Leading in Willard

Baltimore & Ohio GP35 No. 3511 is shown leading a train in Willard on Sept. 2, 1978. The unit was built in April 1964

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Still in ‘Wild Mary’ Colors’

It may appear to be a Western Maryland unit, but at the time this image was made in 1978, this F7A was carrying a Chessie System number. It was built for the WM in December 1952 as No. 242. It shown here in Willard on July 30, 1978.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

It Survived Into the CSX Era

Baltimore & Ohio GP9 No. 6548 waits for its next call to duty in Willard on Sept. 2, 1978. Built in July 1967, the unit would survive into the CSX era.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Steam Sunday: Amazing Memories

Sometimes I find a slide and realize there has to be a story to it. Recently I found this slide of Baltimore & Ohio No. 6506 in Willard that I made on Aug. 12, 1978. At first I thought this was simply a switching move by a Geep. Then I noticed the crane behind the hoppers and the hose. Could it be? Yes, it was. The 6506 was waiting for eastbound Chessie System 4-8-4 No. 2101 to appear and take on coal and water. What amazing memories these two images bring.

Article and Photographs by Robert Farkas

Steam Saturday: Just Now Leaving Willard

Chessie System 4-8-4 No. 2101 is westbound near Willard on July 2, 1977, after having sat for while before resuming its journey. The former Reading Company T-1 locomotive was making a ferry move from Cleveland to Detroit.  A week earlier on June 26 the 2101 had pulled a Chessie Steam Special public excursion roundtrip between Cleveland and Willard. After reaching Detroit the train would operate a public roundtrip excursion to Grand Ledge, Michigan, on July 9 and the next day operate roundtrip to Clio (Hoyt), Michigan.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Way Back When in Willard

The wayback machine continues to need calibration as we’ve landed out of bounds again. But we don’t mind, any place in Ohio is fine.

Today we’re looking at Baltimore & Ohio GP40 No. 4021 and two other units in the yard in Willard in late 1972.

Willard was the home of a B&O classification yard and named after a former B&O president, Daniel Willard.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Catching Up With the Ashland

On Monday I chased the Ashland Railway train from Willard to Shelby. The motive power was 9166, a NW2R, and 2022 and 2023, both GP38-2s .

I got it at Willard at either milepost zero or 294 depending on what subdivision you are on.

I also photographed the train passing the old Baltimore & Ohio station at Plymouth and a bridge south of town.

Finally, I caught it passing the old power plant at Shelby Ohio.

Article and Photographs by Todd Dillon

2 Views For Tuesday

One of the advantages of digital photograph is the ability to easily crop an image in processing software such as Adobe Photoshop.

But cropping does more than just remove such extraneous and unwanted elements as utility poles and wires.

The character of an image can change if you crop it more closely.

Here is an example of that from Bob Farkas. The location is the former Baltimore & Ohio yard in Willard, Ohio.

It’s March 13, 1982, and the B&O is part of the Chessie System.

The top image shows more of the train’s consist and the yard. But the bottom image gives more detail of the locomotive, caboose and boxcar.

You make the call on which image you prefer.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

The Large and Small of It

Railroads were not always consistent in applying their liveries to diesel locomotives.

Perhaps a shop didn’t have the right specs, didn’t have the needed supplies or had received incomplete instructions.

A good example of this inconsistency can be seen in the above images that represent small and large sizes of the herald of the Baltimore & Ohio on the nose of two locomotives.

In the top image, B&O GP38 No. 3901 is shown in Akron on Sept. 9, 1979, with a large herald on its nose.

In the bottom image, GP35 No. 3511 sports a smaller emblem as it sits in Willard on September 2, 1978.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Need a B&O Fix? We’ve Got it For You

B&O GP 30 leads a westbound in Akron on June 20, 1987.

It has been decades since the Baltimore & Ohio faded into history into the Chessie System which in turn dissolved into CSX.

But some who have long lived in or near Akron still have a fondness for the B&O even if the only tangible trace of it these days are museum pieces and a locomotive operating on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad that is painted in a B&O livery.

The CVSR’s B&O No. 800 does a reasonably good job of bringing the fabled railroad with the capitol dome herald to life, but sometimes you want to see the real thing.

Here is a selection of photographs of the B&O in Akron and Willard that come from the camera of Robert Farkas, a long-time resident of Northeast Ohio who continues to photograph the region’s railroad operations.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

GP9 No. 6548 works a train in the Yard at Willard, Ohio, on Sept. 3, 1978.

B&O GP 35 No.3504 is eastbound in Akron in the late 1960s. Notice the IBM dealership and the Akron Beacon Journal clock tower in the background.

GP38 No. 3825 and F7B No. 5449 move a westbound in Akron at Exchange Street on July 23, 1971. Note the roof of the Erie freight house in the background.