Pacing N&W Train On The Cincinnati District (Peavine)

Along Ohio State Route 73, we have pacing footage of N&W train DR78 between Rarden and Henley, Ohio on November 5, 1988. This is the former Norfolk & Western Cincinnati District, commonly known as the "Peavine". While the footage is not professional grade by any standard, it is a look back in time. This section of the railroad has been out of service since 2003. Also, the audio is spectacular. The Doppler Effect of the horn and engines going through the towns of Rarden and especially Otway make this video complete. The video ends at the grade crossing in Henley. Note the cast iron "LOOK OUT FOR THE LOCOMOTIVE" sign on the crossing flashers. Video shot by J. E. Landrum and driving by Tony Collman.

[@rogerroger5585]

I live about 10 minutes from Rarden. What I wouldn't give to hear train whistles from my backyard again.

[@DJshekky]

sixties-seventies-eighties era N&W power = best sounding horns ever...

[@balloongoat8207]

Agreed

[@nssteampunk4865]

Gotta love the Norfolk & Western Railway Leslie RS5TRF horn.

[@EduardoSalazar-jn1pn]

Some of these NS/NW SD40-2 units crossed the border on the ATSF/BNSF and SP/UP interchanges to FNM/FXE and were visitors here in Ciudad Juárez. The last NS SD40-2 that were seen here in Ciudad Juarez were here around 2018 and were equiped with new Admiral cabs. Greetings from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

[@artieromero5107]

Train buffs will be interested to note that in 1973-74 the train derailed at a sharp turn along this same stretch (just before the log cabin is seen, near the middle of the video, time stamp <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="440">7:20</a>), with freight cars ending up in the far side river and also completely crossing the road on the side where the pace car is traveling. The locomotive remained on the track, but the derailed cars just behind it caused the entire line of following cars to "accordion", with dozens and dozens of cars derailing, going back for about 1/2 mile. The highway guide rail in place at the time, in the same location as seen in the sequence leading up to this moment in the video remained intact, but separated from the posts, resulting in the guide rail being "stretched" completely across the highway. Yo would not want to be in the pace car when that happened! The road was closed for a month or so and there was a fatality during the clean-up when a worker operating a flat car-mounted crane caused it to accidentally tip onto its side when attempting to drag a wrecked freight car closer to the track to then lift it onto an empty flat car for salvage. At ~<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="270">4:30</a> time stamp the train has almost passed out of Otway and one of the last buildings is a white gas station. This included an old RR depot that was converted to a country store, painted white. Just beyond that intersection (Rt. 348) is the Otway covered bridge across the river, which is still there. At time <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="495">8:15</a> in the video you will clearly see a small barn in the field beyond the train. I helped my father build that barn in 1974, a year before I graduated from H.S. The car pacing the train passed by my one-time home, which was on the other side of road (Rt. 73). Scioto Brush Creek (a river, really) flowed in this narrow valley, too, and it is located just behind the barn. The valley running for miles through Rarden and beyond Henley (passing through Otway), is very narrow, flanked by high hills on either side, with just enough "flat" room for the river, the narrow field, the rail track, and the rural highway. Believe it or not, the distant hillside is referred to as "Tick Ridge". Although I lived there for only my last years of H.S., I can still remember the N.& W. freight train passing through, usually once per day, around midnight. We used to walk for miles along the track, hunting for groundhogs and also seeing how long we could balance-walk on one rail. We used to swim in the river just a bit beyond where the video ends, across the tracks, where a Rt. 73 bridge crosses the river.

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

Lotta history on that road, yup.

[@TheNorthwestWind]

great stuff my friend

[@TrainsAreReallyCool]

What driving along the NS on Three Locks road outside of Chillicothe was like back in the 70s.

[@keithode1737]

Without a doubt one of if not the best pacing videos around. The horn sequence through the second town is awesome. The cameraman did a phenomenal job keeping that tank of a video camera steady especially at the end. Absolutely top notch!

[@nssteampunk4865]

The lead unit was involved in a collision as an NS unit in 2015.

[@JLScott3178]

Classic NS how recalled it from our childhoods!!! That's you run trains!

[@hakeemsd70m]

Incredible video. Awesome RS5T, pneumatic bell, EMD music, and pacing. Too bad NS let this beautiful scenic line go to waste...

[@RyansColoradoRailProductions]

That lead engine was destroyed in a head on collision in 2015.

