Eastern Railroad Discussion > Maumee Western

I was traveling east on Ohio ROute 6 in Napoleon, crossed the Maumee & Western and noticed very rusty rails. Is anything happening on that line and did the diamonds ever get put back in in Defiance?

No the diamonds at Defiance are still out. The MAW has not been to Liberty Center at the far Eastern end for months.

Actually, the timing of this query couldn't be more coincidental:

On Saturday, Feb. 18, I went west from Toledo with plans to shoot a few NS trains as far as Delta, then veer up to Adrian to do the Wabash side. But as I reached Delta, an I&O with matched red-gray tunnel motors was departing south, so I chased it.

And what should occur while I'm doing this but a MAW westbound calls the signal at Liberty Center. After getting a couple of shots of the I&O, I found the MAW train, with weary looking engine No. 16, dragging seven gondolas west into Napoleon. I photographed it at the road crossing just east of U.S. 24 and then again at U.S. 24. The latter resulted in quite a show, because I got to watch a westbound trucker really stand on his brakes after the crossing flashers started -- so much that the trailer's brakes locked up and the wheels hopped up and down a couple of times along with a puff of blue brake smoke.

So the MAW does still run into Liberty Center. They probably don't go fast enough to buck much of the rust off the rails, though.

The MAW has been running to Liberty Center fairly regularly over the past couple months. Loaded gons in, empties out, usually 4-5 at a time. Not sure exactly what is in the cars, though.

So, toledopatch, did the sun come out for I&O 400 for you? I was going to stick around after we got off at Delta, but I was too tired & it didn't look as if the sun would stay out. Glad someone got shots, though.

AJB

What time did you see the MAW train? I was over the crossing about noon and nothing had been by. While in Archbold I saw an NS EB general freight start to get over taken by a NS EB double stack. I paced them to Wauseon and saw that the Stack train was falling back behind the freight. I heard radio chatter about 'making 60 up Bryan Hill' as though one of the trains was under powered. I left Leipsic about 2 PM after stopping by the I & O in Malinta and spending about an hour in Deshler. I saw the all Auto Max WB on B & O that Grandpa Frosty reported in another thread. I wish I had stuck around to see the I & O

The gondolas are loaded with concrete block and brick debris.

Farmer....where is this rubble GOING?

And...I had heard that the I&O had pulled the diamonds ala CSX @ Defiance. Was this false, or were they pulled and replaced?

I have camped at the I&O/MAW diamonds a couple of nites, before the $$%^%$ houses were put in on the side road to the west. It was really neat to hear a southbound coming, the rumbling as it climbed the hill at Delta coming thru the dirt miles away...

OT

I photographed the MAW train crossing US 24 at 11:30a on Saturday.

The sun was out for it, as it was for the I&O #400, which I shot at 11:15 at Fulton County Road B and 11:20 a few miles south of there in Henry County at the southward distant signal for Liberty Center. Clouds were thickening up at the time but not yet enough to be a significant problem.

During the afternoon, I photographed eight trains on the ex-Wabash -- #171 at Adrian and seven others around Milan including a CP#153 with Soo 6061 leading. As it turns out, I've accounted for three of the Soo SD60M's in the past three days, as Saturday's #152 had the 6059 trailing and today's NS #331 from Bellevue to Detroit had the 6060 trailing three CN units.

I had heard that the material being loaded was refractory brick - probably from North Star in Delta, where it's going though I do not know. Does anyone know if the interlocking at Liberty Center (I&O/MAW) is back in service? The payment for repairs/replacement to the interlocker was in dispute a while back.



ohiotom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Farmer....where is this rubble GOING?
>
> And...I had heard that the I&O had pulled the
> diamonds ala CSX @ Defiance. Was this false, or
> were they pulled and replaced?
>
> I have camped at the I&O/MAW diamonds a couple of
> nites, before the $$%^%$ houses were put in on the
> side road to the west. It was really neat to hear
> a southbound coming, the rumbling as it climbed
> the hill at Delta coming thru the dirt miles
> away...
>
> OT

MSchwiebert Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had heard that the material being loaded was
> refractory brick - probably from North Star in
> Delta, where it's going though I do not know.
> Does anyone know if the interlocking at Liberty
> Center (I&O/MAW) is back in service? The payment
> for repairs/replacement to the interlocker was in
> dispute a while back.

The signals are working and the crews are calling them over the radio....so yeah, I'd say the interlocking is in service.

OK, The last time I was out that way, the approach signals on the MAW side were not lit. Not that they need them much anyway given the track conditions...

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MSchwiebert Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I had heard that the material being loaded was
> > refractory brick - probably from North Star in
> > Delta, where it's going though I do not know.
> > Does anyone know if the interlocking at Liberty
> > Center (I&O/MAW) is back in service? The
> payment
> > for repairs/replacement to the interlocker was
> in
> > dispute a while back.
>
> The signals are working and the crews are calling
> them over the radio....so yeah, I'd say the
> interlocking is in service.