Xenia

Not sure of the exact date the B&O last operated in Xenia. I moved out of Dayton in 1983 and I remember the B&O track being pulled up from Beavercreek (just west of Xenia) into Dayton shortly before I left the area, probably 1980-82 period. At the time, I saw a B&O work train just east of Woodman Drive (S.E. Dayton) litterly pulling up the rails and ties and putting it on flat cars in sections while moving westbound into S.E. Dayton.

My records indicate the last CSXT through freights #94 and #97 made their final runs through Xenia on the (ex-B&O) Wellston Subdivision on February 2nd, 1981. Local service as needed ran thereafter between Dayton (Needmore Yard) and Jamestown. The final "Jamestown Local" ran late in the afternoon of December 20th, 1982, picking up the long string of rusting boxcars from Monroe Siding (east of Xenia) on the way west back to Dayton. Rails were pulled in February and March 1983, one rail train working east from Xenia, one working west.

Up in Yellow Springs, the last CR customer was the Morris Bean plant, a few miles south of Yellow Springs at Hyde Road. While I do not have an exact date of the "last" revenue movement, my notes show the abandonment of the Yellow Springs to Springfield portion of the former PRR Springfield Branch was effective October 1st of 1981. Not sure of the date these rails were pulled.

Thanks for the info guys. Was that B&O block-signaled? If so, when were the signals removed? When was Greene Tower closed?

I don't recall any block signals on the B&O between Dayton and Xenia, but the Pennsylvania, which ran somewhat parallel to it, did have signals. Off course, that line has been removed as well, leaving the once active Xenia, totally railroadLESS.

I believe the B&O Dayton and Wellston was dark territory.There was a semafore just south of Airway Rd.in East Dayton,that was probably controlled by Tates Point Tower at the crossing at grade of the NYC and EL.Other features I remeber were South of Burkhart or Kemp Rd.there was a switch for a DP&L natural gas tank farm,that was made redundant by a pipeline that is on the ROW.There was a de-rail in place,but as added protection,they placed a deralict old track speeder side-ways across the siding.The switch and speeder were removed after a de-railled car being drug along caused a big wreck at the switch about 1965.The siding is still in place today.There was a long trestle across the Mad River,that was wooden at the south end across a small flood plain,then joined a plate girder top deck span across the river.North of Linden Ave.the B&O went under the PRR,The bridge was made of quarryied limestone block,track was atop two I beams,and an arched tunnel with a key stone dated 1912 for Lilly Creek to pass through the fill.The Bridge is gone But you can see the abbuttments on the Ohio PUCO crossing inventory site.Is anything left of the Mad River Trestle ?

The B&O Wellston Sub between Chillicothe and Dayton was dark territory, operated with train orders.

Tracks are still in place from Fayne, OH ( about 4-5 miles west of Washington Court House) to the industrial park about three miles east of downtown WCH). Fayne is the connection to the old DT&I line north to Springfield, currently operated by the Indiana & Ohio. The tracks end about 3/4 of mile east of the route 753 overpass on the east side of town. In fact, about 400 yards of track were re-laid east of the original "end of line" when Lowe's distribution center was build a few years ago. The rail came from unused Wellston sub track left in place in the short distance from Fayne west to the former US 35 crossing between WCH and Jamestown.

A "tilt blade" signal still guards the crossing of the Wellston Sub trackage and the CSX Midland Subdivision in WCH. There was also a pair of "semi-classic" B&O position-light signals (two indications only) guarding the three way crossing of the PRR Zanesville Branch and the DT&I at Court Street - thye came out when the DT&I was torn up through WCH ( the PRR shut down on Conrail Day 1976. There were also distant signals for this crossing about a mile either side of the crossing ( I believe these were permanently set to "approach".) The signal for the eastern approach was just west of the fertilizer plant, and the signal for the western approach was behind the WCH city resevoir.

Im not certain what the arrangement was Musselman (near Frankfort), where the Wellston division joined the Ohio Division Cincy-Chillicothe main.

Approximate abandonment dates for the rail lines through Xenia:

B&O: The line was officially abandoned in 1981 or 82. In 1984, when I first went to see "Blue Jacket", an outdoor drama located not far from the tracks, the grade crossing was freshly asphalted over and crossties were neatly stacked. Some months earlier, the company ripping up this line was selling, in Dayton, these very same ties for landscaping.

Pennsy Panhandle: I first noticed the tracks alongside US-35 in Beavercreek missing rails, with some bridges removed, in early 1990. But exactly two rails were removed near the Woodman Dr. overpass in 1987. Even so, I thought I'd heard the last locomotive was taken out of Xenia in 1989. Not sure what year the line east of town was taken out, but I remember seeing the signals still lit in 87 or 88. I thought I heard they remained lit until the very end.

