When B&O Had That Chessie Look

The wayback machine has taken us back to Massillon on March 22, 1989, for another look at a Baltimore & Ohio geep in the Chessie System livery. It looks a little worn but that is to be expected.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Flashback Friday: 37 Years Apart in Clinton

These photographs were made in about the same location in Clinton 37 years apart. In the top image Baltimore & Ohio GP40-2 No. 4150 has a westbound in hand in February 1983. In the bottom image, CSX ES44AC-H No. 3134 leads intemodal train Q137 westbound on Feb. 17, 2020.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Western Maryland Two for Tuesday

Here are two Western Maryland geeps although neither is an original WM Geep but was transferred to tthe WM by the Chessie System.

In the top image No. 5972 and caboose C-2851 are in front of the freight house in Massillon on July 1, 1981. The bottom image shows No. 5971 in New Castle, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 1977.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Time for Another Chessie Two for Tuesday

We can never get enough Chessie System motive power photographs so let’s double our pleasure with a Chessie two for Tuesday.

In the top image, Chessie System GP40-2 No. 4435 is westbound in Warwick on Sept. 27, 1983. No. 4435 would later become CSX 6449.

In the bottom image, a trio of units wearing Chessie colors and markings leads a westboud through Akron in August 1979.

In the lead is B&O GP38 No. 3836. Notice the decrepit condition of the tracks next to the train.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

 

A Barberton Two for Tuesday

This week’s two for Tuesday finds us trackside in Barberton in two distinct eras in CSX history.

In the top image, Five CSX locomotives of varying liveries team up to pull a westbound auto rack train through Barberton on the New Castle Subdivision on Sept. 5, 2010. Lead unit 7589 is a GE C40-8 that was built in September 1989.

In the bottom image, we’ve gone back in time more than 22 years to March 11, 1988. This is a CSX train but the motive power all wears liveries of CSX predecessor railroads.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Some Chessie Memories From Cumberland

Cumberland, Maryland, was a key terminal on the mainline of the Baltimore & Ohio, a role that continued into the Chessie System and CSX eras.

In the image above Chessie System GP38 No. 3810 (ex-B&O) is on the point of a freight in Cumberland on Sept. 20, 1980.

Similiar images to this reside in the collections of Paul Woodring, Mark Perri, Roger Durfee, and another unidentified railfan who were with the photographer on the day this photograph was created.

Note that the motive power consist also includes a Western Maryland unit and another unit in the B&O livery.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Chessie System Motive Power Two for Tuesday

They are both CSX trains, but are running with lead locomotives still wearing Chessie System colors and markings.

The top image is an eastbound in Easton during what looks to be hunting season in fall 1987.

The top image shows a westbound in Akron on Feb. 28, 1988.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

B&O Interloper

It’s an all Chessie System motive power consist aside from an interloper that is still wearing Baltimore & Ohio colors.

To be correct, the lead locomotive, a GP40-2, is a B&O unit that has received the Chessie livery.

The train is eastbound in Akron on May 28, 1978, on former B&O track.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Group Seeking to Save ex-B&O GP30

A Cincinnati group is seeking to raise $35,000 to save from scrapping a former Chessie System GP30.

The Cincinnati Scenic Railway is up against an Oct. 31 deadline to raise the funds and has established a GoFundMe page that has thus far raised $1,260 in the past month with donations from 34 people.

No. 6955 was built for the Baltimore & Ohio in November 1962 and is now sitting at National Railway Equipment in Silvis, Illinois.

CSR, which operates the Ohio Rail Experience and the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad, said raising the $35,000 will enable it to buy the locomotive.

It will then need to raise additional funds to bring it back to Ohio and rebuild it to operating condition.

If all goes to plan, CSR said the 6955 could be hauling excursion trains by fall 2022, but that is contingent upon meeting fundraising goals.

Yes, Chessie Had Stack Trains in Akron

A pair of Chessie System units lead a westbound in Akron on May 8, 1987. Yes, Chessie System did run double stacks back then. However, they were not as tall as stack trains are today.

Photograph by Robert Farkas