Point Pleasant, WV: B&O Depot

(Satellite)

I picked this older view because it had less vegetation in the way.

Street View, Sep 2013

This is the most recent view.

Street View, Aug 2025

I've come to think of "activist investor" as a euphemism for robber baron. And this depot is another demonstration that management doesn't like "wasting" money on maintenance. CSX has no pride.

Tucker McLaughlin, Aug 2025

Doug Bess posted three photos with the comment: "More photos of the B&O District Run 1 with B&O #9245. Comments on captions."

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9245 shoving cut of cars up to the NYC interchange.

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9245 running past the switch to the NYC interchange.
[The stairs and door in this photo is consistent with Tucker's photo above. So back in the B&O days, it had a nice paint job.]
Doug Bess posted
B&O District Run 1 with B&O caboose C1927 at Point Pleasant, WV. I took this photo in 1967.
Edward Kwiatkowski shared

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9245 behind Point Pleasant depot after finishing up a day's work.

Doug Bess commented on his post about the caboose
Here is a photo I took in 2015 at about the same location as the one I took in 1967.

Karl Scheich commented on Doug's post about the caboose
Here’s a recent photo from 2020, I worked out of Parkersburg WV as a CSX Carman, we would come here to repair freight cars with our line of road truck.

Doug's reference to NYC tracks made me wonder about what NYC was doing this far south. According to the 2005 SPV Map, it was two NYC subsidiaries. It was Toledo & Ohio Central (TOC) to the West, and the Kanawaha & Michigan (K&M) to the East. The bridge across the Ohio River was owned by both TOC and K&M. The C&O route that TOC joins was the Hocking Valley (HV). And according to the 2005 SPV Map, the NYC route is now owned by NS. (Of course, the C&O/HV and B&O routes are now owned by CSX.)

1958/60 Gallipolis Quad @ 24,000

I've noticed that this map doesn't do a good job of showing a route that is shared by NS and CSX. Today, it is NS that uses the HV route north of Point Pleasant.

National Rail Network Map

Toledo, OH: C&O/Hocking Valley Coal Docks

Current Dock: (Satellite)

Original HV Dock: (Satellite)

The C&O docks were west of Otter Creek. The docks east of that creek were the B&O and NYC coal and ore docks. All of these docks are now owned by CSX.

East Toledo Historical Society posted
Post Card view of C & O Presque Isle Coal Docks. Coal loaders and Ore unloaders.

 

Marine Historical Society of Detroit posted
Wyandotte Chemical's Wyandotte (forground) and its fleet mate Conneaut both load coal in Toledo. Undated and uncredited press photo/Roger LeLievre collection/MHSD.

Dale Pohto: Clare Gilbert This view from the Maumee River is of the remaining CSX coal loader... The three other loaders were of a dumper-style and no longer exist. The hulett-equipped ore dock was just beyond the coal loader in the foreground.

Tim Carlin: Toledo, Ohio once was the largest coal port in the 🌎

Nolan Skip Raspbury LaFramboise II: Tim Carlin isn't it still the largest?

Dale Pohto: Nolan Skip Raspbury LaFramboise II That distinction may belong to Norfolk, VA which typically has ships lined up waiting to load. The #4 dock is the last remaining coal loader in Toledo.

James Carl Trivett III posted
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CSXpastandpresent/posts/2740326182835163/

Grant Helmkamp posted two photos with the comment: "Tell me more. Over the years of collecting vintage postcards and photos/books I've learned that at its height the port here in toledo had the dedicated equipment to load coal into 7 ships at a time. Four at what is now known as the CSX docks and three at what is now known as the Torco docks. 6 of the loaders were the vertical lift type like the one still in use at Sandusky, the seventh (and the only one that still exists / is in use) is a rotary dumper and conveyor type set up. (Edited to add a 2nd slightly newer photo that includes the rotary dumper C&O #4 dumper. First photo is april of '54, second photo date stamp is hard to read but is nov of either '63 or '68)"

Bob Vincent: Grant Helmkamp, That dock close to you in the picture(left) was not called Torco. It was Lakefront. It was form by the New York Central System and the B&O railroads. It contained three single car dumpers and ore dock with four Huletts. Two Huletts came from the dock (I believe a B&O yard) where ADM Grain Elevators is at now. Where the Live Pad is at is where #1 coal machine was at. Next pier had #2 coal machine, same slip at the Live Pad but on the opposite side of the slip. #2 coal machine was next to #3 coal machine. The slip that had #3 coal machine on it opposite side had the Ore dock with the Huletts.

Grant Helmkamp: Bob Vincent I'm aware, that is why I said the docks now known as Torco, since it has been quite awhile since they were regularly called the lakefront docks.

Bob Vincent: Grant Helmkamp Sorry I missed that. Take Care.

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The C&O coal docks are in the background.

Barry Sell posted

Upper level view of a busy Port of Toledo

Collection part

Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce Photograph Collection

A black and white photograph of cargo ships and railroad cars lined up on the Toledo Terminal docks. Coal and other commodities are waiting to be loaded for shipment. Photo was taken in October of 1966.

Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority

OCT 20 1966

East Toledo Historical Society posted
The Edmund Fitzgerald at the Presque Isle (C&O) coal docks in Oregon in 1965. From the new book "East of the Maumee River"
Rex Ruby: My father was a tug captain and towed the Fitzgerald in and out of port many times. I was lucky enough to be on several tows with him. The tugs were docked at the c&o docks as well.

Marty Bernard posted two photos with the comment: "And What Are These -- Port of Toledo  I pretty sure Duane Hall took these in Toledo in May 1968.  I bet the model railroader in him was saying, 'I can build those.'"

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[A flood loader on the CSX/(B&O+NYC) Lakefront Dock.]

 

Andrew Dean Detroit posted

"Toledo Layup" Over 3000 Feet of ship in one shot! 3 Footers and 2 articulated Tug and Barges, all down for winter layup in Toledo, Ohio.

5 total ships starting top Left - Tug Dorothy Ann with Barge Pathfinder , Edgar B. Speer, Edwin H. Gott, American Integrity, Tug Laura L. VanEnkevort with Barge Joseph H. Thompson

Andrew Russell shared
Janey Anderson: That is the record right there!! Wow!! And what an AMAZING picture it is! How many feet in that shot Andrew Russell ?
Andrew Russell: Janey Anderson I was lazy now I’ll math it out … according to my quick calculations- it’s 4,568 ft or 1,392 meters of ship in one shot lol

Andrew Dean Detroit commented on his post

Dennis DeBruler commented on Andrew Dean Detroit's post

It looks like they are at the CSX docks.

https://www.google.com/.../@41.6922883,-83.../data=!3m1!1e3

When the railroads came to town, this lakefront area was, at best, a swamp. They built their docks further up river. Fortunately, I came across this info for the HV dock.

Some photos and their comments in a collection identify this as the Hocking Valley Dock.

Satellite

 

But freighters were getting bigger. Rather than do a lot of expensive dredging of the river, the railroads built new docks on the lakefront. By 1938 C&O had built their new dock and still had their upriver dock. C&O used the Toledo Terminal Railroad to access both docks.

1938 Point Place and Toledo Quads @ 31,680

By 1952, all of the coal and ore docks had moved to the lakefront with C&O on the left and B&O+NYC on the right.

1952/54 Pint Place Quad @ 24,000

Boats that need just minor repairs during the winter layover use regular docks, but they pack them in two or three abreast. St. Clair (boatnerd facts) was wintering at the CSX dock in Oregon, OH when a fire alarm was sounded around 8:45am 2/16/2019 [post]. There was no one on board, and firefighters are not boarding the vessel to fight the fire. So there have been no injuries. The fire was burning from the engine room up to the pilot house and the conveyor belts also caught on fire. There were four fire hydrants in the area, but only one was working. (We had a polar vortex in the Midwest last week.) They were using tank trucks to haul water from Bay Shore. But the goal has become saving the other assets in the dock. As you can see in this photo, there is a ship between it and the dock. In addition to the boom conveyor that we can see on fire, this self-unloading ship has two conveyors under its cargo hold that run the full length of the ship. I wonder how much oxygen those two belts are getting. The conveyor belt fires were so intense that they melted. The Coast Guard did a search Sunday morning and has found no signs of pollution. (Update: Marine Recycling Corporation (MRC) started scrapping it in 2022.)

Of course, the cause of the fire is not yet known. I now wish I had saved the comment from a welder that was working on the ship. He said it appeared the fire started a long ways from where they were working and that they stop welding a half-hour before they leave to make sure their work has cooled off before they leave.

Jeff Plante commented on a post

Myra DeCaire commented on a post

USCG Photo, Saturday Night
[It looks like the firetruck that we can see is focused on keeping the adjacent boat safe. I wonder how much water you can pump onto a ship before it starts to sink. Actually, a lot. These ships carry 10s of thousands of tons of cargo. Later, they will probably have to rent some serious pumps to get rid of all of that water. But a soggy ship has to be better than a melted ship.]

USCG Photo, Sunday Morning
[As of Monday, the fire is expected to burn for days [boatnerd-news] because the belts of both unloading conveyors are still on fire. [post]]

Joanne Crack posted a series of photos of the fire spreading on the boat.

Andrew Haenish shared...
Clayton Healey Fortunately, the ship was not underway at the time. However, the crew, having been trained for such emergencies & being on top of it early, might have put the initial hot spot out quickly.

Not to be a speculative spectator here but if it was a welders' issue, a proper fire watch is the protocol long after welding has finished for the day. Being a Saturday, no doubt everyone was eager to get home.

The investigation will no doubt be interesting indeed!

...a post.
Bill Shaver its happened to many others in port... they just flooded the tunnel to put it out... surprised they have not done this ... my my, this might condem the ship now... structural weakening on account of this.
Marine Historical Society of Detroit No welding crew was aboard the vessel on Saturday. Just regular work crews according to local news sources.
Mark Robinson Bill Shaver it has not been said if her tunnel belts were on fire. I am sure nobody is able to get down there to see. They likely are as they are all pretty much connected together. And flood her tunnel to put out the fire. Well you need to be able to have pumps on to flood her tunnel. Nobody is going to get into her engine control room to be able to do so. And also she is all pumped out for the winter so I am unsure how much in feet of a rake she has on her but with her likely 8 feet plus by the stern all the water would stay aft on her as they pumped it into her tunnel. With the water staying aft and more weight there her draft aft would increase and the water would continue to just stay there...Unless she was even keel it would not work out well...
Jessica Scott Burns Mark Robinson plus I'm sure if she had a halon suppressant system on board, it wasn't active either due to being laid up. Or at least no one aboard to active it.
Mark Robinson Jessica Scott Burns she should have had it for her engine room. But none of us know all that went on etc. There will be opinions galore but until an investigation and report is done and released none of us will know. A belt fire is a bad one as it burns so hot. Hard to put out. The main thing is nobody was hurt...
Nat Park This is so sad.....so much work and expense went into her refit at Donjohn Shipbuilding and Repair during the winter of 2017-2018 in Erie, PA.
Julian English http://www.businessnorth.com/.../article_0896bb02-33a3...

Julian English At the Torco docks in Oregon, Ohio. I wonder what was burning.
https://www.13abc.com/.../Firefighters-battle-ship-fire...

I've read a post about how a ship in layup is staffed by one person. The post was emphasizing the loneliness of the job. But if it takes a human before any of the fire fighting equipment will work, I now understand why some ships use a skeleton staff during winter layover. Since some comments indicate that repair work was being done on the ship, I 'm even more surprised that a company representative wasn't living on board. After all, these ships do have beds, a kitchen, and a lounge.

Summerstown Seaway LookOut posted eleven photos of the aftermath.
Sheri Miller doesnt look too bad considering.
Mark Robinson Sheri Miller its bad...
Jim Hoffman Major damage on the inside of the vessel.


Boatnerd has moved their "news" photos to a permanent photo gallery.
2/20 -  Investigators remain on scene in Toledo for what will likely be a lengthy investigation. Tuesday the St. Clair was reported to be listing and required to be pumped out. It is unclear if the water was from fire fighting or another source.

An album with 70 photos of the aftermath   (source)       

5 photos of boats in 2022 layup

2024 layup

Andrew Dean Detroit posted
Toledo Winter Layup 2024- Sleeping Giants
Andrew Dean Detroit shared
[8 more photos]

I wish this had higher resolution, but you can read that red is iron, blue is coal and yellow is grain.

Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association added
Shipping routes for various cargoes on the Great Lakes circa 1950.
[I was amazed that so much of the coal was shipped from the Toledo docks. Does this mean that most of the coal was coming from the Illinois Basin rather than the Appalachian Mountains? And why would grain and coal be going down Lake Michigan? It would be interesting to see this diagram for today. Coal would be going in the opposite direction because of the Powder River Basin and it would be going to power plant docks. There would be more grain and none of it would use the Erie Canal because of the St. Lawrence Seaway. (China owns bit grain elevators in Chicago and Milwaukee.)]

Only Cleveland handles more tonnage.

GreatLakesSeaway

Upper Sandusky, OH: Junction (SA) Tower: CF&E/Pennsy vs. C&O/Hawking Valley

(Satellite)

CF&E = Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern

Darren Reynolds posted five images with the comment: "Conrails ( Ex-PRR) 

"Upper Sandusky" tower (SA)

Upper Sandusky,  Ohio"

Richard Fiedler shared

Dale DeVene: I think it closed July 1985 and I think it came down in October.

Dale DeVene: Upper...copy three east. March 17, 1981 To: C&E extra 6223 east at Upper Sandusky. And so on...wrote a lot of train orders and form A's back in the day at Upper.

Gene Dent: Dale DeVene Form A, Number 9 West. CR 6441 CR 6393...71 loads, 0 empties, cabin 23244. 6579 tons.

Kevin Capurso: As of 20 years ago a tool shed of sorts still remains but thats it.

Richard Fiedler shared

Tim Shanahan shared

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𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻: 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘀𝘆𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮 and Ohio posted

"Upper Sandusky" tower was at the crossing of the

PRR And the C&O • Undated! 

Sandusky, Ohio 

Michael Schwiebert: Upper Sandusky and Sandusky are two different communities. Upper Sandusky got its name by being near the start point of the Sandusky River (the “upper” end of the River). The PRR looks to be still double track, so the photo would be 1982 or 83 at the latest.

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Dennis DeBruler commented on Kevin's comment
 The shed is extant as of Sep 2023, https://maps.app.goo.gl/cZgAbyJwypejf9wn6

The grain elevator along the former-Pennsy benefits from the railroad being sold to a shortline because it gets carload rail service. (There are some more hopper cars in the distant background to the left of the stop sign.)

Street View, Sep 2023

Turning our view to the right, we see a cut of hopper cars. But these must be in storage because with just two bays they are short hopper cars. They would be used to haul higher denser materials such as sand, cement or roof granules.

Street View, Sep 2023

Along the CSX/C&O/HV route there is a modern grain elevator. Kudus to CSX because it looks like it is being rail served. We can see grain dust coming out of the hopper car.

Street View, Aug 2024

The elevator has its own locomotive. So the CSX locomotives in the above view must have just delivered some empty hoppers.

Street View, Sep 2023

We can see the rather long fall protector in his photo. The track under the loadout is paved so that trucks can also use it.

Photo, May 2017

The above elevator is an expansion because further south is the original elevator. This is another example of an elevator having a conveyor across a Class I railroad.

Street View, Sep 2023

I looked at a satellite image to note that the old elevator has been expanded with a long building as well as two big bins. I also noticed that CF&E has access to the sidings of the two big elevators along the HV route and that there is a glass plant. I presume this is the plant served by the 2-bay hopper cars.

Satellite

In fact, there is a long cut of cars west of the plant.

Satellite

Along the CSX route is a plant owned by The Andersons.

Satellite

The Andersons makes some of the fertilizer that they sell. For example, in Webberville, MI.

AndersonsPlantNutrient

Dundas, OH: B&O Depot and Junction Tower: B&O vs. C&O/Hocking Valley

(Satellite)

Darren Reynolds posted

B&O Eng# 127 passing "Dundas" tower...

Dundas, Ohio 

Photo & Date: Unknown

Tim Shanahan shared

Don Lee: The cross line behind the tower was the Hocking Valley Railroad (C&O) Pomeroy Subdivision. It was abandoned in the 1970s. The B&O was abandoned as a thru route in 1987. The portion thru Dundas was sold to the City of Jackson and is operated by a designated short line operator.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Darren's photo
<1905 62="" a="" href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/ArhuJNdK7iGmyuJ69" quad="" target="_blank" wilkesville="">https://maps.app.goo.gl/ArhuJNdK7iGmyuJ69

Apr 22, 1960 @ 28,000; AR1VAAY00080021