Wheeling & Lake Erie stuff

[AARR]

New Washington is on the Carey Sub.

Yes, that is it. Is there still an elevator there that ships by rail? At least at one time they could load 25 cars at a time.

[MDH]

Thanks.

Can anyone give me any info on the names and locations of the WLE subdivisions?

For $30 you can buy yourself a current employee timetable:

http://prostores2.carrierzone.com/servl ... tail?no=42

While you're shopping you could even pick up a 2012 calendar featuring pictures by both myself and railohio...

[Bellevue_Guy]

Around 5pm today I saw a manifest on the Brewster side that was blocking Prairie Rd and had been cut so that it didn't also block Bauer Rd, with a good 20 or so cars on the other side. It was still there at 10 and may still be there now. The lead was pulled up to about East St, so this train is over a mile long.

[Bellevue_Guy]

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

I did a little searching/map reading to see if I could pin down where each of these are. Here's what I came up with (going west to east)

Carey: Carey to Greenwich & New London to Spencer
Hartland: Bellevue to Spencer
Akron: Spencer to Mogadore
Brewster: Spencer to Bowerson
Cleveland: Cleveland to Harmon
-- North Canton Br: Canton to North Canton
-- Sandyville Br: Canton to Mineral City
-- Carrollton Br: Canton to Carrollton & Minerva
Rook: Jewett to Rook, PA
Valley: Pittsburgh Junction to Warrenton
River: Steubenville to Benwood, WV
Pittsburgh: Rook, PA to Connellsville, PA

That about right?

edit: One thing I think might be wrong on is the New London to Spencer section. Looking at it again, it might be part of the Akron sub.

[AARR]

Carey: Carey to Greenwich & New London to Spencer
Hartland: Bellevue to Spencer
Akron: Spencer to Mogadore
Brewster: Spencer to Bowerson
Cleveland: Cleveland to Harmon
-- Solon Br: Falls Jct to Solon
-- North Canton Br: Canton to Aultman
-- Sandyville Br: Canton to Sandyville
-- Carrollton Br: Furnace Jct to Carrollton & (Minerva - OOS)
-- East End Br: Canton to East End Yard
Rook: Jewett to Rook, PA
Valley: Pittsburgh Junction to Warrenton OOS
River: Steubenville to Benwood, WV
Pittsburgh: Rook, PA to Connellsville, PA
--West End Br: West Belt Jct to West End
--Mifflin Br: Longview to Mifflin Jct.
-- Clairton Br: Pierce to Clairton
-- Matt Br: Coke Yard to Monessen

They also have trackage and switching rights on: Akron Barberton Cluster Rittman Br. (Wadsworth to Rittman), Sandy Br. (Akron to Krumroy), Kent Br. (Kent to Ravenna), and Medina Br. (in city of Medina).

[Bellevue_Guy]

Thanks for naming those other branches and clearing up a few things from the likely outdated WLE map I was using.

Two questions:

1. Just to be clear, the New London - Spencer line is part of the Carey sub and not Akron, right?

2. If the Valley sub is OOS, how do they get those BNSF coal trains down to Rayland? I don't see any connection track to allow for a fluid move from EB on the Rook to SB on the River (in fact, it's hard to tell on google maps if the only connection track between those 2 subs even exists anymore.)
Do they use the Columbus & Ohio River from Jewett to Mingo Jct, then come down the NS from Mingo Jct to the crossover to WLE just north of Rayland and then back up the coal dock's spur?

[AARR]

1. Just to be clear, the New London - Spencer line is part of the Carey sub and not Akron, right?

2. If the Valley sub is OOS, how do they get those BNSF coal trains down to Rayland? I don't see any connection track to allow for a fluid move from EB on the Rook to SB on the River (in fact, it's hard to tell on google maps if the only connection track between those 2 subs even exists anymore.)
Do they use the Columbus & Ohio River from Jewett to Mingo Jct, then come down the NS from Mingo Jct to the crossover to WLE just north of Rayland and then back up the coal dock's spur?

1. You are correct, it is part of Carey Sub.

2. You are correct on the routing and that they use trackage rights from Jewett to Mingo Jct. From I thought they had their own track from Mingo Jct to Rayland, at least that is what the maop in Trains Mag from 2009 says.

[Bellevue_Guy]

Thanks.

About an hour ago I ran an errand and saw that there were WLE trains sitting at both the Lakeshore and Brewster connections. I hoped to get a closer look on my way back, but the Brewster one was already gone (though I'm pretty sure it was a manifest for the yard). The Lakeshore one was another covered hopper train with NS power.

[Bellevue_Guy]

thought they had their own track from Mingo Jct to Rayland, at least that is what the maop in Trains Mag from 2009 says.

They do, but the Columbus & Ohio River track doesn't tie into it. It tie into the NS line that parallels the WLE. So it looks like those trains have to use the NS line from Mingo Jct to a point about 1/2 mile north of the coal docks where there is a connection/crossover from the NS to the WLE.

[Bellevue_Guy]

Today around 5:30 I saw a WLE train leaving the yard and decided to go out to the VFW and watch it leave town. When I got there I saw a blue engine idling on the Brewster track just shy of Prairie Rd. After a bit an SUV pulled up and dropped off a crew member who got on the engine.

