At the Start of the Restoration

It is a late November day in 2006 in Lodi. I’ve been waiting for the eastbound Wheeling & Lake Erie manifest freight to show up so I could capture it passing the depot built by the original W&LE in the late 1880s.

It amazed me that that structure was still standing. It probably only survived as long as it did because it was used for maintenance of way purposes. The original W&LE had discontinued passenger service on July 17, 1938.

By the time I discovered this station it was in dilapidated condition. But at least it was still standing and I worked it into several images of W&LE freight trains and Orrville Railroad Heritage Society excursion trains.

The sign on the side of the station when this image was made is the first inkling that a restoration movement was afoot.

The restoration has since been completed and the depot is now the home of the Lodi Railroad Museum.

Article and Photograph by Craig Sanders

Grinding Along at Pawnee

I am standing on the rickety wood bridge carrying River Corners Road over the CSX New Castle Subdivision west of Lodi.

A westbound CSX coke train rumbles along past the venerable Baltimore & Ohio color position light signals at a location the crews call Pawnee when calling the signal indication over the radio.

You will notice the mast for the signal on Track 2 has a letter plate “G” which denotes grade. If an eastbound gets a red signal here the crew may continue at restricted speed prepared to stop until the next signal. That is because the train is on a grade.

A number of things have changed at this location since this image was made on May 23, 2008.

The CPLs have been replaced by newer signals that can be seen standing shortly to the east. Interestingly, those “newer” signals have themselves since been replaced.

In 2008 the bridge on which I am standing was still a one-lane wood structure. It has been placed by a modern concrete two-lane bridge.

However, that bridge has a high chain link fence that makes getting photographs here a challenge.

The signal is likely named for Pawnee Road, which once crossed over the tracks on a wood bridge to the east of here. That bridge was removed in conjunction with the project that led to the replacement of the River Corners Road bridge.

The highway to the right is U.S. Route 224 and it is still the two-lane road it was when this image was made.

Article and Photograph by Craig Sanders

Getting Lucky in Lodi Two for Tuesday

Somehow the passenger station in Lodi, Ohio, built by the original Wheeling & Lake Erie survived for decades after passenger service ended. By the time I first encountered it, the Lodi depot no longer served any function for the railroad.

The two images shown above were both made on Nov. 22, 2006, and feature eastbounds on the W&LE Brewster Subdivision passing the weathered structure.

I made several photographs with this depot over the years including some with the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society Santa train.

The ORHS Santa trains are only a memory now, but the depot has fared better. A local group acquired it and has renovated it. Today it looks pretty sharp and serves as a railroad museum.

Chessie Steam Memory

The Chessie System launched a series of steam excursions in the late 1970s to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Baltimore & Ohio.

Later Chessie used its Chessie Steam Special to promote grade crossing safety.

Being located on the primary route of the B&O between Chicago and the East, Northeast Ohiuo hosted visits from the Chessie Steam Special.

Bob Farkas caught one of those at Lodi on what is now the CSX New Castle Subdivision.

The image was made in either 1977 or 1978 and features former Reading Company 4-8-4 No. 2101.

Wrecked cars from a derailment were still on the site on the day the steam special passed by.

In reviewing a schedule for the Chessie Steam Special posted at https://themetrains.com/chessie-steam-special-timeline.htm it might be that this image was made on June 26, 1977, during a public round trip between Cleveland and Willard or on July 2, 1977, during a ferry move of the train from Cleveland to Detroit.

The 2101 was back in Northeast Ohio on Aug. 12-13, and 19th on trips that would have put it through Lodi.

That included a ferry move from Columbus to Cleveland on Aug. 12, and round trips between Cleveland and Willard on Aug. 13 and 19.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Another Look at Lodi in 1985

Here are the last three photos that I made in Lodi in August 1985. In the top photograph is the now-removed tracks crossing New Railroad Street. Notice the telltail on the left. In the middle image is the now-removed track was between a silo and warehouse. In the bottom image is a small glimpse of track.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Along the N&W in Lodi in 1985

 

Here are some more railroad-related photos taken Lodi in August 1985. When compared with today, it is amazing how little of this still exists.

In the top image, The Norfolk & Western station still exists, but notice the track in the foreground. This track is missing now.

In the middle image, the N&W station is on the left, and a formerly railroad-served warehouse is on the right.

The bottom image features a trackside view of the warehouse.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

 

Along the Chessie in Lodi in 1985

Here are some images from Lodi in November 1985. These four images are on
the Chessie System. Images one to three are images of the freight house and image four is the team track.

Photographs by Robert Farkas