Passenger Excursion on Conrail near Massillon

Conrail GP38-2 No. 8010 is westbound west of Massillon on May 11, 1985. More likely than not, this is an Orrville Railroad Heritage Society excursion returning from Pittsburgh.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Eastbound Conrail Train in Sebring

Conrail GP38-2 No. 8150 is on the point of an eastbound in Sebring in October 1988. This is the former Fort Wayne Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, a moniker that current operator Norfolk Southern has retained.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

On the Now Abandoned CA&C near Marshallville

Conrail 7792, 7746, 1689, and another two F-units are westbound near Marshallville, Ohio, on March 19, 1978. They are on the long-ripped-out Cleveland, Akron & Columbus trackage that ran between Warwick and Orrville.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Pair of Conrail GP38s at Mace

Conrail CP38-2 Nos. 8218 and 8209 lead a westbound at CP Mace in Massillon in spring 1997. The train appears to have a load of garbage containers.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Early NS in Berea Two for Tuesday

Norfolk Southern took over from Conrail the Chicago Line between Cleveland and Chicago on June 1, 1999. Shown above are two views of NS trains made during the first year of NS operation of the Chicago Line.

As seen in the top image, Conrail locomotives were still quite common during that era. Former CR C36-7 No. 8485 leads a westbound with a lease unit helping out. The photo was made on Nov. 6, 1999.

A few months later another westbound passes the former BE Tower with a pair of NS units and a former Burlington Northern locomotive. The latter may be a lease unit as its BN markings appear to have been painted over. The photo was made on Feb. 26, 2000.

Photographs by Craig Sanders

Westbound in Smithville on the Former Pennsy

Conrail SD50 No. 6775 is westbound in Smithville with a manifest freight on May 3, 1985. The unit was built in in May 1984. Conrail once had another No. 6775, an Alco C630 built in December 1960 for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Last Day of Conrail in Berea

It is May 31, 1999, the last day of Conrail operation. Come Monday Norfolk Southern and CSX will take over operating their respective segments of Conrail.

The last day of Conrail fell on a Sunday and I spent much of the day in Berea watching Conrail trains for the final time.

My recollection is traffic on that day was less than normal. Much of what what ran were intermodal and auto rack trains.

Show above is a three-image sequence of a westbound auto rack train. In the top image the train is about to cross Front Street. In the bottom image the rear of the train is passing the former Big Four passenger depot.

You may notice in the middle image that the motive power consist includes units of CSX and NS. The Conrail lead unit has already been patched for the railroad that will take it over.

The next time I would visit Berea the tracks shown here would be CSX property.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

Conrail in Massillon Two for Tuesday

Here are two Conrail photos from the now-treed-in west side of the tracks in Massillon on March 24, 1996. Sadly, the old signals have been replaced or removed by Norfolk Southern. Conrail 6781 is westbound while Conrail 5607 is eastbound. 

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Another Alliance Conrail Memory

Conrail B36-7 No. 5052 is eastbound in Alliance in early 1989. The intermodal train is on the Fort Wayne Line and is crossing the Cleveland Line that continues beyond Alliance south to Bayard.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Running Along the Tuscarawas in Massillon

Conrail B36-7 No. 5059 is eastbound in Massillon with an intermodal train on July 28, 1988, on the Fort Wayne Line. To the right is the Tuscarawas River.

Photograph by Robert Farkas