Then the train from the yard arrived and I got this pic:



Then they backed up the blue engine and coupled it to the train, and soon they were on their way:



I took several pics, but the light was bad since the sun had just set and these were the only 2 that turned out somewhat decent.

This train was 99 cars long and included some long blocks of covered hoppers cars, white refers, tankers and gondolas with a few box cars here and there.

[AARR]

This train was 99 cars long and included some long blocks of covered hoppers cars, white refers, tankers and gondolas with a few box cars here and there.

White refers may go to the frech fry place in Solon. Although W&LE probably have a few other reefer customers that I am not aware of.

Box cars proably go to some lumber and paper customers. Biggest lumber company on W&LE I am aware of is Home Depot in Solon. Gets over 1000 cars a year up to 1200.

I am surprised there were no coil steel cars or open top hoppers. Commodities that travel in those cars are major item on W&LE.

[redside20]

There are about several dozen plastic customers along the wheeling including Berry Plastics in Monroeville, Plastipak in Medina, Multibase in Copley, and the huge Rubbermaid plant in Mogadore among others. There are several Terminal Warehouse facilities in the Akron area that probably get the reefers.
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=21900

[redside20]

AARR, there are several warehouses in the Akron Canton area that might get the reefers and it seems that Peoples Cartage and Terminal Warehouses have facilities in Massillon, Barberton, Canton, Akron, and Navarre

http://www.peoplesservices.com/
http://www.aswglobal.com/

[Bellevue_Guy]

Took a walk on the NCIT today and saw this EB train just west of Sand Hill Rd



He had just come off the Yeomans siding (so I presume it was from Toledo) and he was throttling up as he went by me. He had about 65 cars, most of which were covered hoppers, along with about 15 tanks, a handful of box cars, one gondola and 1 loaded lumber car.

I also grabbed a pic of the switch indicator for the east end Yeomans siding at Young Rd



Before and after this switch and the ones at Bauer there are white signs that say "Begin OS" and "End OS." Also, at route 4 there's a WB sign that says "Control switch #547" and an EB sign that says "Control Switch #562." I know these signs have something to do with those radio controlled switches, anyone know exactly what they mean?

[sd70accsxt700]

The OS stands for "On Sheet" it refers to the old days when a train passed a interlocking, the tower opperator (even now still today) had to write down the loco numbers, direction, train symbol, and time, in a log. Hence the "On Sheet" having wrote the info down on the train log sheet. Now days a interlocking, or power switch with signals, or in this case the area around the switch from witch the switch can be thrown by radio, is the OS section. Begin OS and End OS is the area between the two signs from witch the power switch can be thrown. As far as the control switch numbers that should be the numbers punched into the key pad on the radio, that is used to throw the switch in either direction.

A few years ago they put in a radio switch at Delray for our van trains to have easer acess to Livernois yard. The switch was at the end of what used to be double track. At one time it was a spring switch. In order for us to gain acess to Livernois yard, we needed to be able to acess the west track. As was back in the day, with the spring switch, and is also the same way today, the raido switch is automaticly lined for the east track. In order to acess the west track, we have to occupy a "OS" section that is with in 150 of the switch, once we are in that OS section, we use the key pad on the locomotive to punch in #454 to have the switch throw, to the west track. As long as we are with in the 150 of the switch, with any part of the train, it will stay lined for the west track. At anytime our train leaves the "OS" section, it has a timer that after 10 minuets, will line the switch back to the east track, until some one throws it with the raido again.

[Bellevue_Guy]

Thanks.

Does anyone know if the connection track in Chatfield between the WLE Carey sub and NS Sandusky district ever gets used for anything? The only modern era WLE system maps I've been able to find show them having trackage rights from Bellevue all the way to Chatfield. Do they still have those rights or use them? Looks like they'd have to have power on both ends to do any kind of Bellevue-Carey move, since the connection is in the SW quadrant.

I'm also curious to know if the connection track in Wellington between the WLE Hartland sub and CSX Greewich sub gets used and if they still have trackage rights from Wellington to Cleveland. That connection track has a rather interesting design, an S curve that sends EB traffic in the wrong direction at first before looping back around so that it ends up crossing the track it had left from (through a county fairground parking field and around the edge of the fairgrounds)

[redside20]

Yes the connection at Wellington is still used if any WLE trains hauling steel from Hartland Sta Yard need to get up to Cleveland
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=41.1634224&lo ... h&tag=3003

Sometimes the Wye at Chatfield is used to set off bad order cars or locos

[Bellevue_Guy]

Another NS powered covered hopper train waiting at the Lakeshore connection today. Both engines are long hood forward.

[redside20]

For AARR, speaking of Wheeling and Lake Erie, they just redesigned their website
http://www.wlerwy.com/

[AARR]

For AARR, speaking of Wheeling and Lake Erie, they just redesigned their website
http://www.wlerwy.com/

Nicely done.

While railfanning Toledo, Buster and I caught a W&LE training arriving at Homestead heading east with a block of about 15 cars of high top hoppers carrying trash among its consist. It looked like they may hae picked it up from AA where construction debris is loaded at Temperance Yard.