We’ve traveled back to Aug. 1, 2004, in Orrville. Former Pennsylvania Railroad E8A Nos. 5711 and 5809, both owned by Bennett Levine, are heading eastbound home to Philadelphia on the Fort Wayne Line of Norfolk Southern.
In the top image, the train is about to cross Ohio Route 57. In the bottom image it is passing the restored Orrville Union Depot along with the former tower and a PRR cabin car on static display.
It may be the Conrail era but this boxcar in Orrville still carries Pennsylvania Railroad markings. The image was made on July 25, 1984.
Norfolk & Western SD45 No. 1804 leads train DJ-12 eastbound in Orrville on July 25, 1984. The originated at Oakwood Yard in Detroit and was bound for the Chessie System at Connellsville, Pennsylvania.
Note the open auto rack car second in the consist behind the motive power. Such a practice was common once but would not be done today.
The train is operating on the original Wheeling & Lake Erie, which has since reverted back to the modern version of the W&LE.
Norfolk & Western J Class No. 611 is arguably best known today for its excursion service for Norfolk Southern than it was for revenue service for the N&W.
It pulled many a steam excursion through Ohio and other states during its prime.
In the photograph above, the 4-8-4 Northern type is westbound on the former Wheeling & Lake Erie at Orrville on May 13, 1989.
It was making a one way move from Kenovah, West Virginia, to Bellevue.
It’s Tuesday and time to present a pair of images from the same railroad.
In the top image, we see Conrail SD60M leading an eastbound manifest freight on the Fort Wayne Line in Orrville on May 25, 1996.
The bridge it is passing beneath carries the Wheeling & Lake Erie.
The photographer wrote about the image, “while Conrail tolerated my entering their little-used yard in Orrville, Norfolk Southern would not allow this today.”
In the bottom image, Conrail SD45 No. 6130 is shown in Akron in June 1979 during the railroad’s relatively short life in the rubber city.
They seldom got out to run on the mainline, but switch engines are among some of the more interesting locomotives built.
Koppers tie plant in Orrville had this GE critter (top photograph) on the property on July 17, 1981. A few years later the plant closed and the critter was gone.
In the bottom image, Maryland & Pennsylvania SW9 No. 82 is shown at York, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 22, 1979. This unit was built for the Ma & Pa in November 1951.
After finishing its work in the Akron Barberton Cluster Railway yard in Akron, Wheeling & Lake Erie GP9R No. 4602 and its train is heading back to Barberton using the ABC’s own track instead of the more commonly used CSX trackage rights.
The top two images were made on Nov. 27. No. 4602 is the only locomotive of this model on the W&LE motive power roster.
It is equipped with remote control switching capability for yard work.
As can be seen in the bottom image, which was made on March 28, 2011, in Orrville, the 4602 once worked for the Grand Trunk Western and for a time still wore its GTW livery, albeit with the name of is former owner blotted out.
A westbound Conrail RoadRailer cruises through Orrville on June 12 1995, during the then-named Depot Days of the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society. The view is from the steps of Orr Tower.
The last sentence of a news release issued by the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society noted that the upcoming open house to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Orrville Union Depot will not feature train or track car rides.
That was probably placed there because in the past track car rides and a short train ride were a part of a day-long festival that centered on the station that once served the Pennsylvania Railroad.
But all of that began to go away a few years ago when some ORHS passenger cars being ferried back home by the Wheeling & Lake Erie derailed while on Norfolk Southern tracks in Bellevue.
The W&LE subsequently banned excursion trains from its rails and evicted the ORHS from a siding track in Orrville.
I may or may not get down to the depot anniversary event on Saturday, May 19. If I do, it will be to indulge in a little bit of nostalgia.
Back in the 1990s the ORHS used to sponsor what it called Depot Days. Aside from track car and train rides, the depot was open along with the restored Orr Tower.
Conrail usually sent a locomotive that was on static display and visitors were allowed to visit the cab.
In those days Conrail had a fair level of traffic through Orrville, much of it coming off the Indianapolis Line at Crestline and taking the Fort Wayne Line that ran through Orrville.
You could count on seeing a couple of intermodal trains in late morning and manifest freights at intervals throughout the day.
Much of that traffic ended after CSX and NS divided Conrail in 1999. There were no more visiting locomotives and the level of train traffic greatly diminished.
The event itself was renamed Railroad Days and moved to August. But the train rides and track car rides continued and at times the W&LE would have a visiting locomotive to view.
This week’s event will be but a shadow of what used to be. You can sit in Orrville for hours now before a train comes through.
But there will always be memories of what once was.
Over the years Northeast Ohio has been an interesting area to railfan. Here are a couple images from the mid 1980s.
If you look carefully, you’ll see many changes in trackage, buildings and motive power from what these scenes look like now.
Surroundings have changed and locations may not be available now because of trees and brush.
In the top image, Conrail 8222 is ready to take its high and wide load into the yard at Orrville on Oct. 11, 1985. One change is that this is now a single track line east of here.
In the other image, Baltimore & Ohio No. 7615 leads a westbound Chessie System freight through Clinton (Warwick) in early 1987. Notice that this trackage is still double-tracked.
Rocket bursts viewed from the Orrville Union Depot platform on July 3, 2011. Note the home signal for the NS Orrville Secondary. Have a happy and safe July 4th holiday. (Photograph by Richard Jacobs)
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