CPL Two for Tuesday

Here are two photos including long-gone ex-Baltimore & Ohio color position light block signals.

In the top image R.J. Corman RP20BD No. 5400 and its train are on Corman trackage in Clinton after interchanging with CSX on June 25, 2012.

The CPL on the right is for westbounds. I believe the CPL to its left is for RJ Corman trains to enter CSX tracks.

In the bottom image, after passing the eastbound signal at CP Lambert on the CSX New Castle Subdivision, Akron Barberton Cluster SW1500 No. 1502 is heading east on June 26, 2012. Notice 1502’s old number from Conrail on the number boards on the front.

Article and Photographs by Robert Farkas

CPLs Have Fallen in Akron

Another vestige of the Baltimore & Ohio in Akron is gone. CSX has taken down the last stretch of B&O color position light signals on its New Castle Subdivision and turned on the new replacement signals.

Replacement of the CPLs has been underway for the past few years with the signals between Akron and Clinton (Warwick) the last ones on the New Castle Sub.

For decades, CPLs stood in Akron at BD (near Evans Avenue), AY (Arlington Avenue), Exchange Street, and Lambert (on the Akron-Barberton border). All have now been removed.

There was a dwarf CPL at the interchange track switch between CSX and the Akron Barberton  Cluster Railway in Barberton.

As part of the change, CSX has eliminated the signals at AY. The new block extends between BD and Exchange Street.

At the same time, CSX also cut in bi-directional running on both tracks between Akron and Kent.

The New Castle Sub is slated to get positive train control and some relatively new Safetran signals will reportedly be replaced.

Traffic levels on the New Castle Sub these days are reported to be 14 trains every 24 hours, not counting extra trains.

CSX May be Poised to Replace Warwick Signals

We have received a report that CSX may be about to launch a signal replacement project in Warwick.

A railfan who was in Warwick last Saturday reported seeing three reels of orange tubes and construction equipment near WX tower.

CSX has already replaced most of the block signals on the New Castle Subdivision, but Warwick is one of the few places where former Baltimore & Ohio color position light signals still stand.

It is not clear if the pending work in Warwick is related to signal replacement, but it might be.

AOS Roundhouse Summarizes Recent Work

The Age of Steam Roundhouse has posted its latest progress report and here are highlights of what the shop has been working on during the past six months.

Former 0-6-0 No. 12 of the Morehead & North Fork continued to undergo restoration.

The former Southern Railway engine has a new tender tank that was placed on a rebuilt tender frame and refurbished trucks.

Wood decking was applied to the frame. The tender’s air brake system—including piping, brackets and brake cylinder—was overhauled and the back headlight put into place.

Although now painted in primer, the tender will be painted later in gloss back.

No. 12 also underwent an ultra sound examination that found the need for some minor boiler repairs. Shop forces are planning to install 300 new boiler tubes later this year.

Canadian Pacific No. 1293 passed a Federal Railroad Administration annual inspection last April.

Repairs undertaken on the 4-6-2 include adjusting several of appliances, including the Nathan mechanical lubricator and 8-1/2-inch Westinghouse cross-compound air compressor.

The roundhouse has received components needed to repair the boiler of Lake Shore & Ishpeming 2-8-0 No. 33.

This work will include fabrication of the locomotive’s new crown sheet and Nicholson Thermic Syphons.

Major work has begun to restore Alabama, Tennessee & Northern No. 401. The locomotive, which most recently was Woodward Iron No. 41, was in rough condition after being stored in the elements for more than 50 years.

Work completed thus far includes removing a heavy accumulation of rust and layers of dried grease, particularly in the cylinders and smokebox. New wood plans were places on the footboard pilot and the rear of the tender.

A headlight has been put into place along with a bell, class lights, lubricators and other appliances that have improved the “front-end” look of the locomotive. Additional cosmetic work is planned for No. 401

Locomotive No. 1, an 0-4-0 that operates on compressed air, has received a cosmetic overhaul that included repainting it gloss black and installing new cab windows. The AOS workforce is still seeking two sand boxes to place on No. 1

AOS acquired from the Wheeling & Lake Erie a small sand tower that is thought to have been built by the Akron Canton & Youngstown at Brittain Yard in Akron.

