Different Work Assignments on Conrail

As Conrail GP40-2 No. 3353 works in the small yard across from the old ex-Pennsylvania Railroad station in Alliance, a westbound intermodal train led by LMS C40-8W No. 710 passes on the Fort Wayne Line on Oct. 19, 1996.

The 3353 was built in March 1979 while No. 710 dates to October 1994. Locomotive Management Services was jointly owned by Conrail and General Electric and provided motive power to railroads, notably Conrail, Union Pacific and Canadian National, that needed additional locomotives to meet their service needs.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Conrail Intermodal Train on the Chicago Line

Conrail GP40-2 No. 3396 leads an intermodal train through Danbury, Ohio, in July 1987 on the Chicago Line.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Conrail Massillon Triple Play

Here is a Conrail triple play from Massillon on the Fort Wayne Line.

In the top image. Conrail 8031 has just crossed the Tuscarawas River with a westbound in Massillon in mid-1987.

In the middle image four locomotives wait on the eastbound track in order to go west to Orrville. They are at CP Mace in Massillon on May 4, 1997.

Just leaving the single track and entering the westbound track is an eastbound trailer train. This was not a common move here.

Finally, we see Conrail 6270 and a westbound RoadRailer train westbound in Massillon in July 1998.

 Photographs by Robert Farkas

Back in Service Again

Conrail SD40 No. 6352 is eastbound in Alliance in November 1988. This unit was built for Penn Central and had to be repaired after sustaining damage to his fuel tanks during an accident.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Harrisburg Area Two for Tuesday

Here are two from Pennsylvania made a decade apart. In the top image, the remains of Penn Central EP-5 No. 4976 are in Harrisburg on Aug. 22, 1978. The unit was built for the New Haven by General Electric in April 1955.

In the bottom image, a bevy of Conrail locomotives are leading a freight west on the Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River in Marysville on June 27, 1988. Note that one of the units is a Norfolk & Western locomotive in, perhaps, a bit  of foreshadowing of what would happen to Conrail a little over a decade later.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

When AC Tower Was Across the Tracks

AC Tower in Marion originally stood on the north side of the Conrail tracks. It would later be moved to the south side and reduced in height by the group that also preserved Marion Union Station. Shown is an eastbound Conrail train on the Indianapolis Line on May 23, 1999. At the end of the month these tracks will be taken over by CSX. In the foreground is the Sandusky District of Norfolk Southern.

Photograph by Craig Sanders

RoadRailers in Crestline Two for Tuesday

RoadRailers were a common sight in Crestline in the latter years of Conrail. These trains originated in the east in either Rochester, New York; Elizabethport, New Jersey, or Rutherford Yard near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Rochester trains terminated in Crestline while other RoadRailers operated through to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Sandusky.

I didn’t record the train symbols of the RoadRailer trains shown above. The top image was made from the Ohio Route 61 bridge and shows a train on the Fort Wayne Line crossing the Indianapolis Line at Crest Tower. The view is looking northeastward.

The Crestline passenger station would have once stood in the northeast quadrant of this crossing. The image was made on Sept. 12, 1998.

The bottom image was made at ground level, and shows GP40-2 No. 3277 pulling a westbound RoadRailer on the Fort Wayne Line. The unit was built in December 1973 for the Reading and would later serve CSX. The image was made on Aug. 15. 1998.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Conrail Two for Tuesday on Fort Wayne Line

Let’s go out on the Fort Wayne Line during the Conrail era to see trains captured a decade apart. In the top image GP35 No. 2340 is in Massillon on June 24, 1978. The unit was built for the Pennsylvania Railroad in February 1965.

In the bottom image, B40-8 No. 5060 is leading an eastbound through Sebring in October 1988. This unit was built for Conrail in April 1988 and later worked for CSX.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Conrail TV Train in Alliance

Conrail B36-7 No. 5005 leads an eastbound trailer train in Alliance, on March 5, 1988. Built by GE in November 1983, the 5005 wound up on the CSX motive power roster after the Conrail breakup in 1999.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Off to a New Life

Former Conrail SW1500 No. 9566 is off to a new assignment. Its Conrail markings have been painted over and a line drawn through its roster number indicates it has been retired by Conrail. Next to it is SD40-2 No. 6456. The train is passing through Berea on the Chicago Line in May 1997.

Photograph by Craig Sanders