Eastern Railroad Discussion > OHCR Dennison Depot 2014 Polar Express

Every year the Dennison Depot and OHCR come together to run Polar Express passenger trains, and every year they attract a lot of attention. This year was no exception. All 10 passenger cars in the train have been filled completely for most of the trips so far. The trains will be running again tomorrow, and from Thursday-Sunday next week. The trains run from Dennison, Ohio, to Newcomerstown (aka, the "North Pole") and back, using the former PRR Panhandle line.

Here is the Dennison Depot website for information about the trains: http://dennisondepot.org/new_website/event-schedule/polar-express/

Train Set-up:
OHCR SD40-2 3322 on the east end.
- RPCX 800736 "Birch Grove" (Southern Pacific RR)
- PPCX 830 (Cincinnati Railway)
- PPCX 803 "Grove City" (Cincinnati Railway)
- RPCX 3850 "C&B Marshall" (B&O RR / ORHS)
- RPCX 10626 (Silver paint, no other markings / ORHS)
- RPCX 5688 (Illinois Central / ORHS ***first year this car has been in operation in a long time)
- RPCX 401 (Ex-Chicago Metra bi-level car, not sure where it came from)
- RPCX 3125 "Paul Revere" (Pennsylvania RR / ORHS)
- RPCX 422 (Two-tone dark red paint, no other markings)
- RPCX 101 (Pennsylvania RR / ORHS)
OHCR SD40-2 3339 on the west end.

On the evening of Thursday, 12/11/14, I went down to Dennison to check out the train before the very first run of the season. I got there just in time to see them moving the train to the Depot loading area.

1) Here is the train waiting in the siding next to the Depot, being prepared to move over to the loading area.
2) Now the train is just east of Dennison moving back toward the Depot after getting on the main from the siding. The late evening light provided nice glint on the side of the cars.
3) The train sitting at the Depot with awesome sunset backdrop. The passenger cars directly in front of me are part of the Dennison Depot's museum display. C&O 2-8-0 2700 is directly behind me.

Continued...

---

---

---

Here are three more from Thursday.

4) One more shot of the sunset, this time with C&O 2700 as the subject, and the passenger train(s) in the background.
5) A long exposure shot of the train at the Depot loading area a few minutes before departing.
6) I am going to attempt to upload a video here that I took of the train with my phone. I'm not sure if it's going to work, but I will try, once I finish getting the pictures posted. The video was taken at the Route 800 crossing just east of Dennison just after the train got onto the main from the siding.

Continued...

---

---

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

Very nice. I wanted to get out there this year but that didn't happen. Next year for sure.
Are the tracks there in front of the depot used at all, and if so, how often?

- Denny, Lakewood, OH

Now going ahead to today... I went down to Dennison to chase the 2pm run west. The train got a little bit delayed because a truck hit the side of the train at a Uhrichsville crossing on Thursday night, and a couple cars suffered minor damage (no one injured). Some repairs were still being done today but all the cars were still operable.

7) Here's the train in Uhrichsville, passing by a former PRR freight station, now a pizza shop.
8) Passing over the Tuscarawas River near Gnadenhutten.
9) Pulling into the North Pole in Newcomerstown.

Continued...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/14 19:33 by Poker2662.

---

---

---

Three more from today...

10) Rolling eastbound toward Dennison at Port Washington.
11) Eastbound at Lock 17. (near the former location of Lock 17 on the Ohio and Erie Canal)
12) And finally, a last shot of the train going back through Uhrichsville headed toward the nearby Dennison Depot to let the passengers off, get new passengers, and head back west.

Thanks for looking.

---

---

---

RAILWATCH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Very nice. I wanted to get out there this year but
> that didn't happen. Next year for sure.
> Are the tracks there in front of the depot used at
> all, and if so, how often?
>
> - Denny, Lakewood, OH


You still have a chance to catch them next Saturday and Sunday. The train departs Dennison at 2, 4 ,6 and 8pm each day. They also run on Thursday and Friday but only at 6 and 8pm.

The OHCR line through Dennison sees about 5 trains a day. A local from Miller Station to Coshocton and back, a coaltrain from Conesville to Cadiz and back (not daily), and usually two run-through NS coaltrains.

Surprised to hear the train got hit by a truck. When I chased the train a couple of years ago there were a slew of Sheriff deputies running ahead of the train blocking all crossings well before the train approached the crossings.

I was standing on a private road and one of them came up the long drive to check out what I was up to. He had no problem with me taking pics, just needed to check me out. He did make a comment about me being on a private road, so he wouldn't or couldn't do anything. Seemed odd.

Randy

The evening shots look great! Also thanks for posting all the info.

baltimore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Surprised to hear the train got hit by a truck.
> When I chased the train a couple of years ago
> there were a slew of Sheriff deputies running
> ahead of the train blocking all crossings well
> before the train approached the crossings.
>
> I was standing on a private road and one of them
> came up the long drive to check out what I was up
> to. He had no problem with me taking pics, just
> needed to check me out. He did make a comment
> about me being on a private road, so he wouldn't
> or couldn't do anything. Seemed odd.
>
> Randy


They were still out this year. I talked to a couple sheriffs and they friendly as always, and made the usual comments about staying a good distance from the track.

After finding a more in-depth story about the collision, I found it had occurred alongside someone's driveway in Uhrichsville, and the driver of a pickup truck had accidentally backed off of the driveway and into the side of the train. I believe the collision occurred close to where the lead engine is in the background of my last picture.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/14 21:47 by Poker2662.

Very nice coverage. Your sunset pictures are very interesting.
John

Nice posting and pics, but oh to see OC steam on that train. That is a most interesting collection of cars on that train. Thanks for the rollby video. Who owns all of them or are they all different owners?

Nice shots.

DaleR

Tominde Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice posting and pics, but oh to see OC steam on
> that train. That is a most interesting
> collection of cars on that train. Thanks for the
> rollby video. Who owns all of them or are they
> all different owners?

The first six cars in the video are owned privately by members of the Orville Railroad Heritage Society, and the last three cars are owned by members of the Cincinnati Railway Group. On Friday a bi-level ex-Chicago Metra car was added to the train, but I don't know where it came from.

Poker2662 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On Friday a bi-level ex-Chicago Metra car was
> added to the train, but I don't know where it came
> from.

Can't give you a definitive answer but will note that three former Chicago based bi-levels used to be at the NKP Museum in Bellevue. Also the Mid-America folks near St. Louis have some bi-levels. The Dennison folks have used Mid-America bi-levels in the past.

DaleR