Welcome to the Trainscapes segment! Each week here on Geek Alabama, Trainscapes will feature train content including videos of trains and behind the scenes action of trains and locomotives. Some people have an interest in seeing trains, and we here at Geek Alabama aim to please the train lovers!
Located in Wooster Ohio, a branch of the R.J. Corman Railway has a level crossing with U.S. Highway 30. This crossing stands out among other at-grade crossings, since it goes right through the middle of a busy freeway. In most modern cases, rail lines pass either above or below highways using bridges or underpasses. As a result, finding an active rail line crossing a main highway at grade is both uncommon, and very captivating to see in action. We also take a look at what an “Exempt” sign on railroad crossings mean.
This line is part of the former Baltimore & Ohio Millersburg Branch, which originally operated between Lodi and Millersburg. While most of the line has since been abandoned and torn up, there are still a few active customers in Wooster that warrant the need for a couple miles of trackage to remain in service. These customers include PSC Metals, a scrap metal recycling company, and Frito-Lay, the famous snack food producer. RJ Corman gets to Wooster by running north out of Dover on the former CL&W trackage, and then utilizes about 20 miles of trackage rights on the Norfolk Southern’s former Pennsylvania Railroad mainline between Massillon and Wooster.
Once the RJ Corman train had tied down, we catch Norfolk Southern train 171 beginning to move through downtown Wooster on the nearby former PRR Fort Wayne Line at an old position light signal.
