The View From Berea Tower

A westbound Conrail stack train rumbles through Berea in a view made from Berea Tower. I had permission to be on the property to gather information for an article for Trains magazine. The date is Oct. 8, 1994.

Photograph by Craig Sanders

When BE Tower Was Still Staffed

Berea Tower operator Dick Lacy uses binoculars to check for traffic on the Chicago Line east of the tower on Oct. 8, 1994. I was on the property with permission as part of information gathering for an article published later in Trains magazine. It would be my first byline in the magazine. The Tower would close in February 1997.

Photograph by Craig Sanders

What They Won’t See in Berea Today

Today is the annual Akron Railroad Club Dave McKay Day outing in Berea and those who attend will, no doubt, see some interesting sights on CSX and Norfolk Southern.

But here are two things they won’t see. In the top image, a westbound Conrail train led by an SD60M No. 5514 passes Berea Tower in May 1997. Conrail, of course, was split between NS and CSX in 1999. Some former Conrail locomotives on still on the motive power rosters of both companies, but all have been repainted into the liveries of their current owners.

NS ES44AC No. 8098 has been repainted into the Conrail livery as part of the Class 1 railroad’s heritage unit fleet, but whether it will pass through Berea today is uncertain. It was last spotted and reported to the website HeritageUnits.com on Aug. 1 at Hudson, Pennsylvania, leading train 10Z in the Northeast quadrant of the Keystone state.

But at least there is a possibility of seeing a locomotive wearing Conrail paint in Berea. There is no chance of seeing an open auto rack car unless it is being moved to a museum. Yet in 1999 it was possible to see such a car in revenue service even by then it was uncommon.

Shown is a CN car on May 15, 1999, passing through Berea. Note the different between that car and the adjoining enclosed auto rack car.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Trio From Berea

Here are three trains passing through Berea on April 16, 2005. Although that was a Saturday, it was not an Akron Railroad Club Dave McKay Day, which was traditionally held on the first Saturday in April. In fact the first McKay Day was held two weeks before these images were made and it was snowing heavily that day. Note that in 2005 former Conrail locomotives in their original livery were still roaming Norfolk Southern.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

One Day at Berea in June 1971

The wayback machine has transported us back to June 1971 in Berea. An eastbound Penn Central mail train is passing BE Tower.

There is much to see here that is of historical significance and much you can’t see anymore. Let’s start with E7A No. 4034. Built for the New York Central in March 1939, it wasn’t all that long ago that it was pulling passenger trains. Now it is in mail train service, which wasn’t a bad place to be given how mail trains operated.

Look closer at the 4034. It may have a PC herald on its nose but its NYC “cigar band” stripe is still easily visible.

If you look back in the consist of the train you’ll find a rider coach and a string of Flexi-Vans, which were a NYC specialty.

You’ve probably also noticed the type G signal heads that lasted into the Norfolk Southern era on the Chicago Line.

Now look in the door of BE Tower. Yes, that is a child waving along with the operator. We don’t know the identity of the kid but it might be the photographer’s son.

Back then not only did towers have operators but some of them could also be quite friendly and accommodating.

Photograph by Richard Jacobs

Rounding the Bend in Berea

Amtrak Train No. 48 was late, two and a half hours late. That might not have been good news for the passengers, but it was great news for me.

It meant an uncommon opportunity to photograph Amtrak in daylight in Cleveland.

The Lake Shore Limited lost its time departing Chicago, where it didn’t get out of Union Station until 12:26 a.m., which is 2 hours and 56 minutes off schedule.

I don’t know why there was such a late departure, but there was.

By the time No. 48 got to Berea it had made up some of the last time, but not much. It would arrive in New York City at 9:21 p.m., 2 hours and 46 minutes down.

The train had its usual summer consist. The Boston section had a sleeper, cafe car and two coaches. The New York section had four coaches, Viewliner dining car Dover, two sleepers and a baggage car. Viewliner dining car Springfield was dead heading on the rear of the train.