[@MrEldoradot]

I was a newlywed then. Oct. 29, 1988. I recognize those horns. Excellent video!

[@williammckenzie1941]

Great video of the way it once was. Folks who've never run long hood forward will never understand the challenges involved. 16 cylinder 645's and 5 chime Leslie horns are a great combo. Thanks for sharing this. Brings back memories.

[@1960gambit]

NS needs to quit screwing around and reopen this line.

[@TrainFan119]

I love watching this video from time to time

[@TrainFan119]

Yes me too

[@traviscurlutu7723]

Awesome vid! Used to run those 1600's man that horn would rattle everything in the cab...lol! Still.my favorite loco to run though, SD40's

[@LotusbandicootRR]

Amazing! I love all the crazy Doppler effects going on when they're blowing for crossings. I really wish we still had at least a few more RS5Ts still around.

[@nvaa1991]

NS still has many Leslie's roaming around.

[@EasternSeaboardRailfan]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="289">4:49</a> THE BEST HORN EVER

[@unity3596]

rs5t

[@tony46214]

Thanks, Erik for mentioning me on this video, sure brings back a lot of memories when we were going out railfanning, sure do miss those days.......

[@DJshekky]

man, i could watch this over and over again...

[@Stealth_Grey]

May 23, 2003 was the last time L51 ran from Portsmouth over this section of trackage. Not a train through Since then, and now it’s becoming a jungle.

[@Paw95]

i have many videos that show its condition.

[@Stealth_Grey]

Yeah I’ve seen those, hard to wrap my head around it being all overgrown like that when just 20 years ago they were running about a dozen trains a day through those same spots.

[@Paw95]

@@Stealth_Grey I’d love to see that happen. Unfortunately it won’t

[@peavineprowler9447]

I just love this video. I come back to watch to enjoy and to kick myself for not rail fanning the east end before the shut down.

[@DJshekky]

STILL watching this one over and over again sometimes...

[@backwardk]

I miss seeing the trains on those old tracks...back in 84/85/86 I had a friend that lived on Round Bottom Road and it was always a good time seeing those NW engines cruise down those tracks. Or as I grew older driving down that road seeing the glow of those signals (especially "green") And those ancient telegraph poles still hanging in there. Now my friends old house is gone, the tracks are pretty much unused, and only a few of those old poles remain...and it sure is being built-up around there.

[@SkyhawkACE123]

Wow this is great! I love N&W, SD40-2's, and RS5T's. Awesome video and great chase!!

[@1960gambit]

@meccaturbo You got that right. CSX isn`t very smart when it comes to railine management. They pulled the lines up on the Midland Sub between Greenfield and Chillicothe back in the `80`s. I bet they could use that line right now for another East / West option. Who knows, maybe they will see the error of their ways, someday, but it`s not likely.

[@pennsy6000]

Awesome video! I loved to see this blast from the past! SD40-2 running long hood forward is a classic most will never see again!

[@1960gambit]

It looks loke a portion of this line is going to be coming back to life bigtime with the purchase of the Batavia Ford Plant by Huhtamaki packaging. They are opening up a converting and manufacturing facility there. They will be making paper products amongst other things and from all indications will require a fair amount of rail service. Hopefully NS won`t give up this line and let Hamilton County have it for light rail service to the East side of town, it would be a huge mistake by NS!!

[@rip_roadrailers]

The 1637 was involved in the collision in Georgia in 2015, the 2nd unit is probably out of service and the third unit is still in service, however, or, it’s has been repainted

[@iceman977th]

There are three lines I would love to see come back to life...one being the Peavine. It's such an interesting piece of rail, and to see it laying there doing nothing, is just saddening. The rails are in better shape than most of the country's rails. The other two being the B&O Parkersburg-St Louis main, and the last behind the C&O Lexington Subdivision...

[@Greatdome99]

When the N&W leased the Nickel Plate (and Wabash) in 1964, there was no connection between the two. N&W settled on buying a little-used Pennsylvania branch which they upgraded, part of which became the Peavine due to its curvy nature. It's now out of service what with all the mergers that simplified the network.

[@osrr6422]

Bought the NKP, leased the Wabash as I understand it. They bought the PRRs Sandusky branch to connect it all. The peavine predated all of this. The peavine is OSS for multiple reasons, tough terrain (operating cost, hills were doubled frequently on heavy trains), antiquated signal system, the bridge at Portsmouth (Vera) being a big issue as well. Anything now days that comes into portsmouth (from the east) going to Cincinnati simply goes to Columbus and goes down the Dayton district (and it's not much). Anything going towards Ft Wayne, Decatur, etc, simply goes to Bellevue and turns the corner at Flat Rock (or hits the hump, combos with other traffic and then goes west).

