Wyatt Rausch
"Panhandle's Demise"
A once prominent through route spanning from Pittsburg to St. Louis via Chicago, sits eerily dormant and quiet in 2025. In the Columbus Suburbs lies a scene barely touched by the modern day world, a PRR PL signal bridge stands tall, where its now turned heads used to guide some of the fastest and most notable passenger and freight trains on the PRR system.
With the Formation of Conrail in 1976, the Panhandle saw frequent use until 1985, when Stanley Crane deemed the line West of Columbus unnecessary with Conrail's parallel Indy Line to the North. West of the Relief yard in Hillard, Oh, the Panhandle would be ripped up, leaving this short segment of track here to carry on its legacy in downtown Columbus. Known as the Buckeye Line, this short section of the former Panhandle hangs on by a thread from CP Buckeye to CP-138 in downtown Columbus.
To complicate things even more, the Buckeye line has also seen its fair share of demise, with the only active section being the portion from the East end of CP Buckeye to the connection with the Scottslawn Secondary at CP Mounds. East of Mounds to Yard A has not seen a train since roughly 2019, and with the removal of the diamond with the CSX Columbus Sub at HV Cabin and the rails cut and paved over at Trabue road near Hilliard, it seems its fate has been sealed.
These signals have unknowingly seen their last train.
Columbus, Ohio
"Panhandle's Demise"
A once prominent through route spanning from Pittsburg to St. Louis via Chicago, sits eerily dormant and quiet in 2025. In the Columbus Suburbs lies a scene barely touched by the modern day world, a PRR PL signal bridge stands tall, where its now turned heads used to guide some of the fastest and most notable passenger and freight trains on the PRR system.
With the Formation of Conrail in 1976, the Panhandle saw frequent use until 1985, when Stanley Crane deemed the line West of Columbus unnecessary with Conrail's parallel Indy Line to the North. West of the Relief yard in Hillard, Oh, the Panhandle would be ripped up, leaving this short segment of track here to carry on its legacy in downtown Columbus. Known as the Buckeye Line, this short section of the former Panhandle hangs on by a thread from CP Buckeye to CP-138 in downtown Columbus.
To complicate things even more, the Buckeye line has also seen its fair share of demise, with the only active section being the portion from the East end of CP Buckeye to the connection with the Scottslawn Secondary at CP Mounds. East of Mounds to Yard A has not seen a train since roughly 2019, and with the removal of the diamond with the CSX Columbus Sub at HV Cabin and the rails cut and paved over at Trabue road near Hilliard, it seems its fate has been sealed.
These signals have unknowingly seen their last train.
Columbus, Ohio