PUCO OKs 4 Grade Crossing Projects

Four grade crossing projects received approval recently by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

CSX will install flashing lights and gates at the CR 48 crossing in Logan County by Dec. 14, 2023. Federal funds will provide $358,920 toward the project cost.

Norfolk Southern will install flashing lights and gates at the Oakwood Avenue crossing in Crawford County by Sept. 14, 2023. Federal funds will provide $403,179 for the project.

The Indiana & Ohio will install flashing lights and gates at Dayton Avenue in Fayette County. That project also involves rebuilding the crossing surface.

The work is to be completed by Dec. 14, 2023, and federal funding will pay for $371,120 of the project cost.

Michigan Southern and the Napolean, Defiance & Western will install flashing lights and gates at the West High Street crossing in Defiance County by Dec. 14, 2023.

PUCO will provide funding for 80 percent of the project cost with NDWR paying the other 20 percent.

G&W Says Shippers Invested $1.5B in 2021

Genesee & Wyoming said this week in a news release that its shippers had invested $1.5 billion in industrial development along its 103 U.S. railroads last year.

Those investments involved 69 projects that G&W said will generate more than 1,000 new jobs.

One of those projects is located in Delta, Ohio, which will receive from the Indiana & Ohio Railway inbound coils to make pipe.

G&W said it is the fourth steel customer to expand business along the I&O since 2015.

Another project includes a wind-turbine trans-loading site in Remington, Indiana, served by Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway.

G&W said it maintains a database of more than 600 potential industrial development properties across its U.S. railroads.

Cruising South in Columbus Grove

A southbound Indiana & Ohio manifest freight rolls southbound past the grain elevator in Columbus Grove, Ohio. The train is on the Toledo Subdivision of CSX.

It will leave CSX tracks in Lima and get back onto the original Detroit, Toledo & Ironton where it will tie up in the yard.

The original DT&I track between Lima and Leipsic has been abandoned except for a short stretch in Ottawa.

The image was made on April 13.

Ohio Rail Experience Announces Spring Excursions

The Ohio Rail Experience has announced that it will operate a series of excursions in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan starting May 15.

The first of those trips will run from Cincinnati to Greensburg, Indiana, on former New York Central trackage that was once part of the Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati route of the Big Four.

There will be a two-hour layover in Greensburg with limited dining options within walking distance of the Greensburg stop.

Other food and beverages will be available from the concession car onboard the train, the Queen City Tavern.

The trip is scheduled to take 10 hours. Tickets are $50 for economy coach, $65 for open window coach, and $85 for a deluxe coach.

Table class seating is priced at $200 to $350 and being sold in blocks to accommodate two or four people.

The train will depart at 9 a.m. from the boarding site in Cincinnati at 62 Thornton Ave.

On May 16, there will be three short trips of two hours each between Cincinnati and Dearborn County, Indiana, on former NYC track.

There will be no layover but concessions will be for sale in the Queen City Tavern car. Trains will depart at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for an economy coach, $30 for an open wind coach, $35 for a deluxe coach and between $60 and $180 for table class.

The Lima Limited between Springfield and Lima in Ohio will operate on May 22 and 23 for a 9.5-hour 140-mile roundtrip over the former Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Middle Subdivision.

The tracks are now owned by the Indiana & Ohio, a Genesee & Wyoming property.

There will be a layover in Lima and a complimentary shuttle to Lincoln Park to view the railroad displays of the Allen County Historical Museum.

Tickets are $50 for economy coach, $65 for open window coach, $85 for deluxe coach, $85 and between $200 to $350 for table class.

On May 29 and 30 there will be 9.5 hour excursions from Leipsic, Ohio, to Blissfield, Michigan. The excursion includes a two-hour layover in Blissfield.

The train will travel former DT&I rails from Leipsic to Riga, Michigan, and former NYC tracks from Riga to Blissfield that are now owned by the Adrian & Blissfield Rail Road.

There will be limited meal options in Blissfield within walking distance of the train stop. The Queen City Traven car will have concessions for sale.

Tickets are $50 for economy coach, $65 for open window coach, $85 for deluxe coach and $200 to $350 for table class.

More information and ticket purchases are available at https://www.ohiorailexperience.com/2021-schedule-1

ORDC Wants to Help Rebuild ex-B&O Line

The Ohio Rail Development Commission has proposed helping an Ohio town build 30 miles of rail line that it owns.

