NS Peavine talk

[midland sub]

Michael is correct about the Class 1s. CSX has 18,000 coal service hoppers/gons and they feel real demand is roughly 8,000 now and in the future. The old L&N coal branches are stuffed full of coal and surprising grain trains. There was at least 3 grain trains the I&O customers canceled back in January that ended up going to Kentucky for storage.

[OSRR]

I don't know if they want the track project from Hamden to Jackson completed first or the hassle of CSX getting them to deliver anything to Vauces.

Track project? (Other than clearing brush)

[midland sub]

Ties and ballast. Probably last real work since Great Miami era. ORDC grant with OSCR putting $440,000 of their own money into it. They also are doing the work.

[northstar16]

Getting back to Clare and Heypal posts living up here in Mariemont I have noticed that Clare Yard is very well lite up at night. I think more now than it was back in the day. Along the east west tracks there is a string of lighting all the way up to Keebler. Don't think that was there a couple of years back. So apparently NS is keeping that yard well lit with not many cars in the yard. A while back NS had a few older cars sitting off the tracks they used for worker storage. I see that these two cars are now gone replaced by one car that is sitting on the track on the east side. Also it looks like they have pulled up a few tracks down there a few months back.

[heypal6878]

Northstar not sure how you were so close to Clare. The Mairemont cops watch that place like they own it. You can catch plenty of looks from up at the Bluff in the fall when the leaves fall off of the trees. For a yard that is not in use by NS there are many cars in the yard, sometimes as many as 50 and not all are going east by the CET. So maybe NS does store some of their cars in that yard as they are not being used. All the cars have the NS markings. Most are coal cars and several are tankers but there are also some box cars there as well.

You are correct for the longest there were two box cars sitting down by the old road that has slipped over the banks and is now closed. Both were being used for workers materials but now both are gone. I don't even think they had wheels on them. Now there is an old box car there rusted out that supplies are kept inside. Back in the day there was an old restaurant down there a white building not far from where the box car is now. Not sure if it burned down or NS just knocked it down. If I remember right it was a two story frame house. All the buildings down there are gone now, some of the tracks have been pulled up not much left but your correct that there has been pretty much activity down there of late all from NS who have had engines in the yard a few days a week.

[northstar16]

Heypal I was down there at Clare today not much going on. Went fishing under the bridge. Yes there are some cars on the rails inside Clare Yard might be because they still used the old Bultmatic site sure they transport cars back and forth to Sharon Yard. There are some tankers there as well but there were on up so couldn't tell if they were NS or not. There were some workers down there inside the yard up by Bultmatic. Mariemont cops were up on the hill perched up at the Bluff looking down with their binoculars. The police really watch the yard down there. Maybe that is why it is so lit up at night. One thing that there is plenty of is deer. Saw nine of them down here today. One was like ten feet from me thought he was going to sit down next to me when I was eating lunch.

[CGPRR]

Does anybody have some background on the Peavine branch to Hillsboro/Mowrystown?

I know the Hillsboro to Mowrystown section was pulled up quite a while back. The Mowrystown to Sardina portion stayed active until relatively recently. We occasionally hauled grain to the AGP elevator back before Cargill bought it and closed it down. (Big surprise.) Never paid much attention but the rail bed was there. I think at one time it crossed the road and serviced the CPS warehouse too.

What were the other customers on the line when it was still active? I've always been surprised that there wasn't enough demand in Hillsboro to keep rail service. Pretty big town for this region.

Did they have a dedicated number for service on the branch? Any sidings outside of customer service? Did AGP have a switcher?

[Muleskinner]

Does anybody have some background on the Peavine branch to Hillsboro/Mowrystown?

I know the Hillsboro to Mowrystown section was pulled up quite a while back. The Mowrystown to Sardina portion stayed active until relatively recently. We occasionally hauled grain to the AGP elevator back before Cargill bought it and closed it down. (Big surprise.) Never paid much attention but the rail bed was there. I think at one time it crossed the road and serviced the CPS warehouse too.

What were the other customers on the line when it was still active? I've always been surprised that there wasn't enough demand in Hillsboro to keep rail service. Pretty big town for this region.

Did they have a dedicated number for service on the branch? Any sidings outside of customer service? Did AGP have a switcher?

The line from Sardinia to Mowrystown is no more. They removed the RR bridge over Rt. 32 just outside of Sardinia last year.
The only way they have rail service to Hillsboro again is if they rebuild the old line from Blanchester to Hillsboro ..... Which will never happen.

[CGPRR]

The line from Sardinia to Mowrystown is no more. They removed the RR bridge over Rt. 32 just outside of Sardinia last year.
The only way they have rail service to Hillsboro again is if they rebuild the old line from Blanchester to Hillsboro ..... Which will never happen.

I know they had pulled it up/tore down the bridge. Last time I checked the auditor's website the right-of-way had all been sold too. At one time there was a group trying to do a rail-trail; always figured that was why they kept the bridge around for so long. Must not have gotten anywhere.

