Afternoon Railfanning Action in Fostoria, Ohio. 5/13/2017.

Hello everyone, and welcome to another video compilation from Fostoria, Ohio! This video features a compilation of afternoon and evening trains in Fostoria, and I'm happy to say that this afternoon of railfanning was quite busy. Although there were no heritage units, there was an abundance of action and some foreign power action on both Norfolk Southern and CSX.

In addition, there were a few trains out of the ordinary and action that I have not seen before at this location, especially for CSX. For the first time ever, for me at least, a CSX manifest train took the northwest transfer track heading East-to-North from the CSX Willard Subdivision (the CSX mainline) to the CSX Pemberville Subdivision. While train transfers from one line to another are quite ordinary at this location, there were no transfers for manifest trains heading East-to-North on the northwest transfer track in years past, including 2016. In years past, all manifest trains typically took the northeast transfer track when transferring from the Pemberville Sub to the Willard Sub. Speaking of the northeast transfer track, action on that track has decreased by at least one-third (33%), even though I did see two trains take that track on this day. In addition, traffic on the Columbus Subdivision, the CSX line south of the Pemberville Sub and Willard Sub diamond, was non-existent on this afternoon. Though there have been reports of significant decreases in traffic, my guess is that all trains run in the morning and early afternoon and traffic on that line does not pick up until late at night, but who knows.

I suspect all of these changes came this year as a result of Hunter Harrison taking over as the CEO of CSX after leaving the same position at Canadian Pacific, and I also suspect that some of the different trains I saw on this day were the result of the changes that are occurring in Toledo area or that have already happened there. This year, Hunter Harrison plans to close the hump Stanley Yard, one of two main CSX yards in Toledo, or close Stanley yard all-together and consolidate all operations with Walbridge Yard, the other major yard in Toledo. The former statement regarding the closing of the hump is fact, but the consolidation of the two yards is a rumor at this point, but it could very well happen. Either way, all this action in Toledo will certainly affect the action in Fostoria, as the Pemberville Subdivision originates in Toledo and the two yards there contribute a good portion of the traffic to the Pemberville Subdivision.

Also, for those of you wondering about the status of the Norfolk Southern Fostoria District, afternoon traffic levels have been steady. There are still only 1-2 afternoon trains between 12 and 4:30 PM, and there are still about 4 evening trains on a daily basis.

I plan to come back to Fostoria sometime this year with an update video or two on these potential changes in traffic patterns. Until then, thanks for watching and I hope you enjoy the video!

-N&W475.