Up front were the customary two P42DC locomotives.

Trying Something Different in Berea

I’ve been going to Berea to watch trains for more than 20 years. I’ve pretty much exhausted about every photo angle I can think of short of trespassing on railroad property.

About the only thing new to get in Berea is to catch a particular locomotive or rail car that I haven’t photographed there before. Or so I thought.

While in Berea not long ago on a rare sunny winter day, I had the idea of photographing trains splitting the signals that have been installed within the past couple of years.

In the top image, eastbound Norfolk Southern intermodal train 206 has a Canadian National unit leading. Although not visible, the trailing unit belongs to Union Pacific.

In the middle image, westbound NS manifest freight 309 is framed by the signals on the Toledo connection between NS and CSX. Behind the lead unit is the Wabash heritage unit.

The bottom images shows a westbound NS stack train framed by several signals, including the westbound home signals for CP 194 on the Chicago Line.

How Soon We Forget What Might Have Been

It was about this time a year ago that E. Hunter Harrison and Canadian Pacific were making a play to acquire Norfolk Southern.

Harrison came at NS hard, but came up short. The NS board of directors opposed the merger and Harrison ran into a buzz saw of opposition from shippers, labor unions and political figures.

The time was not ripe to institute what some see coming as the final round of Class 1 mergers in North America.

Since failing to acquire NS, Harrison has retired (again) and the financier Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital has also left the CP board.

Now Harrison has teamed up with hedge fund Mantle Ridge to try to shakeup CSX management and install Harrison  as CEO.

While railfanning in Berea back in November I photographed a CP unit trailing on a westbound NS train as a reminder of what might have been had Harrison prevailed.

Article and Photograph by Craig Sanders

I Just Felt Like Shooting a CP Unit

 

I don’t know why, but I just felt like photographing this Canadian Pacific locomotive at Berea.

It’s not leading and there is nothing special about this unit. But it was the first thing I saw when I arrived to spend a few hours on a Sunday morning.

It was a day of sun and clouds and sometimes you got the sun and sometimes you didn’t. Also shown is the eastbound Q158 and the eastbound Q090. In both instances I tried to emphasize the clouds and sky, which were nice on Sunday.

The Q090 is a train that I haven’t seen for awhile. It was also the first time I’d seen it since UP and CSX began teaming up to offer express produce service from Washington State.

Photographs by Craig Sanders

But It Sure Looks Pretty

There was no getting blocked by CSX this time as the Virginian heritage locomotive passes through Berea as had happened three years ago.

The engineer of Norfolk Southern train 15J wasn’t all that pleased with her lead locomotive.

She was exchanging greetings with a crew member on an eastbound train as they passed between CP Max and Berea.

The lead unit on the 15J wasn’t pulling as well as she would have liked and there had been a problem with the horn.

“But it sure looks pretty,” she said after listing the engine’s shortcomings.

Indeed it did for it was NS No. 1069, the Virginian heritage unit wearing its bright yellow and black livery that has prompted some wags to call it the bumble bee.

The 1069 and a trailing unit passed through Berea on late Sunday morning.

I had expected to see the Virginian working solo because the engineer had made reference to having a one unit wonder. Maybe the trailing unit was off line.

It was the second time that I’ve seen No. 1069 at Berea. The first sighting occurred on Oct. 5, 2013, and I had dashed over from the Great Berea Train Show to catch it despite rainy and cloudy conditions.

Yes, I saw the 1069, but it was obscured by a passing CSX intermodal train. And the 1069 was trailing.

I also got blocked this time, too. CSX train Q158 — also an intermodal train — was bearing down on Berea as the 15J approached.

But this time there was enough separation to get clear images of the 1069.

Interestingly, I’ve seen a handful of NS heritage units in Berea, but the 1069 is the first one I’ve bagged that was leading. All the others had been trailing. There was no failing this time.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders