Nostalgia & History > Sometimes... - Marion, Ohio

Sometimes a railfan steps back to get a wider perspective. I believe Mike Ondecker took these two photos in Marion, Ohio in 1968.
I.) This was taken looking east from west of the EL diamonds where the C&O crossed the EL and the diamonds where the N&W crossed the EL.
2.) This was from east of the diamonds looking west.
Bob

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So much to see in these two photos, right down to the crossing watchman's shanty in the distance in the second photo. I'm sure I'll look at them later and see something else I missed earlier.

Thanks for sharing these, Bob. 'Much appreciated.
 

Thanks Bob, great photos.

In the second phot as we are looking west along the EL main toward Marion yard and ultimately Chicago, we can see in the lower left the Dayton branch diverging from the main.  It was not on a wye, so a Dayton bound train that was assembled in Marion would back across both the C&O and N&W mains until clearing the switch, reverse direction and head south to Dayton.  Wish I had been there to see it.

Tim Costello

Both photos are nicely composed documentaries of scenes from yesteryear.
Thanks for the very interesting posting.
ALLEN

Mr.Ondecker did a great job on these two shots.
In the first image beyond the station the buildings that were still there - maybe an old hotel ?
Gary




 

The reverse moves created quite the back up of trains. Nothing would move until these moves were completed. This was for both Dayton bound and Marion bound moves from Dayton. And not to mention the occasional car, or cars that would derail on one of the numerous switches/crossovers these moves would take. The NYC, C&O, PRR and later the N&W would get backed up during all of this and the crews did not like it at all. All this, and just the amount of trains that traveled through Marion earned Marion the, "Train Watching Capital of The World" as inscribed on the door above the old baggage room now occupied by the Marion club. And yes, that is the old railroad hotel and restaurant and in the other corner is the old Marion Power & Shovel building, sadly, all long gone. BTW, Great photos. This is the way I like to remember Marion. Also, R.I.P Joe Slanser (Marion resident) one of the best Erie & EL fans and modelers that ever existed and also at one time employed by the railroad.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/20 08:20 by EL-SD45-3632.

gcm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mr.Ondecker did a great job on these two shots.
> In the first image beyond the station the
> buildings that were still there - maybe an old
> hotel ?
> Gary
>
>
>
>

Gary: Yes, on the right-hand side, front to back, there is the union station, the Marion Division offices, and the hotel/restaurant.

I keep wanting to hit the "Large" button to soak everything in on these pictures.  Fantastic stuff, wish T.O. had that capability to "enlarge" the photos on the website.

EL-SD45-3632 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The reverse moves created quite the back up of
> trains. Nothing would move until these moves were
> completed. This was for both Dayton bound and
> Marion bound moves from Dayton. And not to mention
> the occasional car, or cars that would derail on
> one of the numerous switches/crossovers these
> moves would take. The NYC, C&O, PRR and later the
> N&W would get backed up during all of this and the
> crews did not like it at all. All this, and just
> the amount of trains that traveled through Marion
> earned Marion the, "Train Watching Capital of The
> World" as inscribed on the door above the old
> baggage room now occupied by the Marion club. And
> yes, that is the old railroad hotel and restaurant
> and in the other corner is the old Marion Power &
> Shovel building, sadly, all long gone. BTW, Great
> photos. This is the way I like to remember Marion.
> Also, R.I.P Joe Slanser (Marion resident) one of
> the best Erie & EL fans and modelers that ever
> existed and also at one time employed by the
> railroad.

Do you know if Jerry Persinger is still around? He worked at AC, and later was a CR dispatcher in Indy. I never met him, but worked with him on getting NS trains across the diamond there for several years. He was a blast to work with.

halfmoonharold Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> EL-SD45-3632 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The reverse moves created quite the back up of
> > trains. Nothing would move until these moves
> were
> > completed. This was for both Dayton bound and
> > Marion bound moves from Dayton. And not to
> mention
> > the occasional car, or cars that would derail
> on
> > one of the numerous switches/crossovers these
> > moves would take. The NYC, C&O, PRR and later
> the
> > N&W would get backed up during all of this and
> the
> > crews did not like it at all. All this, and
> just
> > the amount of trains that traveled through
> Marion
> > earned Marion the, "Train Watching Capital of
> The
> > World" as inscribed on the door above the old
> > baggage room now occupied by the Marion club.
> And
> > yes, that is the old railroad hotel and
> restaurant
> > and in the other corner is the old Marion Power
> &
> > Shovel building, sadly, all long gone. BTW,
> Great
> > photos. This is the way I like to remember
> Marion.
> > Also, R.I.P Joe Slanser (Marion resident) one
> of
> > the best Erie & EL fans and modelers that ever
> > existed and also at one time employed by the
> > railroad.
>
> Do you know if Jerry Persinger is still around? He
> worked at AC, and later was a CR dispatcher in
> Indy. I never met him, but worked with him on
> getting NS trains across the diamond there for
> several years. He was a blast to work with.

No I don't. I lost all cantact with the operators at AC when they closed the tower. However, TO poster "exopr" is from the AC days, send him a private message and you may get an answer.