Here you will take a tour of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in the years before the formation of Chessie System, essentially combining the Railway with the sister Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and a post Chessie look at the railroad as part of the Chessie System. Here will be presented passenger and freight schedules, diesel rosters, descriptions of divisions and other information about how this Pocahontas Region coal carrier evolved into a midwestern and midAtlantic general merchandise carrier, fine passenger trains, and all the ingredients that made the C&O such a fascinating railroad to watch and a railfan's favorite both in and out of its service area.

DESCRIPTION. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway encompassed a territory that reached from Norfolk,Virginia to Traverse City, Michigan,Chicago,Illinois, and Buffalo,NY with 5122.23 miles of railroad and 225 miles of carferry routes. Its operating department was organized into three regions as follows:







A.EASTERN REGION



1.Newport News-Norfolk Terminal Division



2.Richmond Division



3.Clifton Forge Division



4.Hinton Division



B.CENTRAL REGION



1.Huntington Division



2.Ashland-Russell Division



3.Cincinnati-Chicago Division



4.Hocking Division



C.NORTHERN REGION



1.Saginaw Division



2.Grand Rapids Division



3.Detroit Terminal Division



4.Canadian Division



DIVISIONAL MILEAGES(1954)



Huntington Division 460.7 miles



Hinton Division,223.5 miles



Ashland Division, 531.7 miles



Cincinnati-Chicago Division, 402.1 miles



Hocking Division, 318.8 miles



Grand Rapids Division,707.1 miles



Saginaw Division, 793.0 miles



Canadian Division, 315.82 miles



Clifton Forge Division, 467.4 miles



Richmond Division, 350.2 miles



Total Chesapeake and Ohio Railway(1954) 4569.62 miles



MAJOR TERMINALS. These were located as follows:



Newport News,Virginia



Cincinnati,Ohio (Cheviot Yard)



Toledo,Ohio



Columbus,Ohio



Detroit,Michigan



Richmond,Virginia



Grand Rapids,Michigan



Chicago,Illinois



These terminals and a number of satellite facilities handled the freight traffic of the railroad. Newport News,Virginia, in addition to general freight, handled the export coal traffic flowing eastward from the Pocahontas Region coal mines

SAMPLE FREIGHT SCHEDULES- Between Ludington,MI & Buffalo,NY

Table 1. Train No.52(all schedules are 1954 schedules)

Lv Ludington.............0900

Ar Saginaw...............1230

Lv Saginaw...............1300

Lv Port Huron............1530

Lv Sarnia................1830

Ar Talbot................2130

Lv Talbot................2245

Lv Welland...............0115

Ar Victoria..............0130

Lv Victoria..............0215

Ps Black Rock............0240

Ar East Buffal...........0330

Saginaw-All Niagara Frontier Cars in one group

Talbot-sets out Suspension Bridge Cars and picks up

40 and 44's DL&W cars. Straight DL&W Train into East

Buffalo

Connections:

Ludington-Milwaukee (CNW) 1900

Milawaukee (MILW) 2000

Kewaunee 2230

Manitowoc (CNW) 2355



East Buffalo-DLW BH4 0815

BS2 1000

A/BH8 1230
Table2. Train 56 Ludington to East Buffalo
via Black Rock DL&W
Lv Ludington.........2100
Ar Saginaw...........2430
Lv Saginaw...........0115
Lv Sarnia............0700
Ar Talbot............1000
Lv Talbot............1130
Lv Welland...........1400
Ar Victoria..........1415
Lv Victoria..........1445
Ar Black Rock........1510
Ar East Buffalo......1600
Saginaw-Niagara Frontier Cars in one Group.
Talbot,Picks up 42's DL&W cars and sets out Suspension
Bridge and Erie East Buffalo cars. Straight DL&W train
into East Buffalo
Connections:
Ludington-Milwaukee:
Milwaukee Road: 0400
CNW:1045
Kewaunee: CNW 1045
Manitowoc, Soo,1045,CNW 1150
East Buffalo-DL&W
NE4 1845
NE6 2000
BH8 2115
BH2 0100