Hello everyone! On the first day of spring (March 21st, 2023), I headed up to Marion, Ohio, with my friend and fellow KZitemr Cincy Railfan Productions for what would turn out to be a rather good day of railfanning. This day of railfanning was our busiest day of railfanning since our trip in October 2020, with a grand total of 22 trains on the day. Despite missing the first two trains of the day early that morning, the action for the remainder of the day more than made up for it. Both railroads, particularly Norfolk Southern, seemed to send round-the-clock action from 8:30 a.m. all the way to 4:30 p.m., with a 30 minute lull in the early afternoon.
CSX kicked off the action of the day with an early M364 manifest to Selkrik, New York. M364 is perhaps my favorite CSX train in Marion as it is not only one of the longest trains that passes through Marion, but also features a wide variety of boxcars and old rolling stock. Norfolk Southern followed up with a pair of unit trains, one coal and one grain, to which CSX followed up with westbound autorack M217 to Louisville. After the first Norfolk Southern manifest train of the day, we Cincy Railfan Productions and I got our first good catch of the day; a Union Pacific AC6000CW. This was on train I131, the daily manifest/intermodal combo train between Walbridge, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana. This train and its counterpart I132 are now another two manifest/intermodal combinations that run through Marion in addition to M331 and M332. After the catch of the AC6000CW, we saw the first train of the day on the Columbus Subdivision, the CSX local up from Columbus.
After the local train passed through, Norfolk Southern sent a cavalcade of southbound trains including manifest trains 14Q and 118, intermodal trains 28N and 276, and a loaded coal train with a SD70ACe leader. The ACe leader was awesome, but the best part of this cavalcade was a rare Boston and Maine covered hopper on 14Q. Though a few Boston and Maine cars remain in service, they are very few and far between, almost as rare as Denver and Rio Grande Western and Milwaukee Road cars. CSX countered the five NS trains with the daily intermodal I008 to New Jersey, the daily southbound manifest from Willard to Columbus, and the second daily westbound autorack, M205.
The afternoon was a little slower than the mid-morning, but one filled with fallen flag rolling stock. Norfolk Southern sent the third coal train of the day (a new record for Cincy Railfan Productions and I), and CSX sent eastbound autorack M204. Both trains featured pretty good fallen flag rolling stock; the coal train featured old Conrail coal cars and M204 had an uncommon Southern Pacific car. Shortly after, manifest M363 came through with a rare Conrail 86-foot boxcar, a site that is sadly fewer these days. CSX then sent a northbound grain train with four Rock Island covered hoppers and a Milwaukee Road car. Oddly enough, this was the same Milwaukee Road car I saw back in July 2022 at the 2022 Marion Conrail Days. Awesome stuff to say the least. After M204 finished switching in the Marion yard, Norfolk Southern sent the local train with a pretty cool SD40E running long-hood forward, and shortly after the final NS train of the day passed through with intermodal 271 from Detroit to Norfolk, Virginia. Right after 271 came through the final CSX train of the day, I132, came through on its way north to Walbridge.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the day, aside from the plethora of fallen flag rolling stock, was the fact that Norfolk Southern was performing maintenance for the majority of the day. Between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Norfolk Southern was performing rail and welding maintenance on the east Marion diamond, yet this maintenance did not stop traffic on the NS Sandusky District. That said, some of the trains went much slower than normal, but the Sandusky District still featured a grand total of eleven trains on the day. CSX featured the same number of trains on both of its lines, though I must admit I was hoping for a little more action on the Columbus Subdivision. Nevertheless, the traffic on the Indianapolis Line Subdivision was highly satisfactory. All-in-all, it was another rather good day of railfanning at Marion Union Station. I look forward to my next trip to Marion with Cincy Railfan Productions in July at the annual Marion Conrail Days.
Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoy the video!
-N&W475.
Негізгі бет March 2023 Railfanning in Marion, Ohio; Early Spring Railfanning at Marion Union Station.
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