Too Late for Jake, but At Last a Train in Sterling

Richard Jacobs pauses just before returning to the nursing home after the last railfan outing of his life. He would die nearly two weeks later.

A westbound manifest freight cruises through Sterling on a late Sunday afternoon on the day of Richard Jacobs’ funeral.

Richard Jacobs wanted one last outing in Sterling. It would not be an easy one to arrange.

Cancer was eating away at his body and he could not move on his own. Nonetheless, he arranged for a specially-fitted van to take him to Sterling on a Wednesday for one more outing with the Loopers, as the group that gathers there weekly calls themselves.

He made sure that I knew about his planned outing and I said I would be there.

Given Jake’s condition, it wasn’t a sure thing that he would be able to make it. The date was set for Wednesday, June 10.

As that date approached, Jake wasn’t sure that things were going to go off as planned. He had grand plans. He would show his Colorado program — the same one he had planned to show to the Akron Railroad Club at its June 26 meeting — on the patio at Bradley’s restaurant.

Jake and the Loopers always went to Bradley’s for dinner on Wednesday nights.

On the day of the event I called Jake to make sure that everything was still on. It was, but his arrival time had been moved back.

We sat or stood around for what seemed an awfully long time. Where was Jake? It was getting to be 4 p.m.

Then word came that Jake was over at Bradley’s, but he had gotten sick right after he arrived. It was unclear if he would be coming over to visit the Loopers or going back to the nursing home.

Finally, around 4:30, the word got out that Jake’s grandson Rob, would roll him over from Bradley’s. About 10 minutes later I could see Jake being wheeled through the parking lot for the hike and bike trail that is located on the former Erie Railroad right of way.

Jake came over and the visiting began. I was planning to make a photograph of him with a CSX train passing in the background.

But there was a problem. CSX traffic had been halted for hours due to a maintenance of way window. It was ending, but the workers still had odds and ends to clean up.

I could hear trains nearby talking on the radio, but nothing came through Sterling.

At 6 p.m. the van arrived to take Jake back to the nursing home. There would be no slide show and Jake probably wasn’t physically able to do that anyway.

But, worse, there would be no last train for Jake to photograph and watch. I look one last photo of Jake with the CSX tracks in the background. Jake joked with me that I could use Photoshop to add a train to make it look like one came by. But I didn’t.

The next day Jake called to say that shortly after we both left that the trains began running almost non-stop.

Thirteen days later, Jake died. His funeral was this past Sunday and I stopped in Sterling on my way back home. I wanted to get that train that had eluded Jake and I both during his last outing.

Jake saw and photographed countless trains during his lifetime, starting at the age of 9 and continuing until two months before he died at age 83.

Therein lies an important lesson. Never stop watching or photographing trains if it gives you pleasure in life. Someday the trains may not come anymore for you and there won’t be a tomorrow to see another one.

Article and Photographs by Craig Sanders

CSX Traffic Was Sparse in Sterling

CSX double stack hotshot Q016 is eastbound at Sterling.

CSX westbound coal train T410 for Duke Power is westbound at Kauffman Avenue in Sterling.

CSX empty oil train K059 is westbound at Sterling.

On Wednesday, March 18, several of the Loop railfans gathered trackside at Sterling. CSX train activity was sparse.

Eastbound Q016 entered the interlocking at 4:07 p.m. That train is an eastbound double stack intermodal pulled by CSX 5479 and 5455.

The next two trains were westbounds. CSX coal train T410 for Duke Power went over Kauffman Avenue at 6:39 p.m. It was followed by CSX empty oil train K059 at 6:55 pm.

I had to boost the ISO for the last two photos. All got quiet again, so I headed for home.

Article and Photographs by Richard Jacobs

Beating Winter Blues at Sterling with Sun, CSX

Lot’s of power! CSX westbound Q355 crosses Kauffman Avenue in Sterling.

It has been a long hard winter for me. I’ve had bronchitis for three months, since Thanksgiving, and extreme shortness of breath. With the snow and cold weather, I mostly have been hibernating like an old bear.

On Wednesday, March 11 we had a special gathering of Loop railfans at Sterling. It was a rare opportunity to get all nine members there.

Luckily, at 3 p.m. the sun was out and the temperature was close to 50. CSX cooperated by running a number of trains in the sunshine.

