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October 1995

 

Ivorydale Tower Closes

CSXT's Ivorydale (NA) Tower in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been retired.

 

CSXT Transfers RF&P Sub to Baltimore Division

CSXT's RF&P Subdivision, formerly part of the Florence Division, has been transferred to the Baltimore Division.

 

CSXT Transfers Yemassee Sub to Florence Division

CSXT's Yemassee Subdivision from Central Junction, Georgia, to Meads, South Carolina (including Charleston Terminal), formerly part of the Jacksonville Division, has been transferred to the Florence Division.

 

CSXT Identifies Baltimore and Louisville for Service Lane Status

CSXT has identified two more service lanes to be implemented early next year. They include Baltimore and Louisville. A service lane, similar to a division, is a key corridor comprehending specific service design responsibilities.

 

CSX Intermodal Plans Headquarters Move

CSX Intermodal plans to move its headquarters from Hunt Valley, Maryland, to Jacksonville, Florida, next year as part of a restructuring.

 

Norfolk Southern Orders 240 GE Locomotives

Norfolk Southern has placed an order for 240 class C40-9W dual-control locomotives from GE, half to be delivered each in 1996 and 1997.

 

Ashley Drew & Northern Files for Abandonment

The Ashley Drew & Northern Railway has filed for abandonment of its 40-mile railroad from Crossett to Monticello, Arkansas. Five miles of the line, from Crossett to Whitlow Junction, would be purchased by the Fordyce & Princeton, a sister railroad having trackage rights over that portion of the ADN. Both lines are owned by the Georgia Pacific Corporation.

 

The Maryland Midland Stockholders' Meeting

[By Allen Brougham] . . . When I first attended an annual meeting of Maryland Midland shareholders, I found that my 60 shares represented all of 1/17 of one percent of shares issued and outstanding. That was in 1989. Now, in 1995, due to an increase in the number of shares outstanding, I find that my 60 shares represent only 1/27 of one percent. That's not a very large holding, to be sure, but it did entitle me to attend the company's September 15 meeting, and to ask questions. Later it was my honor to be seated at the same table as the Midland's president for lunch. Presumably most of those in attendance held for than 60 shares, as I only counted about 40 people present. But what a meeting it was! It's not that there was much to talk about -- there were no important votes or controversial issues -- but the location and accompanying amenities are a story in themselves. The meeting was held on the grounds of the Antrim House (1844) in Taneytown, a very exclusive facility with spacious gardens, water fountains, stately buildings, and large trees. And there, in a pavilion next to a croquet court, the meeting was held. It was a beautiful late-summer day. Following the meeting, and time to stroll the grounds, a gourmet luncheon was held in the Antrim's dining room. The food and service were, without question, superb! Also, following a tradition, each shareholder was given a gift from Maryland Midland. This year the gift was a commemorative dinner plate with a color illustration of locomotive 200. My 60 shares of stock will never make me rich! But the ambiance of the company's annual meeting more than makes up for that.

 

Brook Buxton - An HX Operator in the Beginning

[By Allen Brougham] . . . Note: October 1, 1995, marked the tenth anniversary of the closing of HX Tower at Halethorpe, Maryland. This tower had been my railroad home over the final decade of its life. Here is a story about one of the tower's very first operators . . .

On the inside of the door of a wooden file cabinet on the back wall of HX Tower, someone had dutifully penciled the words: "July 22, 1917, tower opened." We may never know the author to this note, but the likelihood is that Brook Leonard Buxton was the one who valued history enough to mark the tower's opening in this manner. You see, Mr. Buxton was not only an operator from the tower's very beginning, he was also a railfan. In fact, he was the patriarch of a family of railfans. His career spanned half a century. He was on hand during one of the tower's finest moments -- its role in the 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse, which was staged directly across the tracks. Patrons en route to the fair by train disembarked on a platform in front of the tower, and a number of photographs of this activity were taken from the tower's door and side window. When an operator appears in one of those photographs, it's most often Mr. Buxton. There is a story about Mr. Buxton's tenure which must be characterized as unique. A short distance west of the tower was the switch to Calvert Distillery. It was within the switching limits of the tower. But Mr. Buxton was a strict Methodist, and he was very much at odds with performing any sort of duties connected with the liquor industry. This philosophy came head-to-head when Prohibition ended in 1933, and he took his case before B&O management. They agreed, according to the story as told by his family, to refrain from any switching into or out of the distillery until after he was off duty. Mr. Buxton later had the somewhat unique distinction of retiring TWICE from the railroad. He "retired" for the first time in 1941, at age 62, but then came the war. The railroad needed men, and Mr. Buxton, the dedicated and patriotic railroader he was, came back to work. He retired the second time in 1946. He died in 1956.

 

HX Remembrance Day

[A look back upon an event that took place five years ago] . . . The date was September 29, 1990. Just two days short of five years had passed since the closing of HX Tower. But on this day, the tower sprang back to life. Approximately 90 people -- employees, retired employees, former operators, and friends -- converged upon the place for the tower's Remembrance Day. The event began at 12 noon and lasted until just after midnight. During that time the guests enjoyed their blend of fellowship, ate refreshments, shared video and slide presentations, and watched trains go by. A special treat for the occasion was Budd car MARC-1, as an added feature toward the comfort of the guests. MARC-1, which had tables inside, was originally a dining coach for the B&O's Daylight Speedliner service. All in attendance agreed that Remembrance Day will be a day long to be remembered.

Of Keystone Heritage

[By Rich Ballash] . . . Well, folks, the old "BROADWAY" is gone! Hard to fathom, isn't it? Your author has just returned from another ghostly quest for Pennsy visages on the high iron of the Fort Wayne mainline. Gasping upon sight of the "stumps" which two months ago were the concrete bases of the westward distant signals for "CP Alliance" (old "CP") was bad enough, but the abandoned Amtrak station at Canton took it over the top. Yes, we knew that cab signals were replacing the old wayside intermediate signals out there, and yes, I'm still chugging Maalox over the 1990 downgrade of the Chicago main west of Crestline. But the dusty, vacant, but still fluorescent-lit interior of the attractive little Amtrak depot in Canton was quite a sight at dusk in these last few days of the Broadway Limited. Over the past five years, knowing that 40 and 41 were still running on a parallel course to the north was at least a bit comforting. Now, there will be another string of abandoned, short-lived Amtrak stations on the ex-B&O across Ohio and Indiana. Five years of "artificial life" for the ex-PRR flagship is over. Another gaping hole is being torn through the middle of the fabric of Pennsy history. I'm sure the loss of this train has a special significance to each of you. I will remember the "Broadway" as one of our two survivors of the 1971 American passenger train "holocaust," the northern-leg retainer of service on Lines West. Trains 30-31, 40-41 were all that remained of "the fleet." I failed to capture western memories of the Southwestern main, but my late '80's vacations utilizing 40-41 have preserved for me priceless images of 500 beautiful, high-speed miles in the finest tradition that our "Standard Railroad of the World" had to offer. Hearing those F40's screaming through Latrobe in the evening will be sorely missed. Any replacement will simply be another "Pennsylvanian" as far as I am concerned. Chicago is now to me as disconnected from Latrobe as is St. Louis. The night will be long. There will be a new emptiness on the old 4-track mainline out here this fall. The old "Broad Way," and yours truly, will mourn the loss of its namesake rail travel leader of KEYSTONE HERITAGE.