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Columbus Subdivision | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Status | Operating |
Owner | CSX Transportation |
Locale | Central to Northern Ohio |
Termini | |
Service | |
Type | Freight rail |
System | CSX Transportation |
Operator(s) | CSX Transportation |
Technical | |
Line length | 127 mi (204 km) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Columbus Subdivision is a freight railroad line extending from Columbus, Ohio, north to Fostoria, Ohio. The line is currently owned by CSX Transportation. [1] [2]
This rail line is a mostly double-tracked route that sees a relatively high amount of traffic per day. [3] Unit coal trains are very common on the Columbus Subdivision, but a large variety of commodities travel along the line. The line is controlled via a Centralized Traffic Control system that allows for a high throughput of trains. [3] Direct Traffic Control is also used along the subdivision to separate trains, with a large number of DTC Blocks named after nearby municipalities. [4]
The Columbus Subdivision should not be confused with CSX's Columbus Line Subdivision, which stretches from Columbus, Ohio, to Galion, Ohio, and is located several miles east of the Columbus Subdivision.
The right-of-way that it known today as the Columbus Subdivision began construction in August 1875, once the newly founded Columbus & Toledo Railroad company raised enough funds to construct a rail line from Columbus north to Toledo through the villages of Linworth, Powell, Delaware, Prospect, Morral, and Fostoria. The primary purpose of the line was to forward coal from the Appalachian region to markets beyond Columbus. Nonetheless, the line also carried passenger traffic and reported 25M passenger-miles and 2.6B freight ton-miles per year. The Columbus & Toledo was later consolidated into the Hocking Valley Railway, along with another connected route extending south of Columbus. [5]
After the Hocking Valley system was acquired by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the line was under C&O ownership. During the 1950s, the track was modernized to include CTC signals and remote dispatch capability. Facilities for Diesel Locomotives were instituted while aging steam equipment was removed and scrapped. Passenger traffic also began to dwindle as personal automobiles and Interstate Highways proliferated, forcing the railroad to focus more on freight movements and remove most small, local depots from service.
In 1980, the C&O's holding company, the Chessie System, and several other railroads merged into the CSX Corporation. In the mid-1980s, CSX established CSX Transportation, which brought all owned lines into a single railroad with the modern-day CSX livery.
In 2006, CSX split the Columbus Subdivision at Fostoria, Ohio. The southern, Columbus–Fostoria portion kept its name, while the northern track towards Toledo was renamed the Pemberville Subdivision and placed into CSX's Great Lakes operating division. Additionally, the track within the high-volume city of Fostoria was renamed the Fostoria Subdivision.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to the Ohio River by 1873, where the railroad town of Huntington, West Virginia, was named for him.
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833, and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinois, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana. The line's trackage remains a major rail transportation corridor used by Amtrak passenger trains and several freight lines; in 1998, its ownership was split at Cleveland, Ohio, between CSX Transportation to the east and Norfolk Southern Railway in the west.
The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) that operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation.
The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway is a Class II regional railroad that provides freight service, mainly in the areas of Northern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. It took its name from the former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, most of which it bought from the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1990.
The Cleveland Terminal Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from a point northeast of downtown Cleveland southwest to downtown along the former New York Central Railroad main line.
The Wiregrass Central Railroad is a shortline railroad operating 19.5 miles (31.4 km) of track from a CSX Transportation connection at Waterford, near Newton, to Enterprise, Alabama via the south side of Fort Novosel. The company was initially a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways and began operations in 1987 following the purchase of the Enterprise Subdivision branch line of CSX Transportation.
The Mountain Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Cumberland, Maryland, west to Grafton, West Virginia, along the original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) main line. It was known as the West End Subdivision until the B&O's absorption into the Chessie System, and included the B&O's original crossing of the Allegheny Mountains. Through CSX traffic to the west from Cumberland now uses the Keystone Subdivision over Sand Patch Grade.