There were several westbounds running into the sun. The first was Q355, a manifest freight with seven engines on the head end. The westbounds also included intermodals Q015 and Q137, and auto rack train Q299.

Q641, the Buffalo, N.Y. , to Cumberland, Md., train, came down the CL&W Sub and went east on the New Castle Sub, the mainline, at 6:07 p.m. after we had chowed down at Bradley’s.

That train carries trash cars from the Buffalo area for LaFarge, Ohio, near Lordstown. The setout of trash cars there is the reason that Q640/641 uses the CL&W.

The last train of the day was Q296 eastbound out of the setting sun. It was led by Canadian Pacific No. 9655 at 6:17p.m.

We then left for home as the train activity had quieted down. It was a welcome cabin fever reliever on a sunny afternoon.

Article and Photographs by Richard Jacobs

CSX/UP units lead intermodal hotshot Q015 westbound at Sterling.

Westbound CSX Q137 passes over Kauffman Avenue in Sterling.

CSX eastbound Q647 enters Sterling.

CSX auto rack Q299 is westbound at Sterling.

CSX 833/8785 lead Q641 off the CL&W Sub.

CSX Q641, Buffalo to Cumberland, is eastbound off the CL&W Sub.

Trash cars on CSX Q641.

Lumber cars on CSX Q641.

CP power leads an eastbound auto rack train into Sterling at sunset.

CP power led by 9655 is hauling a CSX auto rack train Q296 eastbound at Sterling.

 

 

Sterling ‘Looper’ Bob Fisher Dies

Akron Railroad Club member Richard Jacobs reported on Thursday that the “Loop” railfans of Sterling lost member Robert A “Bob” Fisher. Mr. Fisher died Thursday at his home in Barberton. He was 73.

“Bob and I often talked about the Barberton railroad history; he helped me with my photo pursuits and several other matters. He will be missed,” Jake wrote in an email message.

Mr. Fisher had a passion for the Erie Railroad.

Born on Staten, Island, N.Y., Mr. Fisher lived in Barberton for most of his life. He was retired from the City of Barberton Street and Building Department, and had also worked at PPG Industries. He was preceded in death by his wife, Carol A. Fisher, in November 2013.

He is survived by four daughters, Cindy Shirey, Joanne Garabito, Beth Fisher-Cominsky, and Janet Fisher; a brother, Bill Fisher; 10 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Silva-Hostetler Funeral Home in Barberton with burial in the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1 to 4 p.m. at the funeral home.

Railpace Publishes Jacobs Article, Photographs

An article by Akron Railroad Club member Richard Jacobs about the demise of the vintage Baltimore & Ohio Railroad color position light signals at Sterling was published in the February 2009 issue of Railpace magazine. Four photographs accompanied Jacobs’ page-length article.

Jacobs, of Apple Creek, Ohio, wrote about the activation of modern Safe-Tran  signals by CSX on November 16, 2008. The new signals

had been turned on by 5 p.m. that day. The former B&O signals subsequently were dismantled and taken away. The changeover was part of a program that began in fall 2007 to install new signals over much of the CSX New Castle Subdivision. For the past two years, CSX signal crews had been replacing the CPL signals moving east to west.

A handful of CPL signals remain in service on CSX within Akron on a stretch of track that has centralized traffic control, which is under the jurisdiction of the IO dispatcher in Indianapolis. The New Castle Subdivision is part of the former B&O’s Chicago-Pittsburgh line. Most of the subdivision is double track, but signaled for operation in one direction on each track. The line is single track between Warwick (Clinton) and Lambert (Akron).

Sterling is the junction point between the New Castle Subdivision and a branch to Cleveland (former B&O). At one time, the Erie Railroad’s Chicago-New York mainline crossed the B&O at Sterling. The tower that guarded the junction was named RU for Russell, which was the original name of the village of Sterling.

Jacobs is a frequent visitor to Sterling, being a member of the Sterling Loopers, a group of railfans who meet here weekly. He is one of the most prolific photographers in the ARRC and travels widely to photograph and ride trains.

Railfans have long gathered at Sterling, usually watching the action from the inside a wye that is part of the connection between the New Castle Subdivision and the Cleveland branch. Approximately 20 to 30 trains a day pass through Sterling.