[@richarddrum9970]

As a SD40-2 aficionado I love this chase video, that is some serious horsepower at track speed. No wonder they are running long hood first, a collision at that speed without the new safety cabs would be deadly for the crew. Amazing camera work fellas. Thanks.

[@jimthomefan50025]

Other railroads ran short hood forward at those speeds without issue, conrail had tons of SD40-2's and ran them daily on the chicago line. N&W and southern did take crew safety into consideration though in choosing long hood forward configuration . Now if only NS had toilets installed early in their creation. I remember applying for a job at NS and the interviewer asked how i felt about carrying bags of feces off the engines during servicing....

[@haroldfannin9554]

New York Central and the B&O also ran long hood forward in the early diesel years,Grand Trunk passenger units did too.

[@jaiyanachowdhury5674]

Seeing the n&w sd40-2 1637 leading long hood forward makes me fell that leading long hood forward is like being a superhero!

[@tims2501]

Not a professional RR guy. Wish I had done that because how much I love trains but video is awesome for three reasons. 1. Persistence in driver in staying with the the train. 2. Never seen SD-40 ran backwards like that at high speed for that length of time. 3. Norfolk and Western pre-dated Civil War and played such a huge role in supplying Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern VA.

[@brianburns7211]

But it was expanded into the lucrative coal fields by northerners like my great grandmother’s cousin who was a civil engineer from Connecticut.

[@War1109]

That's the track that the ccet trains run in now

[@Paw95]

wargreymon 1109 not this part though hasn't been a train here in 14-15 years.

[@railenthusiast4830]

Paw95 Are the tracks still there or taken up?

[@ReadingAreaRailfan]

Paw95 are the tracks still there ?

[@alandavis1245]

@@ReadingAreaRailfan still there

[@atsf47legit]

Lead engine was repainted, lost its Leslie, and then rebuilt in 2010. Then was destroyed at the hands of the Sandersville collision in 2015, losing the Nathan P5 it gained years ago in the process.

[@PennCentralFan1]

this is one of the best pacing videos i have seen. excellent!

[@chesty1369]

Thats something you don't see everyday. Long hood forward...thanks for the video upload.

[@CintiRailFan]

That was awesome! I was just in Otway 2 days ago looking at the fire dept that was destroyed by the tornado. The tracks are rusty and sad looking. One of the crossing flashers at Henley is missing since it got hit a while back.

[@BobbyHarveyVideoProductions]

What an awesome pacing video!

[@meccaturbo]

At least NS has left the tracks in place. Compare this to what CSX did to the ex B&O line across northern WV, heading to St Louis. NS generally has made smarter decisions about keeping lines in service than CSX has.

[@jjstrains4547]

Love seeing all that stuff flying by. Hearing that junk notch up from about 5 to 8 brings back memories.

[@Paw95]

I'm not old enough to remember n.w. Run this line but I remember when n.s. Ran it until they stopped running it. I remember my aunt trying to beat two engines before they crossed 104 at rush town. Lol

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

The Scioto bridge at the far east end appears to be the reason the line is shut down as a through route. It needs expensive repairs or replacement which the business on the line can't justify unfortunately.

[@1960gambit]

+WhoSaidTyler I chat with a guy that works For NS in Portsmouth and he said that the Vera Bridge has little to nothing wrong with it. He said NS just used it as an excuse to moth ball the line years ago after the Conrail split and merger. Maybe he is right, maybe he is wrong, but one thing is for sure and that is NS could use this line right now to detour stuff that needs to go West out of Portsmouth and free up space on the Heartland Corridor. NS is averaging over 225 trains a week sitting for 6 or more hours because they got no room to run and they are trying to cram everything through Bellevue, plus Chicago is a mess along with many other areas / states across their system. It is only going to get worse for them when the Panama Canal opens back up in April and all that freight starts rolling into Norfolk. It is predicted that 25% of the West coast`s shipping business in going to move to the East coast when the canal opens back up. They are going to need every line that goes West open to handle all that added load on their system it would appear. Only time will tell, and very soon at that!

[@Paw95]

+1960gambit I'll film that bridge soon.