The line extends from Greenfield, which owns the track, to Midland City and runs through Highland and Clinton counties. It is operated by the Indiana & Ohio.

The project would involve replacement of 20,000 ties, installation and tamping of ballast and replacement of grade crossing surfaces. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2021.

Some work would occur in a special flood hazard area of the East Fork Little Miami River in New Vienna.

However, ORDC expects the effect on the floodplain to be minor and result in no increase in local flood levels.

A final floodplain analysis will be made available on the ORDC website.

ORDC said in a news release that the project would ensure safe and efficient operation of trains over the line.

The Greenfield line is former Baltimore & Ohio trackage that was once part of the railroad’s route between Cincinnati and Washington.

PUCO Approves 3 Grade Crossing Projects

Three grade crossing projects were approved this week by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

Norfolk Southern was directed to to install lights and gates at the Monroe Street/County Road 39 crossing in Huron County.

The Indiana & Ohio Railway was directed to install flashing lights and cantilever at the State Street crossing, and flashing lights and gates at the Deerfield Road crossing in Hamilton county.

The NS and IORY projects must be completed by July 29, 2021.

The Wheeling & Lake Erie was directed to install flashing lights and gates at the Baymere Avenue/Township Road 322 crossing in Stark County by April 29, 2021.

Federal funding will be provided for these projects.

PUCO Orders Grade Crossing Upgrades

Three railroads have been directed by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to upgrade grade crossing safety devices in four counties.

Norfolk Southern will install lights and gates at the Township Road 1037 crossing in Ashland County by April 15, 2021, and modify and upgrade active warning devices at the Township Road 18/Gaskill Road crossing in Stark County by July 15, 2021.

CSX will upgrade lights and gates and install new crossing surfaces at the Cabintown Road and Hunt Road crossings in Morrow County by April 15, 2021.

Indiana & Ohio will install lights, gates and a new crossing surface at the Middle Pike/County Road 150 crossing in Auglaize County by April 15, 2021.

Federal funding will be provided for the projects, PUCO officials said in a press release.

PUCO Approves Upgrades for 5 Crossings

Five railroad grade crossings will get lights and gates as a result of action taken recently by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

The projects must be completed by Dec. 11 and are funded in part by the State Grade Crossing Safety Fund.

Norfolk Southern will install LED lights at the County Road D and the Fulton Street crossings in Fulton County, and the Indiana and Ohio Railway will install lights and gates at the New York Avenue crossing in Lucas County.

IORY also will install lights and gates at the County Road M crossing in Fulton County and the East Hume Road/TR 144 crossing in Allen County.

2 Ohio Projects Get Federal Grants

Two Ohio projects are among those that have received funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

DOT announced that it has awarded $248.5 million in grant funds under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program for state and local railroad infrastructure projects.

The program is administered by the Federal Railroad Administration and this year involved grants for 32 projects in 27 states.

In a news release, DOT said half of the grant funds went to rural projects, which have a 25 percent funding requirement under the program.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission received  $1.7 million to be used to rehabilitate 30 miles of track, including including ties, track surfacing and gauging, of a rail line between Greenfield and Midland.

The project will allow for increased speeds for trains of the Indiana & Ohio Railway on the former Baltimore & Ohio line.

Another grant of $4.7 million went to the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority for multiple rail upgrade projects along the I&O’s Blue Ash and Oasis subdivisions in Cincinnati.

Those lines are owned by the transit authority.

The work include track upgrades to allow for 286,000-pound rail car loads on the Blue Ash Subdivision, and rail yard improvements and three bridge rehabilitation projects on the Oasis Subdivision.

In Michigan, Lake State Railway received $7.9 million to fund replacement of 30 miles of nearly 100-year-old jointed rail with continuous welded rail.

The work will also involve rebuilding switches, improved grade crossing circuitry, and resurfacing grade crossings primarily on the railroad’s Huron Subdivision.

G&W Shippers Spent $1.1B in New Facilities in 2019

Genesee & Wyoming said its shippers invested $1.1 billion in new projects in communities that it serves including two facilities in Ohio.

Those include a plant by AMG Vandium in Zanesville on the Columbus & Ohio River Railroad and a quarry expansion by Melvin Stone in Whitewater on the Indiana & Ohio.

In Remington, Indiana, on the Toledo, Peoria & Western, Vestas American Wind Technology created a railhead location.

In a news release, G&W said the news facilities across its system will support such commodities as grain, plastic pellets, lumber, paper, rock, and wind turbine components.