Troop Train Through Columbus
Photos by Emil Albrecht
Emil Albrecht (1910-1988) was a talented photographer known for his photos of the Union Pacific Railroad and other western railroads taken in the states surrounding his home in Logan, Utah.
The photos in this collection were taken from a troop train on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad as it traveled through Columbus, Ohio. Albrecht was returning home from his WW II Army service in Europe.
His troop train originated in Norfolk, VA, and entered Columbus through Parsons Yard from the south. The C&O mainline runs through the middle of the yard where the first of three photo sites was encountered at the Main Line coal dock. Next, the train exited Parsons Yard and ran along the Buckeye Steel Castings facility, the second photo site.
The third photo site was north of West Broad Street alongside the C&O’s Yard A. From the last two photos Nos. 15 and 16, it looks like the scheduled train No. 35 is backing or being pulled from Union Station to the mainline where it will head north to Toledo. The troop train will then follow No. 35 on its way to Chicago or St Louis.
For Emil Albrecht riding that troop train was taking him to his home in Utah.
Main Line Coal Dock
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Photo-11 – No. 3008 a T-1 class Texas 2-10-4, is getting serviced at the Main Line Coal Dock.
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Photo-12 – No. 1231 a K-3 Mikado 2-8-2 is the locomotive coupled to No. 3008. This combination of T-1 and K-3 was used to pull heavy coal trains up Powell Hill north of Columbus.
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Photo-13 – A close-up of the Main Line Coal Dock which as the name implies is adjacent to the mainline that cut through the center of Parsons Yard. The other coal dock named the Main Coal Dock was located in the locomotive servicing area closer to the roundhouse.
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Photo-8 – The camera is looking back at Parsons Yard from the north (west) end. The Main Line Coal Dock and water facilities are on the left; the Main Coal Dock is in the center; and the Yard office is on the right.
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Photo-10 – No. 70, a C-14 0-8-0 switcher. No. 70 was built in 1926 for the Hocking Valley Railroad.
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Photo-9 – Another look at C-14 No. 70.
Along Side The Buckeye Steel Castings Corp.
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Photo-1 – The camera is looking north with the Buckeye Steel Castings complex on the east side of the railroad. The locomotive No. 1195 is a K-2 class Mikado 2-8-2.
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Photo-2 – The camera is looking south back toward Parsons Yard. The Buckeye Steel Castings complex is in the background. The locomotive No. 233 is a C-16 class, 0-8-0 switcher.
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Photo-3 – The same spot and same caboose hop as Photo-2 only looking toward the north.
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Photo-4 – It’s still the same spot as Photo-2 and 3 with two C-16 0-8-0 switchers pushing on the string of cars.
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Photo-5 – Same busy spot with C-16 No. 236 with a different string of cars.
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Photo-6 – A close-up of No. 236. When the C&O dieselized in the early 1950s their C-16 class switchers were sold to the Norfolk and Western railroad and some could be found at the N&W Joyce Avenue Yard until the end of N&W steam in 1960.
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Photo-7 – No. 3025 a T-1 class Texas 2-10-4 is southbound headed to Parsons Yard. It looks like it is hauling empty coal cars. The Buckeye Steel Castings buildings can be seen on the right.
C&O Yard A
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Photo-14 -- The camera is looking southeast toward downtown Columbus. Dublin Avenue, now known as W. Nationwide Blvd, is going under the railroad bridge. A ramp off of Dublin Avenue enters C&O Yard A as is the string of freight cars. The photographer's train is on the mainline to Toledo.
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Photo-15 – C&O Train No. 35, which leaves Columbus Union Station for Toledo and Detroit at 3:15 pm, is backing onto the mainline. It is likely the troop train will follow No. 35 north.
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Photo-16 – Locomotive No. 472 is one of six class F-17, Pacific type 4-6-2 typically found on the Columbus-Toledo run. The building in the background is the Corrugated Container Corp.
To see more Emil Albreicht photos including photos taken
on his 1945 troop train trip home to Utah
click here.