[@tammyadams9967]

I <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="107">1:47</a> lived in Rarden from 1968 to 2004. I miss the trains running through Rarden. I specially enjoyed the special passenger trains that would come through Rarden

[@elvin.castro]

Sad to see that this will never be Repeated for two reasons. 1.The Cincinnati district (Peavine railroad) is abandoned and the tracks might be taken up. 2.The Norfolk and Western doesn't exist as its own railroad.

[@brianbooher7318]

This track is absolutely not abandoned. It is mothballed and although I highly doubt that we will ever see through train in our lifetime Norfolk Southern is not going to allow it to be tore up and give it away there is no need for them too as it sits it could be put back in service in 2 weeks or less if needed and maybe one day there will be enough demand for through traffic that it will justify paying for the bridge at the end that has absolutely nothing wrong with it from what I hear except it is not able to acceptt stake cars

[@NSHammerhead]

This route could be a candidate for heartland corridor projects.

[@lawbench191]

Really cool to see a real one in action. I have this locomotive in HO with sound by Broadway limited.

[@_mynewcareer]

Awesome old school action

[@brianbooher7318]

People this line is not abandoned it is mothballs and although I doubt we will never see a through train again norfolk southern is not giving it up anytime soon as it sets it could be put back in service in 2 weeks and they are not going to give it away. Maybe one day we will have enough demand that third train will be allowed through and will generate enough economy to replace the bridge at the end that I understand to be nothing wrong with other than it cannot accommodate double stacked trains. But this line is not abandoned and will not be any time of the near future they will let it sit down and rot for another hundred years. Norfolk Southern knows what they're doing one of these days there is going to be a demand for right aways and right there sets the gold mine that could easily be put back in service so don't fool yourself anytime soon as it is going to be abandoned or the rails are going to be ripped up because they're not it's not going anywhere it will sit there and Rock and one day in 100 years they will probably put another rail line through but you are not getting your bike trail anytime soon people hate to be the bearer of bad news

[@darrylasgood]

Best train video that I keep Watching over that blowing horn is kinda Spooky

[@bluedorissmith6352]

nice nostalgic views., and thanks for the story. love pacing shots.

[@blacktopandsteel]

Excellent video. Classic railroading at its best!

[@WorldOfNothin]

is this the line from Cincy to Portsmouth? If so I know it was closed due to less traffic on the line and the fact one of the bridges wasn't structurally sound anymore and instead of fixing it, they just closed the whole section down! would be interesting if it was reopened! Plus would give another excursion route for the steam program when they finally return to the Cincy area!

[@WalMartAndy]

@ROCKDOG5732 Its been railbanked i dont see it bieng pulled anytime soon

[@engineerpat5290]

love that RS5T HORN!!

[@csxjim]

This is awesome. A forever lost signature NW horn I grew up with in the 80s. Does anyone know where all the fallen flag videos went to that used to be on youtube? All the videos had dates in the bottom corners.

[@LotusbandicootRR]

Coming back to this video for the first time in a while. Apparently as of August 2022, that signal is still at Henley... neglected and missing the Look Out For The Locomotive sign though, of course

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

That thing is cooking. Ohio is a good place to speed.

[@ericzerkle5214]

The 1998 wteck at Butler Indiana ended the long hood forward running.

[@SJRailroader31]

Awesome pacing shot! I think its the best ive ever seen!

[@UP9390]

Too bad there isn't enough footage of the N&W during the 70's and 80's, any videos about N&W diesels are buried under footage of 611 :/

[@Trainman11185]

nice video and great sounding horn

[@tommyhunter1817]

Long hood or short hood forward. Low nose or high nose. Color. None matters because a SD40-2 looks AWESOME no matter.

[@imdrailvids1152]

wow veery cool erik ;00

[@larrymcneil8038]

Notch 8 emd music to my ears

[@1960gambit]

It absolutely amazes me how NS can just let this line sit in reasonably good condition and not use it! The fact that they are content running trains from Portsmouth to Columbus, then back down to Cincy is just plain stupid. It`s twice as far, and the time it takes to do it like they do now is ridiculous. There are rumours that the Ports to Col. line is so congested it takes about12 hours to go about 100 miles. This line could be a relief valve for the current short sightedness of NS management.

[@mutanay77]

Is the line still there? or is it torn up?

