When Designing a layout sometimes you have to decide the certain things about a railroad that makes it THE railroad. For me I have always been a fan of the C&O especially in the late years of the Chessie System and the beginning of the CSX era. Nothing says C&O than the the signal system and pole line, granted the Michigan division was run separately than the C&O until the merger between them and the Pere Marquette became formal. But as the sun sets on the old C&O at CP Onion on the Columbus sub just south of Fostoria OH, the Sun isn't setting on this spring night only, but on the the one thing that made this the heart of the C&O. The pole line is on borrowed time and in the background the new SAFETRAN signals are up and in service and soon the sun will set on the cantilever signal and it will become a uniform cookie cutter railroad like the rest of the lines of CSX and NS. So years from now what will replace the SAFETRAN signal and how long will it take for the future become a thing of the past?....
Phot taken by myself on Feb 21st 2011
