The B&O Toledo Division

Yard Jobs and Slop Freights

First post in awhile again. Not made much progress because of other stuff going on, but I got a chance to hop on and take some screens today...
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Based out of Lima, OHs Robb Avenue yard are a series of yard jobs to work the Conrail and N&W interchanges, as well as the sprawling industrial complexes on the south side of Lima. Big industry on the southern side of Lima included the Sohio Oil Co, which produced refined crude and other petroleum products; The Ohio Steel Foundry Co.; and the Lima Ordinance Depot (which includes the Lima Tank Plant). Powered normally by old NW2s or GP7s, these jobs vary and length and funnel traffic from South Lima into the Robb Avenue yard to be forwarded north toward Deshler and Toledo, or south toward Dayton and Cincinnati. On this day in 1979, B&O NW2 #9531 was assigned the task of heading south to the Sohio Oil refinery to pick up 30 cars of petroleum coke, and drag them back to Robb Ave. At the time, the number of B&O NW2s was declining, but several still ran. Many of which were assigned to Lima at one time or another.

We missed his run south, but it was quite the experience to watch him roar back north with 30 cars loaded to the brim with petro. coke at NS Tower, where he found a slot to cross Conrail's busy ex-PRR Fort Wayne Line.


B&O cab on the rear:


One more time on the yard lead at Robb Avenue, passing under the cantilever which houses the track 2 automatic.

Foreign Power

Foreign power on the Toledo Division is a common sight. DT&I/GTW & NW trackage rights trains plus Southern Rwy run-throughs are the most common, but occasionally the line will see Southern Pacific or Cotton Belt power. The SP/SSW pool power comes into Cincinnati from B&O's Saint Louis Line bringing traffic from the St. Louis gateway. When a hot block of autoparts for the Toledo and Detroit area, or some high priority manifest for Lima or Willard comes into Cincy from these trains, the SP/SSW power will sometimes stick with the more time sensitive freight and wind up going north on the Toledo Division.

First photo is of a late running Dixie 99, the southbound manifest from Toledo to the Southern Rwy in Cincinnati, south of Columbus Grove. While the Southern GP38-2 fourth out is common, the Conrail GP38 on point was a surprise.


The next sequence is of a northbound Cincy-Toledo manifest with an SP SD45T-2 leading a standard Chessie GP40-2. Starting out at Erie Junction, the train rattles Conrail's Refinery Lead and passes BY Tower. This used to be the Erie Lackawanna's high speed New York-Chicago main, but with the start up of Conrail, the line has been gutted. The old second main can be seen behind the main lead, and the old EL semaphores still stand for now...


Again at NS Tower, the crossing of Conrail's Fort Wayne Line.


Rolling under the cantilever at North Lima.


Wide angle shot at CG Tower in Columbus Grove, as the train rattles the AC&Y diamonds.


Rolling around the curve and passing the North End of Ottawa siding.


After a couple trains on the N&W's ex-Nickel Plate main, SP 9192 throttles up as it passes under the cantilever at Leipsic Junction. The dwarf is showing Approach for a southbound on the siding.


Going past the wig-wags in the hamlet of Belmore.


Ducking under the large, 3 track signal bridge at South Deshler.


Approaching the diamonds with the Chicago Division, SP 9192 rolls past the many CPLs in Deshler. The track in the foreground is the southeast connection to the Chicago Div, which trains to Willard, OH and points east use frequently.


This will probably be the last report with no paint on the boards. Shortly after these screenies were taken, I grabbed a drink and dug into the paint tools. I applied a base coat of AJS green grass and added ballast along the right of way. Also did some terrain work around Lima and experimented with some grass splines. Pictures of that work will come tomorrow...

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C&O caboose on the diamonds at DR Tower. The variety of cabeese on the Toledo Div. also varies from day to day...


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Texture Progress

Started out by putting down a basic coat of green, then I added SimulatorTrain's ballast along the right of way. Did some scenery and terrain work as well around the Lima area, and experiment with some of the grass splines I downloaded as well... These screenies were taken before I cleaned up some of the overflow ballast along the ROW, so it looks a lot better now. Again, would really love your opinion with this, as I am inexperienced...

NS Tower, Lima OH.


Lima Engine Shops


Sohio refinery, BY Tower, and the old Lima Locomotive Works


The reservoirs north of Lima. Did a bit more terrain work here to make it more realistic, and also started playing around with some scenery. How in the world do you change the seasons on the SpeedTrees? I've found either all summer ones or all winter ones, and can't figure out how to make the leaves change. :'(


Again, would love opinions or suggestions with these!

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Use the 'Edit Environment' tab under the 'Main Menu' drop down, there should be a calender tab, scroll through all the months then set it to what date you want it to be and close the window, it might take a minute or two but they should eventually change if they are seasonal

Catch Up

Been really busy lately, but figured I'd post some of the more interesting screens I've taken recently. Baseboards are still un-edited in these, as I haven't had much time to work on the process...

EMD SD60 Demonstrators testing on a DT&I northbound at South Ottawa.


A rare C&O U25B pounds the diamonds at Deshler on the point of an empty coal train.


B&O GM50, the gold-painted GP40-2 celebrating the 50th anniversary of General Motors, is sole unit on a southbound outside of Columbus Grove.


More of the EMD Demos, this time on the DT&I Ottawa Loop on the east side of Ottawa.


DT&I caboose on the rear:


Solo SCL C30-7 on a southbound manifest at South Deshler


DT&I southbound crossing Cranberry Creek.


Back on the DT&I main, passing the Approach signal near DT&I Junction.


N&W northbound at NS Tower in Lima, OH. N&W trains have trackage rights over the B&O between NS Tower and BY Tower at Erie Junction.