Dropping Off a Unit in New London

It is late afternoon on Oct; 21, 2007, in New London, Ohio. It is the type of day I live for in the fall with sunny skies, low sun angles and warm colors in the late afternoon sunlight.

I’ve gotten wind that a westbound is coming on the Carey Subdivision of the Wheeling & Lake Erie and have stationed myself on the Bigelow Parkway bridge that spans the W&LE tracks as well as those of the Greenwich Subdivision of CSX.

On the point of the train is high hood GP35 No. 2679, which at the time was painted in the bright red and gold livery some fans dubbed the Kodachrome scheme.

The crew leaves its train on the main and cuts off the power to pull ahead. It then backs into the siding to drop off SD40T-2 No. 5413, one of the Wheeling’s handful of tunnel motors still painted for its former Denver & Rio Grande Western owner.

After that the crew couples the 2679 back onto its train and then awaits the permission of the CSX dispatcher to enter the Greenwich Subdivision to continue its journey to Willard to interchange with the Class 1 carrier.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

That Rio Grande Look

The Wheeling & Lake Erie operates a pair of former Denver & Rio Grande Western SD40T-2 locomotives that still wear their Rio Grande livery. Wheeling CEO Larry Parsons once worked for the Rio Grande. Nos. 5413 and 5391 are shown leading a westbound with another unit in Orrville on May 14, 2015.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Made in Ohio, Not Out West

Although this may look as if it were taken out west, this is an eastbound Wheeling & Lake Erie train headed for Rook Yard in Pennsylvania. On the point is SD40T-2 No. 5413. Note the very small “WE” above the number on the cab’s side. The train was photographed east of Harmon on Sept. 21, 2010.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Westbound at Creston

Wheeling & Lake Erie SD40T-2 No. 8795 is on the point of a westbound in Creston, Ohio on Nov. 15, 2015. This locomotive was acquired by the W&LE in September 2014 from the Squaw Creek Southern and placed into service the following month. It was originally built for the Southern Pacific in April 1980 and also spent time on the Union Pacific locomotive roster. It has since been renumbered as Wheeling 5411.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Out of the Ordinary

Here is an out-of-the-ordinary pair of images. At first glance there may be little to surprise you. These two photos were taken about two hours apart.

In the top image R.J. Corman SD40T-2 No. 8336 is backing up westbound into the Wheeling & Lake Erie’s yard in Brewster, Ohio, on Oct. 9, 2019, on W&LE tracks at the W&LE/Corman diamond.

In the bottom image, W&LE SD40T-2 Nos. 8795 and 5413 plus one other locomotive are westbound at the west end of the yard.

Yes, 5413 is a Rio Grande heritage unit, but that was not what surprised me.

Nos. 8336, 8795, and 5413 are not only in three different paint schemes, but all three are tunnel motors.

Article and Photographs by Robert Farkas