#colorpositionlights

Slow Clear

Continuing a series on the color position lights of the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Deshler, Ohio.

After being held quite a while (see previous post), the signal eventually changes from yellow to flashing green, which I understand to mean "slow clear" looking at CSX signal rules. This makes sense as the train will now take the connecting track over to the east/west double track main where the next signal sits (not CPL however).

Brownstown Memory

Here are some shots from today—juxtaposed with a couple from the late 1970s (as teased in the previous post).

We're along an old railroad: built (in broad gauge no less) as the Ohio & Mississippi prior to the Civil War. It became the Baltimore & Ohio later, and was still so, though becoming the Chessie System, when I photographed it as an adolescent. This siding is called Brownstown, though it's removed a bit from the burg itself.

I was looking west for the first two images (that is the same curve in both shots, though difficult to tell). I turned for the going-away shot and have a pretty good comparison capture made today.

Dead Soldiers, Part Two

Continuing a short, sad series of posts documenting the demise of color position signals along the Baltimore & Ohio line between Cincinnati and St. Louis. These images were made two days apart.

Currently the line is operated by CSX, but was built as the Ohio and Mississippi—the location is Ewing, near Brownstown, Indiana.

Dead Soldiers, Part Three

Continuing a short, sad series of posts documenting the demise of color position signals along the Baltimore & Ohio line between Cincinnati and St. Louis. These images were made two days apart.

Currently the line is operated by CSX, but was built as the Ohio and Mississippi—the location is Brownstown, Indiana.

Color Position Lights

This is the second time, in the last few years, that I've ventured down to see the Ohio & Mississippi in southern Indiana. I photographed a fair amount of action on this line (as the Baltimore & Ohio) when I was a teenager back in the late 1970s. I'll try to illustrate that soon here.

I scouted a couple of spots today, but seemed to have missed the one train per day that rides these rails. We're between Seymour and Brownstown, Indiana, and I believe this particular spot is called Shields, not far from mile post 94 (measured from Cincinnati).

Waiting for a Signal

Continuing a series on the color position lights of the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Deshler, Ohio.

The second train I photographed on the Toledo Subdivision held south of the connector track with this indication before it. While the train and I waited, the blue hour came and went.

I didn't get why the engineer could not proceed here, as I understand this signal to indicate that one may "proceed prepared to stop at the next signal". Perhaps it's simply due to the fact that he would block many road crossings in the center of town.

Deshler, Ohio

Beginning a series of posts from Deshler, Ohio. It's attracted rail enthusiasts in the last few years due to some interesting signals that still operate there. I'll try to do some writing on the development of these signals—color position lights—as well as the railroads in this town over time.

Above we see an overview of the tower and crossing there along with a westbound CSX train on the former Baltimore & Ohio line to Chicago (still a busy line). Another former B&O line crosses roughly north/south here (which is the line still hosting the charismatic signals), but I'll get into that later.

I love the tower here which seems to be rented out to the U. S. Post Office. Until recently a nice brick station stood on the other side of the single track here, but was razed, much to my displeasure, fairly recently as it still shows up on Google's Street View.

A Little More from Deshler

On my second day in Deshler, I poked around south of town a bit before I took off. Saw this signal bridge, a freestanding color position light, but also two little dwarf CPLs. We're looking north along the Toledo Subdivision here.

Then I noticed this little memorial along the tracks...

Here's the text carved into marble...

PRECIOUS CHILD If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven, and bring you home again.