The Long Fork Subdivision was a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It split from the E&BV Subdivision at Martin and ran south to a dead end at Hi Hat. CSX filed to abandon all but the first 3 miles (4.8 km) from Martin to Salisbury in 2003; it had not seen traffic since c. 1990. However, due to complications regarding possible leasing by a coal company, the line was not abandoned until 2006. As of 2006, that lease is planned to take effect.
The CSX Cumberland Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Brunswick, Maryland, west to Cumberland, Maryland, along the old Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road (B&O) main line. At its east end, the Cumberland Subdivision becomes the Metropolitan Subdivision; at its west end at Cumberland, Maryland it becomes the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision. It meets the Shenandoah Subdivision at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and the Lurgan Subdivision in Cherry Run, West Virginia.
The New Castle Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The line runs from New Castle, Pennsylvania west through Youngstown and Akron to Greenwich, Ohio along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line. Its east end is near Mahoningtown, at the west end of the New Castle Terminal Subdivision. Its west end is at the Willard Terminal Subdivision, just east of the Greenwich Subdivision junction at Greenwich. It junctions with the Newton Falls Subdivision at Newton Falls, Ohio, and the CL&W Subdivision at Sterling, Ohio.
The Willard Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from Willard west to Deshler along a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line. At its east end, at Daniels Road west of Willard, the line becomes the Willard Terminal Subdivision. Its west end is at the east end of the Garrett Subdivision, just east of Deshler and the Toledo Subdivision. The line is split at Fostoria by the Fostoria Subdivision, which includes the junction with the Columbus Subdivision, and at Galatea the line intersects the Toledo Branch Subdivision. This was once Amtrak's Three rivers line.
The CL&W Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from a junction with the New Castle Subdivision at Sterling northwest to Lorain along a former Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road line. It junctions with the Cleveland Subdivision at Lester and the Greenwich Subdivision at Grafton.
The Hocking Valley Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Ohio, with a main line from Toledo to Athens and Pomeroy via Columbus. It also had several branches to the coal mines of the Hocking Valley near Athens. The company became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway system in 1910, and the line between Toledo and Columbus continues to see trains as CSX Transportation's Columbus Subdivision. Portions of the main line south of Columbus are now operated by the Indiana and Ohio Railway and Hocking Valley Scenic Railway.
The Baltimore Terminal Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Maryland. The line runs from Baltimore to Halethorpe along the original Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line, one of the oldest rail lines in the United States and the first passenger railroad line. At its east (north) end, it connects with the Philadelphia Subdivision; its west (south) end has a junction with the Capital Subdivision and the Old Main Line Subdivision.
The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line operated by CSX Transportation and jointly owned by CSX and Virginia. It runs from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The line's name pays homage to that railroad, which was a predecessor to the CSX.
The Saginaw Subdivision is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Michigan. The line runs 105 miles from Toledo, Ohio, to Saginaw, Michigan. CSX owns the line although since 2006, the section from Mt. Morris to Saginaw has been leased to the Lake State Railway but is still occasionally used by CSX. The Plymouth to Mt. Morris line was also leased to LSRC starting in March 2019.
The Hocking Valley Scenic Railway is a non-profit, 501c3, volunteer-operated tourist railroad attraction that operates out of Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio. It is also located near the popular Hocking Hills State Park in nearby Hocking County. It uses former trackage of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which was in turn originally Hocking Valley Railway trackage. The current operation was founded in 1972.
The Plymouth Subdivision is a freight railroad line in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is owned by CSX. It connects the Plymouth Diamond at milepost CH 24.5 to Grand Rapids at CH 148.1, passing through the Lansing metropolitan area en route. Other towns served include South Lyon, Brighton, Howell, Fowlerville, Williamston, Grand Ledge, Lake Odessa, Clarksville, and Alto. Operationally, it is part of the CSX Chicago Division, dispatched from Jacksonville, Florida.
The Georges Creek Subdivision is a railroad line with portions owned and operated by either CSX Transportation or the Georges Creek Railway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The line runs from Westernport, Maryland, north to Carlos, Maryland, along the former Thomas Subdivision of the Western Maryland Railway (WM). CSX Huntington East Division Timetable
The Louisville Division is a railroad division operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Louisville Division comprises 29 subdivisions.