Uploaded September 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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10 trains [9 CSX and 1 Wheeling & Lake Erie] got us off to a good start on our railfanning trip in June 2002. Our goal was to spend 2 days railfanning Northern Ohio spots from Greenwich to Deshler. We found Greenwich to be so busy that we spent all of Day 1 [June 8, 2002] there.

Since the breakup on Conrail in 1999, Greenwich has been the Ohio "crossroads" of CSX. The busiest line by far is the old B&O Chicago Division. Crossing this is the former "Big Four" (CCC&StL) Cleveland to Indianapolis to St. Louis line. This line became part of the New York Central System, followed by Penn Central and Conrail, before becoming a CSX property in 1999. North of the diamond, the line continues north to Berea, where CSX trains can access their portion of the former Conrail lines across New York to the coast.

Trains from the Wheeling & Lake Erie also visit here, as their former Akron, Canton & Youngstown trackage joins the B&O line just to the west and exits the Big Four line a few miles to the northeast of the crossing.

The lineup on this video includes:
00:40 Scene 1: It's not yet 7 am as an eastbound CSX auto service train speeds by, led by a pair of CSX SD60's (or maybe SD50's - they go by too quickly to catch the numbers)

03:28 Scene 2: Immediately after the first train clears, a westbound CSX intermodal appears on the Big 4, led by a pair of ex-Conrail units (C40-8W and an SD60).

05:55 Scene 3: On the heels of the intermodal, a westbound manifest freight appears on the B&O with an all-EMD lashup of ex-GP30 Road Slug/GP40-2/SD40/SD40.

07:56 Scene 4: Now, the railroad is fully awake! Scanner traffic, headlights, and signals indicate that trains are coming from every direction - but which will hit the diamond next?

It's Q114, a Chicago to Boston hotshot intermodal train led by a pair of CSX AC6000CW's.

12:13 Scene 5: Next is Q136, a Chicago to Philadelphia hotshot intermodal, led by a pair of CSX C40's.

14:56 Scene 6: After misinterpreting scanner traffic and setting up for a train from a different direction, we were surprised by manifest train S374 (I had never heard an 'S' designation on CSX before. Apparently, it is a "Second" section of a regular Q train) led by a pair a C40-8w's and an ex-Conrail GP38-2.

17:22 Scene 7: We missed again, as a westbound manifest freight appeared on the Big 4 led by a leased ex-Canadian Pacific SD40-2, an ex-Susquehanna B40-8, an ex-Conrail GP40-2, and a CSX GP38-2.

19:39 Scene 8: Q390, a train we had been expecting for some time, arrived on the scene led by a Union Pacific SD70M, a UP C40, and a CSX C40-8W.

22:14 Scene 9: A westbound autorack train with an all-EMD lineup of CSX SD40-2 and ex-Conrail SD50 (or early 60?) arrived on the scene.

26:07 Scene 10: We finish up the early-morning segment with a W&LE train. Scanner traffic indicated it's number as #236, but this would be an unconventional number for a westbound train. In any case, a pair of SD40's are on the point (SD40-2 #6381, ex-EMDX, ex-Milwaukee Road, and SD40 #4003 lettered "Bo Bo" on the nose, an ex-Missouri Pacific)

Enjoy!

**Originally captured on VHS and 8mm video tape**