Life on the farm

[buckeyefarmer]

Is good you are capturing all that history. So much is lost even within one generation.

Good for you, and all of us, really.

I have a book to help me, but it is out of print. It is a recap of newspaper articles about the RR. This last post was me researching other sites. The old sanborn fire maps contain so much history.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Most of the engines were 2-6-0 Mogul engines.
They wrecked a good bit. 9669 wrecked 4/30/1924 in Noble County near the Merritt whistle stop. This engine would later pull the last train in 1931.

The RR had a engine repair and machine shop just outside of Zanesville at mill run, where they would rebuild them. Here is 9663 on the turntable.

9669 was repaired and was the engine pulling the train on the last run that my mom rode. below picture taken of the final train.

Woodsfield station.

Below picture taken at woodsfield station for the last train. At this time, mom lived in a little house above the station in the background of this picture, which is probably why she convinced her parents to be able to ride the last train. She was 6 yrs old when she rode the last train. She said her parents went down to coats station with a horse and buggy to pick her up. Many of the houses are still there. The building behind the power pole was the Landmark feed mill store when I was growing up. At one time it was a buggy shop.

Mom and a friend in front of her house above the RR station, on S. Main street. The house is still there, but looks different now without the porches on it.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Woodsfield station and train yard.

Growing up, this was, and still is city park. I played baseball here as a kid, never knowing until I was an adult that this used to be the train yard. There is now a sign indicating this was the train station.

One of my HS friends grew up in the house in this picture.

The engine shed, later this area was the baseball field I played on in little league.

Just to the right of the engine shed, heading towards the station on the right around the curve.

train leaving the station west bound, heading to the cut thru town. 2nd picture is a crop of this picture.

The cut thru town. the track west of woodsfield was abandoned in 1928, 3 years before the entire RR shut down. Dad remembers trains going thru the cut, under the streets that had bridges over the tracks. The cut was blasted in 1882. On 12/9/1882 a Blast in the woodsfield cut damaged 2 houses with rocks.

Another view of the station.

city park where the railroad yard was. We had no idea what was here before.

Below, the Other direction of the park. The station was where the 2 buildings sit. Way up in the background is my Highschool, that closed down in 1996. We would sometimes come to the park for PE. All that history we were playing on, and it was never taught or mentioned in any class.

This is the historical marker put up in 2003.

 

[ultrarunner]

Nice early 30's picture with the Model A Ford's... must have been summer as on the right is a roadster with the top down?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Nice early 30's picture with the Model A Ford's... must have been summer as on the right is a roadster with the top down?

May 30, 1931

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I found these last week at my homeplace. Kinfolk I assume but my 97yo Mother had no idea who they are. Printed on thin metal, so tin-type (?). My guess would be Civil War era.

 

[civilian]

Just wonder what kind of equipment they used to get the 9669 engine back on the tracks. Horses? Jon

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Just wonder what kind of equipment they used to get the 9669 engine back on the tracks. Horses? Jon

they used block and tackle usually. The OR&W did not have a crane breakdown train. There were frequent issues because of the hillsides and creeks flooding, etc.

 

[civilian]

It would still take a lot of power/stuff to right them. Any pictures? Jon

 

[buckeyefarmer]

June 1894, This one resulted in some deaths. They had been replacing some timbers on the trestle and some apparently didn't get fastened.