Home > Worthington > Worthington aerial

Worthington Aerial Photos

        This interesting cache of photos taken in the mid 1960's shows all the railroad facilities in Worthington.  By the time these photos were taken the Norfolk and Western Railroad had purchased the Pennsylvania Railroad's Sandusky Branch.  In the following text it will still be referred to as the Pennsy.

        Forty years later almost all of the businesses shown here are gone or change to new ownership.  Harding Hospital belongs to Ohio State University, the Worthington Food plant was sold to Kellogg and torn down, and the Potter Lumber Co. was sold and rebuilt as a self storage business.  The PRR/NYC crossing has been automated and the interlocking tower is also gone.   When the railroads used steam locomotives with their constant fall out of coal ash the land between the PRR and NYC had little vegetation.  Today is is a jungle with heavy brush and trees.

Photos from the David Bunge Collection.

Photo #1 - The double track Pennsy Sandusky Branch is crossing the NYC "Big Four".  The Ohio Railway Museum track is to the left of the PRR/NYC track.  The Colonial Hills development is in the left bottom quarter of the photo.  Harding Hospital is left top quarter.  Poste Lake is shown.  The south end of the lake (bottom of photo) is the shallow end.  The PRR dug this in the 1910's for fill.  The tracks entered the quarry from the south.  During the dig a spring was uncovered and the quarry became Poste Lake.   The top of the photo is north.

Photo #2 - State Route 161 is crossing under the ORM/PRR/NYC tracks.  The north end of Poste Lake is visible.  The Potter Lumber Co. (now a self storage business) is between the tracks.  North of SR 161 between the ORM and PRR tracks is the Worthington Coal & Supply Co. office, the old PRR depot being used as a section house, and the long old PRR freight house.  On the  west of the ORM track is the Nabisco warehouse and north of that the Worthington Foods Co.  The camera is pointed northwest

Photo #3 - North of the old PRR freight house is the coal yard and ORM car barn.  In the left top quarter is the Seventh Day Adventist Church and to the right of that the Seventh Day Adventist Community Center.    In the far distance the switch for the north end of the NYC siding is visible. 

There are two very large and old oak trees one in the front yard of the Worthington Foods plant and the other just north of Potter Lumber where the PRR and NYC track start to come together. The Camera is pointing north.

Photo #4 - In the bottom center of the photo can be seen Rush Creek going through the Harding Hospital property.  Rush Creek goes under the three railroads.  The Camera is pointed north

Photo #5 - Camera pointed north northeast.

Photo #6 - The Rush Creek culvert entranced under the ORM tracks is visible.  The Camera is pointed northeast

Photo #7 - The culvert that ran under the three railroads was open for a short distance between the PRR and NYC tracks.  At the very bottom of the photo can be seen the open pit that led down to Rush Creek.  The camera is pointed northwest.

Photo #8 - Rush Creek can be seen on the east side of the NYC tracks.  Rush Creek came from the north. The overflow from Poste Lake also entered Rush Creek at this point.  In the very far distance can be seen the Pontifical College Josephinum with its bell tower. The camera is pointed north

Photo #9 - The camera is pointed west northwest along Route 161 toward central Worthington.