Have always assumed the elevator closing was the coffin nail for that little footnote in Peavine history. Would have made a neat little non-profit railroad but not many people interested out here I'd guess. Still curious who all recieved service over the years.

[midland sub]

I'll have to find the paperwork for the abandonment. NS tried to abandon the line in 1984 and it was dragged out until late 1985 or early '86. Last couple of years traffic to Hillsoboro was nothing more than a couple hundred cars at best. I don't know what the grain elevator at Mowerystown wa doing at that point as it's numbers weren't included since it was being retained. Basically at the end it was the small grain elevator and the lumber company at Hillsboro. Team track unloaded a few tractors and a combine the last year. There was one more customer in the current Seal Tile building that had a spur that wasn't using rail. The last two cars for Hillsboro were loads of lumber.

[midland sub]

Frontier is sending 2 or 3 ex MRL SD45s to the CCET. They were bought thinking they had a chance to take over the Chesapeake & Indiana for North Judson but they fell though. I assume they will sit at Evans off of Roundbottom. One showed up at Queensgate this past weekend.

[heypal6878]

Came home from work last night at 11:45 and NS hauling several more tankers down to Clare. The wind was blowing lightly that and NS was blowing the horn that it sounded like it was only feet from where I was walking. A little of the past sounds were in the air. Just like the old days when NS would be running a few trains late at night.

[midland sub]

NS came back with 37 cars from Clare according to my friend. 12 empty boxcars from CCET from Hyumataki last week, 20 LP tanks out of storage and 5 empty tank cars out of Clare transload.

[northstar16]

I heard that NS train the other night think it was Tuesday blowing the horn down at Clare. I live on the Bluff and that night the way the wind was blowing you could hear everything down at Clare. There were several cars and tankers on the side tracks in the late afternoon. Think the CCET brought them back east earlier that day or maybe even on Monday. I can say the CCET is very busy moving tankers. The storage business must be very strong. Not sure if they have much other business on the line other than Hyumataki and the Ag. Don't think the CET is doing anything for Evans at this time.

[midland sub]

Evans has been buying stone from Melvin Stone. They make too much storing cars to even think about the stone for Evans.

[northstar16]

You have a good point there sir! Car storage is what the CET all about at the present time. The take some out of storage and a few days later the tracks are filled up yet again. Saw a CCET highrailer in Newtown this morning going east.

[redside20]

I'll have to find the paperwork for the abandonment. NS tried to abandon the line in 1984 and it was dragged out until late 1985 or early '86. Last couple of years traffic to Hillsoboro was nothing more than a couple hundred cars at best. I don't know what the grain elevator at Mowerystown wa doing at that point as it's numbers weren't included since it was being retained. Basically at the end it was the small grain elevator and the lumber company at Hillsboro. Team track unloaded a few tractors and a combine the last year. There was one more customer in the current Seal Tile building that had a spur that wasn't using rail. The last two cars for Hillsboro were loads of lumber.

Gr8 pics and story of the Hillsboro Branch. I can't believe this thread is still here though...lol

[northstar16]

My girlfriend's dad had a large plot of land just outside of Hillsboro a few years back. On the land there were NS railroad tracks. His ground was just off 50 but the back of the property was on a State Route. Two developers wanted to buy the land and put homes on it but to do that they needed to put a road over the tracks that were still in the ground and not pulled. They worked with NS to get the right of way as NS still owned the tracks. No dice NS wouldn't sell the right away and the tracks haven't been used since 1985 of so. Plus the rest of the tracks were already pulled. Just doesn't compute! So the developers pull out and he sold to another developer who put homes on one side of the property and two years later the same developer put homes on the back side of the property. Still to this day NS still owns the right away and the tracks are there under plenty of dirt. Again it is hard to work with a railroad when it comes to sale of property.

Now my girlfriends is now my wife and every now and then she talks to her friends up in Hillsboro. Really that area is growing in the past few years but not many big businesses are up that way. None would now use the railroad but maybe down the road in a few years a big company may go out east. Hard to say plenty of land out there and not that expensive. Farms well plenty and I know many of the older farmers would sell the land if the price was right. Not sure if NS sold all of the railspace they had up there by now or maybe they still have the right aways under wrap. Maybe one of you know?

[midland sub]

You couldn't justify the expense of trying to put in two large bridges to even get to Mowerystown. Just north of 32 was a decent sized trestle across White Oak creek. Part of the wooden approach span is still standing. Who knows why rail holding companies hold on to parcels of abandoned right of way. CSX was supposed to sell Thrifton to Musselman on the old Ohio Div main to the state for a trail, but it took them until a couple of years ago to do it. Most of the B&O Hillsboro Branch right of way is still intact for the most part. I assume it's long been sold off and what's still visible is used as property lines or just not farmed.

[jallenp7]

Talking about a long time to sell of land, my uncle just in the last couple years purchase a ROW from CSX in Palmer Tennessee, the line was abandoned in the 1950's, I think it was still under the NC & StL RR, part of the Tracy City Branch.