The photos included here were taken at the modern-day Marion station on January 19th, 2008. This was a very windy and cold (8 degrees F) day with strong sunlight but many blowing low-level clouds ready to 'spike' the shot.

Marion Depot

As can be seen in the Marion history section, the depot has platforms on three sides that were used for the four different railroads that stopped here. Today they are used by railfans on a 24/7 basis watching and photographing the trains going by. The interior of the depot has undergone extensive restoration work and still has more to do, mostly wood trim work. The ceiling has a stained glass vault that was restored about 10 years ago and back lit to display the glass colors. The original vault extended up into the attic and was not enclosed or back lit (they think).

The interior of the depot is used for display and instruction purposes as well as a meeting space for the Marion Railfans group. The bench seats are modified church pews mounted on rollers. The ticket agent's office has been restored and now is the office for the Marion Depot Museum.

The interior of the depot houses a large number of interlocking machines for various Ohio and Midwest locations as well as signal demonstrators that illustrate the movements of an interlocking machine and the resulting signal displays on NYC Searchlight type signals, lower quadrant semaphore, and a PRR position light signal. These machines and signals were restored to operating condition by Museum member George Dettweiler.

Ten years ago AC Tower was moved from the northwest corner of the Sandusky Line diamonds (see the Jan-Feb-Mar 2008 Arrow article) and placed on two-story steel legs on the south side of the diamonds on the depot museum property. While not quite the view that the three-story original had the two-story version works just fine!

AC Tower

Today AC tower has been fully restored with the interlocking machine and the model board functioning to an early 1970's mode of operation. Of course, the machine does not control any actual track, but it can and does work in a manner completely accurate to AC tower's active days. When the tower was moved, it kept its orientation from its original position so that the model board shows the track representation accurately.

The Model Board for AC Tower.

The model board and the interlocking machine.

The operator's desk and his radios and telegraph.

The general interior of AC Tower.

Train Activity

The following photos show train activity around the tower and the depot that can be seen from the platforms, depot windows or the tower steps or windows.

NS 117 eastbound with BNSF 4570 in the lead crosses the CSX, ex-Erie/NYC, "Beeline" tracks, taken from the steps on AC Tower. NS Marion Yard is behind the train to the east in the background.

Diamonds, especially highly trafficked ones such as these, require constant maintenance. Here an NS crew welds up and grinds the points.

While NS 117 passes AC Tower, the Marion Shifter picks up cars set off by CSX and prepares to take them westbound into the NS Marion Yard.

The NS local L2V pulls compass north or westbound up to AC tower where the engines will cut off to pick up cars on to the interchange track. The white topped building behind the locomotives is the NS Signal Maintainer's office that used to be the PRR freight house and before that a private residence/mansion.

This view from the platform shows the NS 147(?) consist rolling westbound past AC Tower at sunset. The depot baggage office is on the right and the eastbound and westbound CSX Beeline mains are on the left. Regardless of the bitter cold, the NS crew is still working on the diamonds.

Coming out of the sunset, Engine Light CSX Q366 crosses over in front of the depot after setting off the front half of its train into CSX, ex-Erie, Marion Yard in the distance. Q366 pulled the draft gear apart on an auto rack west of Marion at Ridgeway earlier this day. Now the engines are moving east of the depot and interlocking to get permission and the signals to roll westbound to rescue the rest of its train. The draft gear broke on the engine side of the car which frustrated the simple ways to set off the car or haul the train out of the way of the other traffic. This view is from AC Tower through the west facing window. The engines are crossing the CSX, ex-Hocking Valley, tracks to Fostoria and Toledo.

Here Q366 is passing the westbound home signal east of the NS Sandusky Line for the eastbound main preparing to stop once the engines are past the signals and prepare for westward movement. This shot is taken from the platform under AC Tower.

And Q366 Engine Light moving west.

This view looks compass south southeast or eastbound down the CSX, ex C&O, ex Hocking Valley, towards Columbus, Ohio and Parsons Yard. In the distance are the cars on NS 147(?) heading towards Bellevue Yard. In the older days, the C&O Freight House sat in the gap between the NS and CSX tracks across the street. The red brick building is one of the Marion Power Shovel buildings. A monster drag line bucket sits on display beneath the flags. Of course the depot building is on the left.

This view is looking northwest or westbound up the CSX line to Fostoria and Toledo. This ex C&O, ex Hocking Valley line, usually sees traffic in the mid evening time period although variation to the 'normal' is quite common on this line. Fostoria is about an hour and a half away if one follows the roads along this line, not counting intermediate stops along the way. The two red-light signal below the classic C&O signal mast is the signal controlling the connection track from the Beeline to the Hocking Valley. At this date CSX runs two trains each way per day around the connection.