The tower had stood unused for more than 25 years and AOS management decided that it had a correct steam-era appearance. The tower is being rebuilt at the AOS back shop.

Another new addition to the AOS property is the addition of a pair of rebuilt Baltimore & Ohio color position light signals that now stand at the front entrance of the AOS complex.

The CPLs now have steam engine-era masts, signal lights and finials.  They have been wired to automatically cycle into all four indications—clear (vertical green), approach (diagonal yellow), stop (horizontal red) and restricting (diagonal lunar white).

Minor repairs have been completed on two F40M-2Cs, No. 452 and No. 460, which have been leased to Ohi-Rail Corporation for use in freight service.

CPLs Turned off on CSX Toledo Subdivision

Two sets of Baltimore & Ohio color position light signals on the CSX Toledo Subdivision in western Ohio fell this week.

Effective at 7:59 a.m. on Monday (Feb. 22) the home signals at Leipsic Junction (milepost BE 155.7) and the intermediate signals at BE 153.4 between Ottawa and Leipsic were taken out of service.

Safetran signals were turned on at both locations. The signals at 153.4 are back-to-back signal heads on the west side of the track.

Leipsic Junction is where the Toledo Sub crosses at grade the Norfolk Southern line between Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Bellevue (former Nickel Plate Road).

A handful of railfans were at Leipsic on Sunday night to record the last night of operation of the CPLs.

Tomorrow Moves With Yesterday’s Signals

This image falls into the category of interesting things that I didn’t expect to see while out trackside looking for trains. It is late June 2014 and the Akron Railroad Club is having its annual longest day outing. This year we went to Deshler.

A stack train is slowly making its way around the connection to head to the CSX intermodal terminal at North Baltimore. This particular train originated in Cincinnati.

“How Tomorrow Moves” is the current slogan of CSX. It is one of those pithy little sayings that sounds good and probably made a consultant a lot of money. But does it mean anything? Not really, but a lot of image making often is about illusion.

I’ve seen this slogan countless times on the sides of intermodal containers and other rolling stock. But there was something about this scene that caught my eye.

The color position signal that the train is passing is yesterday’s technology that is most closely associated with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. This and other CPL signals on CSX mainlines are going to be replaced within the next year or so by modern signals.

But until then, today’s trains to tomorrow will continue to be governed by yesterday’s signals of today. Got it?

Article and Photograph by Craig Sanders

Paying Tribute to the CPLs at Deshler

A southbound manifest freight passes beneath the signal bridge south of Deshler where the mainline becomes one track.

For the past few years, railroad photographers have been on a mission. The Class I railroads are replacing block signals on their mainline routes that have stood for decades.

In many instances, these signals represented an identity with a particular railroad. Think of the Baltimore & Ohio, for example and what comes to mind? Color position light signals.

Most of the former B&O mainlines still in service today are owned and operated by CSX. That company has made major strides in replacing the CPLs, but there remain pockets and routes where these iconic signals still guide trains to safe passage.

One such route is the Toledo Subdivision between its namesake city in Ohio and Cincinnati.

In Deshler, CPLs still stand guard on the mainline and the connecting tracks.

During a visit to Deshler in June, I made it a point to photograph CSX operations with the surviving CPLs.

I did not see any evidence that the replacement signals are poised to go up here, but that process could begin at any time and by the time I get to Deshler again the CPLs might be gone.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Union Pacific, the company, is one of the few things still around that is older than this CPL. Chances are, though, that this particular locomotive is far younger than the signal that it is about to pass.

An auto rack train is about to enter the Toledo Sub using of the three connecting tracks in Deshler.

Coming around the connection from the Willard Sub and onto the Toledo Sub.

I didn’t get out here to get the head end of this southbound auto rack train coming past the signals south of Deshler. But I still liked the image I was able to capture.

A local could not say how long this signal bridge has been in place. He could only say it has been there many, many years.

CPLs still guard the crossing of the Toledo Sub with the east-west route of the Chicago-Pittsburgh mainline. A northbound is about to pass the Deshler passenger station.