have been out there is has been vary spradic, once comming in at 8:00 and tying up (not shure if they were only on duity just a couple of hours or out all night), on another time on a Sunday, around 1:00 PM, and again a Monday in around 10:00 AM.