Pennsy Little Miami line: The street-running segment of the line on US-68 was discontinued in either 1962 or 64. Between there and the last customer south of Yellow springs, the line was probably ripped up in the 1960s. Between Yellow Springs and Springfield, the track was ripped up in 1983. This line had a street-running segment in Springfield (as did the still-operating NYC mainline, which was routed off the street by 1990) which is now blocked by some large performing-arts type building.

South of Xenia, the Little Miami line was severed somewhere to the south and gradually whittled back to town throughout the 1980s. Though I don't known the exact dates, it was ripped up near King's Island in 1983 and gone north of Waynesville in 1985.

Reading an issue of THE SHORT LINE, I heard that Conrail completed track removal as far as South Charleston, OH in January, 1989. I guess that would put the last locomotive in Xenia around that time, obviously being used on the rail removal train. There was hope that the South Charleston-London segment would be saved, but that came up in 1993. The Little Miami line is a bike path in Xenia, and the path ends in downtown, right where the street-running began. What type of through traffic did Conrail run through Xenia up until 1984?

I saw some neat pictures of what is left of the B&O Wellston Subdivision on Railfan.net. That have got me curious. Is there a stub of the old line at Needmore Yard? Was the line under Superintendent E.C. Moorman of The Toledo-Indianapolis Division? There was a switch at the north end of Smithville Rd. that I thought connected to Dayton Union Track, and trackage rights on the Pennsylvaina, to get to the Greenville branch. Some pictures I have seen on The Ohio PUCO Crossing Inventory site lead me to believe it was abandoned in place.

I never explored Xenia that much when I was living in Ohio in the 60s--we were always just passing through. It's fascinating to read about it from all of your posts. I do intend to go over to the historical society next time I'm in Ohio--been meaning to do that for several years.

I remember that the underpass where the Pennsylvania crossed over US 68 and state 380 was a very low-clearance affair. I once watched a trucker waving traffic around his big rig, as it was either stuck under there, or he was getting ready to back up because he couldn't clear it.

Off to the right of that underpass was a small yard, and for some reason we went through that neighborhood one evening, trying to get back to 68.
I was impressed that one street ran on a truss bridge that spanned the entire yard. Even then, the bridge looked decrepit, although I think that it was still open. (This was around 1967).

When I went back in 2002, there was nothing but a large open area where the yard had been, and the abutments on the side of the hill are the only indication of the street bridge. Maybe this area has too many toxic waste products for development, because the trail there only takes up a small portion of the old ROW.

Growing up, I mistakedly thought that the Little Miami was the main line from Cincinnati to Columbus, and that the line to Dayton was "the branch."
It was a shock to hear that they were tearing up the Little Miami--when I left in 1972, it was still operating, I believe. I thought it would always be a major route. It sounds like the segment through Spring Valley to Roxanna survived the longest.

Thanks again for all the info!

My previous post refers to the yard as being "off to the right,' and by that I mean: coming into town from the south on US 68 or SR 380.

Here is a link to a recording, and photos of the F5 tornado of April 1974 that derailed the PC train as it headed through Xenia. The sound of the train can be heard over the roar of the storm. Use head phones if you have them.http://www.kitty.net.tripod.com/fade.html

Ok here is what I,have found in answer to my previous posts.On the Miami Valley Conservence District Site,lists a CSX bridge on the Mad River,and lists its freeboard height,(so the abbuttment must still be part of the levee).On the Mad River Bike Path Site there is a picture near Eastwood Park,with what is left of the bridge in the background.Only the peirs remain,the span is gone.On the ODOT crossing inventory site,there are several pictures of grade crossings in Dayton still listed as belonging to CSX,and part of the Wellston Subdivision.There was intrest on the Trail site of making the vacant part of the Wellston Sub north of the Mad River a trail.But I would guess without the bridge,there is no convienent way to link it with the Mad River Trail,and the Creekside Trail,(Wellston Sub between Eastwood Park and Linden Ave.Clement Yard).A poster on the B&O Southwestern Yahoo Site,says the Wellston Subdivision was part of the Toledo Division even thought it used Ohio Division and C&O tracks in route to Wellston.

Does the Greene County Historical Society still sell that book titled, "Next Stop:Xenia!"?

A bit of triva I read on some webb site,I cannot remeber where.That the Little Miami Railroad was still charterd and kept an office open in Cincinnati,with one employee.Right up till the day the deed was turned over to The State of Ohio for public use. Though it was controlled by Conrail and its predecessors through some convolluted lease deal.I have heard that one of the reasons that the C&O retainned the charters for the B&O and WM,after the merger,was tax breaks from the State of Maryiland.Is this true,and what were the reasons?