[@Paw95]

mutanay77 still in place

[@osrr6422]

Extremely late reply. While the Peavine was a short cut to Cincinnati, it had some pretty significant grades, curves, and very little online business (by class 1 standards). You also have to include the bridge at Vera not being capable of handling double stacks. It was mostly used for grain, coal, and the 217/218 (single stack) in the later years before it was shut down. In its current shape, NS would NEVER use their own money to fix the line. The state or govt would have to pay for it in a similar manor that New York did for the Southern Tier. These days, there's little traffic that comes into Portsmouth and needs to head to Cincinnati. What little bit there is, is handled by the 19m (a recently resurrected symbol replacing the 189 that used to do the work).

[@donnyfurr6004]

Norfolk Western at its best I sure do miss the Norfolk Western I know the lead locomotive is a sd40_2 looks like the other locomotives are sd40's

[@nssteampunk4865]

N&W Leslie RS5TRF horn

[@davidsharp3110]

That N&W 1637 at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="9">0:09</a> sure looks like it was painted using New York Central stencils.

[@atsf47legit]

It does. That unit would be repainted at some time, then rebuilt in 2010 and then was destroyed in Sandersville GA in 2015, in a head on collision. 1637 also had a P5 at the time of the collision.

[@fairportrails107]

wow very nice

[@quintinivey9359]

SD40-2, G.O.A.T

[@AGSGuy]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CRPULSE300]

The lead unit 1637 is has been in local service in southeast Georgia. Unfortunately it lost that great horn over the years

[@RyansColoradoRailProductions]

And now, 1637 itself no longer exists.

[@atsf47legit]

​@@RyansColoradoRailProductionslost at the hands of the Sandersville collision.

[@samargolpogatha317]

Can you make a video of an n&w sd40-2 leading cab facing forward

[@ClinchValleySD40]

Outstanding video !!!

[@Cristianoefc]

AWESOME! SO INTENSE! 5*!

[@dtiman]

Wow. Love it!

[@milepost26.69]

oh yes that rs5t

[@terryreeves254]

ive seen 1627 its now a remote controlled unit and shunts cars at crewe

[@ROCKDOG5732]

@atsf93 I heard from a railfan that this line has been abandoned and soon will be lifted. I hope he is wrong cause like you it be nice to see trains on this line.

[@brianbooher7318]

That is not true although I doubt that we will ever see another through train in our lifetime Norfolk Southern has no plans of getting rid of this line and anytime in the future. There is no reason for them to get rid of it as it is sitting now if it was needed it could be put back in service within 2 weeks and it is costing them nothing they go and rip the rails up and give it football trails it's going to cost them millions and millions to put it back in service therefore they will set and Rot and maybe one day there will be enough demand for trains to come through there that it was justify paying for that bridge that I hear has nothing wrong with it other than it is not big enough to accommodate double-stake trains. I sure hope I am wrong and would love to see it reopen tomorrow but I just don't see it happen but Norfolk Southern is not giving this lineup anytime in the near future

[@railyardfilms6491]

NW old schooling

[@k9apr1]

Holy 🐑 shit Batman!

[@UnionPacificBNSF]

Think NS leased this route to a shortline in 2014

[@hakeemsd70m]

Robby Franks You are correct, they sure did. It was leased to Cincinnati East Terminal Railway (CCET).

[@RedPhantomAirsoft]

@@hakeemsd70m i work there currently they dont go out that way only to plum run where hanson rock quarry is i wish we do but it is actually well maintained until you get to ottway

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@RedPhantomAirsoftOh okay I see. Good place to work?. I ain't too familiar with that area, is Plum Run close to Seaman? You mean they gave perfectly good track just sitting out there begging to be used? Wow...

[@TPM75108]

1637 Was recently destroyed in Tennile GA in a head on collision.

[@Paw95]

Wow it was still in use.

[@CRPULSE300]

The 1637 is still in service running locals in Georgia

[@JawTooth]

Another person said the engine was destroyed in a collision. Do you know for sure that it is still in service?

[@RyansColoradoRailProductions]

No, it was destroyed and scrapped.

[@djmario79]

Is that a Leslie on that locomotive?

[@Paw95]

And now they abandoned the rail line

[@martinmartin4751]

when did they close down the peavine route?

[@Paw95]

Spring of 2003. State is about to take control of it. It’s in paperwork right now. NS is filling for abandonedment right now.

[@spencerwood2093]

Pace a long with Norfolk and Western to a coal mine!!!!!!!

[@elvin.castro]

Was that a Woman Engineer or is it a man?