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Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:12 am
by Bellevue_Guy
Around 10pm 1/15 I happened to spot a Wheeling train in Bellevue doing their usual turnaround move backing from the Fostoria District to the Sandusky district. When I saw that it had 4 engines I decided it might be worth following for a bit, so I tracked it's progress out of Bellevue and then jumped ahead to Monroeville and watched it go by at Peru Center.

The lead was in normal WLE paint, the second was a WLE in light gray (primer?) with just small logo on the cab and the other 2 were BNSF. I didn't get any engine numbers but i know for sure the lead's was in the 6300's. The train was solid hoppers, all new looking silver ones, not sure if they were loaded or not. I very rarely count cars, but I had a hunch it might be worthwhile this time and I was pretty surprised at what it turned out to be, somewhere around 130. Pretty dang long compared to what I'm used to seeing on WLE.

I've seen these new looking hoppers on WLE quite a bit in the past couple years or so. Sometimes west bounds waiting to get through Bellevue are long enough that they either just block Prairie Rd or have to cut the train. Anyone have any more info on what these trains are?

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 6:57 am
by redside20
They are BNSF coal trains that travel from the Powder River basin in Wyoming which get handed off in Chicago to the NS as a haulage train. The train then travels down the waterlevel to Oak Harbor to Bellevue, and at Bellevue, the train is turned over to the Wheeling which takes the train down to Mingo Junction near Steubenville. This is also done my haulage rights.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:27 am
by AARR
There is either a power plant or coal blending yard that gets western coal once or twice a week south of Mingo Jct (Rayville or something like that?). I do not have my notes in front of me to look up the name of the city or comapny.

The same place also gets eastern coal from CSX/NS which WLE hauls the final 5ish miles from the interhcange to the plant/yard.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:10 am
by sd70accsxt700
I am sure I am going to mess up the symbol, but I think it is 416 on the NS. I seen the same train pull into Bellevue from Toledo, as I drove home from work on US-20 that was at 17:30.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:30 pm
by Bellevue_Guy
Thanks for the info guys, rather interesting stuff.

On the topic of WLE, what's the deal with their signals showing the same aspect in both directions? They put up some new signals at Bauer Rd just outside of Bellevue a few years ago and anytime I see them with a green light it's green on both sides. And then last night I noticed the signal at Young Rd did the same thing, it was showing yellow for both directions when that Wyoming coal train was approaching it.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:41 pm
by sd70accsxt700
Those are not signals, they are switch indicators. They show the position of the switch. The switches at Yomen are radio controled switches by using the radio in the locomotives. Green should be lined normal. Yellow reverse, and Red, im not 100% sure about. All WLE trackage around Bellevue is Dark teatory no signals. All Track Warrent Control.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:22 pm
by Bellevue_Guy
Ah, now it makes sense. So Young Rd was yellow because Yeomans onto the main line isn't the normal position and the south one at Bauer Rd was green because diverging from Yeomans to Lakeshore is considered normal position. The north one at Bauer was green as well, probably meaning that the end of Yeomans back to the main line was open to the main line.

As for red, that's what they are most of the time. So I'm guessing it's just a place holder that stays that way until it gets a radio signal for the crew, and that it's red to remind the the crew of the switch and prevent them from going through without checking it.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:03 pm
by redside20
I used to live out by Jolly Lanes and Jellystone Park and remember the old WLE signals on the line. It sorta looked like Grand Trunk searchlights with NKP type double masts. The double mast at Young Road along with the others was deactivated 10 years ago and torn down a few years back. There was also a dwarf signal for the Lakeshore at Bauer Road along with a home signal for the main to McKim. There was also signal also down by McKim Street by American Baler.

TTAM was correct about the train symbols destined for the WLE They were a 416/417 or 419/418 variant.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:36 pm
by Bellevue_Guy
There's currently a WB grain car train waiting on the lakeshore at Monroe St with NS power. The lead is 8430 and it's got the hammerhead end facing forward, love that view.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:51 pm
by redside20
I'm never too sure where the NS powered grain and agri trains off the WLE come from...Theres the Sunrise Elevators in Clarksfield and Monroeville and I'm betting thats where they come from..The Elevator at West Clarksfield can hold up to 36 cars at a time. Not sure about Monroeville.

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:26 pm
by Bellevue_Guy
(I see we can change our own thread titles, so I'm turning this into a general WLE thread since that's what it's becoming)

At Prairie Rd on the Brewster side there is a light sticking out of a utility box (is their a proper RR term for those light gray outhouse sized boxes?) that faces traffic coming into Bellevue. I've never seen it any color other than yellow. And I'm pretty sure this particular one is rather new, about the same age as those switch indicators. Previously there was a similar light that stood a bit taller near the same spot that was also always yellow when I saw it.

What is that?

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:43 pm
by sd70accsxt700
At that road I am not sure, but I am thinking its a approach signal. Maybe a approach signals to the end of WLE owernship. Not 100% sure.

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:13 pm
by Bellevue_Guy
sd70accsxt700 wrote:Maybe a approach signals to the end of WLE owernship.


Could be. I'm pretty sure the WLE ownership ends right after Bauer Rd, where there's a little white sign with WE on one side and NS on the other. This particular signal I'm talking about is on the NS side, but only by a couple hundred yards or so.

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:48 am
by railohio
That's the distant signal for the interlocking with NS in town.

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:06 pm
by Bellevue_Guy
Thanks.

Can anyone give me any info on the names and locations of the WLE subdivisions? My google attempts to find a map or list failed. The main two things I'm interested in are how much of their trackage bears the name "Hartland Sub" and what is the name of their tracks from Carey to Greenwich and New London to Spencer.

And is it called Hartland sub because of the little yard they have next to Hartland Center Rd east of Norwalk?

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:31 pm
by railohio
I can give you a list of Wheeling Subdivisions:

Akron
Brewster
Carey
Carrollton Br.
Cleveland
Heartland
N. Canton Br.
Pittsburgh
River
Rook
Sandyville Br.
Valley

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:58 pm
by AARR
I found Train Mag article about W&LE from July, 2008.

Two facilities account for most coal. First Energy Dock in Rayland gets 1-3 shipments per week of western coal via NS at Bellevue (115-120 cars per train). They also get a weekly shipment of Pennsylvania coal from NS at Shannon Run (W&LE takes it 2 miles to Rayland).

The Cardinal power plant in Brilliant burns West Virginia coal delivered bt CSX to Benwood. W&LE takes it about 5 miles. Cardinal also gets spot loads from Harrison Mining Nelm No. 2 (interchanged at Jewett) on the OCRR.

Re: 120+ car W&LE train with 4 locos

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:33 pm
by Bellevue_Guy
redside20 wrote:I'm never too sure where the NS powered grain and agri trains off the WLE come from...Theres the Sunrise Elevators in Clarksfield and Monroeville and I'm betting thats where they come from..The Elevator at West Clarksfield can hold up to 36 cars at a time. Not sure about Monroeville.
I took a look at the Monroeville layout on Google maps to see if I could come up with a decent estimation.

Their entire spur and siding looks like it would have a total car capacity of around 50....but since the elevator's way at the end it doesn't look like there's anyway to maneuver in a way to fit 50 loaded cars. Looks to me like the most loads they could send out at any one time would be around half that, and that it would involve several moves of small blocks of cars at a time.

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:38 pm
by AARR
There is also an elevator on the Canton Sub in New Washington (?). According to the same article it was shipping 25 car blocks of corn to an ethanol plant via OCRR.

Re: Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:41 pm
by railohio
New Washington is on the Carey Sub.