Columbus Railroads

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Traction Videos

1965 - Coumbus Trolley Coach - Turning a trolley coach at the end of the Oak Street line is highlighted.

2024 - Dayton, Ohio - Why Does This Tiny Rust Belt CIty have Trolley Buses.

Steam Railroad Videos

1920-40s - A Railroad Newsreel - A Series of Fox Movietone News archive Films.

2024 - Union Pacific’s Big Boy Locomotive - with Jay Leno.

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

1927 - Iron Horse Centennial - B&O RR Transportation parade, steam locomotives start at 16.50.

1940 - Passenger Train on the B&O - Educational film, narration for children, video for railfans.

1930-1950s - B&O Memories - A variety of historic film clips.

1987 - B&O - Don Paxton's B&O - B&O Conductor Don Paxton video taped his run on the CN Division from Newark - Zanesville back to Newark to Columbus and Newark again. There is also a Don Paxton website - click here

2005 - B&ORR Historical Society, Harry Eck - Life Aboard a Q-4 - Interview with a Q-4 fireman.

Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad

1914 - Hocking Valley Railway Starr Train Wreck - From Tales of Southeastern Ohio.

New York Central Railroad

1928 - NYC Hudson Cab Ride - The Hudson 4-6-4 were used extensively through Columbus. This video shows the engineer at work.

1933 - Rhapsody of the Rails - New York Central passenger trains from locals to limited.

1943 - New York Central - various scenes filmed by the Office of War Information.

ca. 1950 - The Freight Yard - New York Central Railroad - Freight train operations in the late 1940s.

ca. 1950 - NYC Water Level Route - While the film has very little footage shot around Columbus it shows the various locomotives that ran through Columbus on the Big Four line in the 1950s. A shot taken from Olentangy (HV Cabin) Tower is at 5:40.

Trains Unlimited – The New York Central - The video includes an appearance by E.F. Frimbo, the worlds greatest railroad buff. It starts at 31:30.

Norfolk & Western Railroad Railroad

1950s - Norfolk & Western Railroad - Operaton Fast Freight - A freight shipment from Columbus to Norfolk in the days of steam.

1957 - Norfolk & Western Railroad - Pillars of Smoke in the Sky - A railfans movie scenes along the N&W.

O Winston Link - Trains That Passed In The Night - a British documentary from the 1980s with O Winston Link photos from the 1950s.

Pennsylvania Railroad

1903 - Location Unknown - Train Taking Up Mail Bag, U.S. Post Office - early RPO car.

1929 - PRR-TAT-AT&SF Coast-to-Coast Service - First weeks of the new Coast-to-Coast Train to Plane Service with shots taken at Columbus.

1929 - PRR-TAT-AT&SF Coast-to-Coast in 48 Hours - First weeks of the new Coast-to-Coast Train to Plane Service with shots taken at Columbus.

1952 - Progress On the Rails - PRR promotional film featuring diesel locomotives.

1953 - Wheels of Steel - PRR promotional film featuring the GG-1 Electric Locomotive.

ca. 1955 - PRR - PRR J1's, I1's and H10's in the Columbus, Ohio Yards. From Steam Across America Vol 1.

1956 - PRR - PRR J1's and Santa Fe 2-10-4's on the PRR Sandusky Branch. From Steam and Diesel on the Pennsylvania Railroad, Vol. II by Herron Rail Video.

The Pennsylvania Railroad - WHYY - PRR Documentary by the Philadelphia PBS station.

Penn Central Railroad

1974 - Penn Central - Movie used in request to obtain federal funding for the bankrupt Penn Central railroad. The video includes shots taken in Columbus.

Conrail

1999 - Conrail - Conrail's Last Day at Buckeye Yard.

Railroading Skills

Part 1 - Railroad Signals, Reading and Meanings - The basic three light system.
Part 2 - Railroad Signals, Reading and Meanings - Single and two headed signals.
Part 3 - Railroad Signals, Reading and Meanings - Diverging and Limited speeds, to and at signals.
Part 4 - Railroad Signals, Reading and Meanings - Railroad Signals, reading and meanings - Dwarf signals .

Part 1 - How To Read CSX Signals - Introduction.
Part 2 - How To Read CSX Signals - Three head signals and flashing aspects.
Part 3 - How To Read CSX Signals - The white light indication.
Part 4 - How To Read CSX Signals - Multi-head signals.
Part 5 - How To Read CSX Signals - Automatic block signals.
Part 6 - How To Read CSX Signals - Dwarf signals.

1948 - The Railroad Signal - Presented by the New York Central System.

2012 - The Lost Art of Railroad Hand Signals - Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, Jamestown, CA.

Behind the Scenes on a Steam Locomotive - The Silverton Branch of the D&RGW.

Industry Videos

ca. 1930 - Anthracite Coal Mining - While not Columbus or Ohio this silent film shows Pennsylvania coal miners at work.

1996 - Manufactured Gas Plants: A New York Legacy - Gas was used for lighting before electricy took over.

1973 - Gandy Dancers - The sights and sounds of gandy dancers at work on the Clinchfield railroad.

ca. 1990 - Hulett Ore Unloaders - A big business for railroads going through Columbus was delivering coal to Lake Erie. This video of the Hulett Ore Unloaders shows how bulk products were handled at the docks.

ca. 2022 - NS loading the Algoma Innovator - at the Sandusky Coal Dock.

Railfan Videos

1950-60s - Video by Victor Ketcham - Scenes of Columbus and surrounding area.
Playlist for Victor Ketcham Video.

1960-80s - Video by Joe Slanser - Scenes of Marion, Columbus and Pennsylvania.

1966-72 - ORM - The Golden Years - The Ohio Railway Museum at its best.

ca. 1970 - ORM - The Saga of N&W No. 578 - Clovis Butterworth describes his exerience on the steam crew at the ORM.

1979 - Amtrak's National Limited - Cab Ride Columbus to Effingham.

1993 - Ohio Central - Cab Ride Newark to Columbus - from the Railroad Media Archive.

1995 - Moving AC Tower in Marion - In the mid 1990s a group of railfans in Marion banded together to save the Marion Depot. They also obtained the decommissioned AC Tower provided they moved it across the old Erie/Big Four main.

2001 - Visit to Scioto Tower/ LM Cabin- By K8DTI.

2021 - Drone Tour of Columbus - By NKY Railfan - The Railroad Bridges of Columbus and a Tour of Buckeye and Parsons Yards.

2021 - Drone Tour of Dayton - Watkins Yard - By NKY Railfan - Norfolk Southern's Dayton District, Watkins Yard Plus two CSX Columbus Locals.

2022 - Drone Tour of Columbus-Portsmouth - By NKY Railfan - The Norfolk Southern line from Columbus-Portsmouth including Star Yard in Portsmouth.

2022 - Ohio: State of Big Railroading - By Distant Signal - Railfan tour of Marion, Deshler, Fostoria & Bellevue.".

Bicycle Trails on Abandoned Railroad Right-of-Way

Ohio to Erie Bike Trail - website

      2023 - Biking the Ohio to Erie Trail - Cincinnati to Columbus - PRR and NYC (Big Four).

      2023 - Biking the Ohio to Erie Trail - Columbus to Cleveland - CA&C (Westerville - Danville) and
     some canal tow paths".

WOSU Columbus Neighborhoods