Eastern Railroad Discussion > Passenger Trains Return to Blue Ash Ohio after 29 years

The last time Indiana & Ohio's Blue Ash Subdivision saw a passenger train was in 1988. That all changed today as the Lebanon, Mason & Monroe Railroad operated an excursion across the entire line. The route was built by the Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern and ran from Cincinnati Ohio To Dayton but only two small sections remain in service today. The southern portion from Lebanon Ohio to Mason (Lebanon & Mason Subdivisions) sees traffic a few times per week by the LM&M and Indiana and Ohio. The I&O also serves customers on the south end (Blue Ash Subdivision) a few days a week.

Though the weather was overcast all day and a bit wet in the afternoon, that didn't stop patrons from riding and watching this historic trip. Hopefully it won't be another 29 years before the line sees another passenger train.

-Brian

1) Climbing the grade northbound through Silverton
2) Approaching the Emerald Ave Crossing in Blue Ash
3) Blue Ash Firefighters at Station 13 were kind enough to leave their engine outside the firehouse as the train rolled north across Kenwood Road

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4) CRC 901 in Nickel Plate colors pulls the train back south across Kenwood Road
5) Making a photo run-by in Blue Ash
6) A splash of color brightens the afternoon as 901 pulls south during a light rain



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/17 16:48 by K8CNW.

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7) 901 pulls the train south just north of the Cross County Hwy overpass
8) 902 tags along the back of the train as it passes milepost 46 in Deer Park
9) The train crew poses for a photo during a lunch stop. Thanks again to the LM&M for making this trip possible!

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Awesome series. Nice touch to get a picture of the crew.
John

Nice! My old stomping grounds. I miss Cincinnati. Surprised I never heard about this in advance.

Posted from Android

Very nice set, great variety.

Bob

Great share Allen! This would have been the last day of trips until yesterday. The gondola is still in use on the LM&M but it doesn't leave the Lebanon or Mason Subdivisions.

Thanks!
-Brian

krm152 Wrote:
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> The 1988 Blue Ash trains I think you are referring
> to are excursions operated by the Cincinnati
> Chapter NRHS on Saturday, April 23, 1988.
> DocJohn, local fan Jim Edmonston, and I rode the
> first train and chased the next.
> Attached is a photo of the fans having a great
> time in the open gondola on the rear of the train
> southbound.
> ALLEN

Nice pics!!

28 years Brian :-) May 27, 1989. This is on the "Railfan Special" which went back on all of the industrial track spurs along with the "mainline."

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Thanks for the clarification Erik! 52 sure looked great in fresh paint and white flags!

-Brian

K8DTI Wrote:
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> 28 years Brian :-) May 27, 1989. This is on the
> "Railfan Special" which went back on all of the
> industrial track spurs along with the "mainline."

That's I&O owner Tom McOwen with his back to the camera on the engine. Not sure who the kid is.

Attached are pictures from on-board:

1- GP-30 working hard upgrade on the outbound trip climbing towards Silverton
2- the return trip winding through the industrial trackage north of Blue Ash
3- more scenes from north of Blue Ash

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The excursion train doing its best to impersonate a Blue Ash commuter train. The line is actually owned by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (Metro) and parts of the right-of-way are used for park and ride and bus stops. In Silverton the Metro Access facility and park and ride is located on the right-of-way as well.

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Very  nice.

Don Lee and I did a vendor special in 1996 I think, but it was not open to the public, Went as far as the General Foods Spur, which has since been removed