A little over fourty years ago, one could stand track side anywhere between Parkersburg and Cincinnati and watch high speed manifests, piggyback trains, and even the short-lived Shenandoah passenger train ride the rails of the beautifully contoured Ohio Division mainline at speeds up to 60 miles an hour. Fast forward to summer of 1985, and those trains suddenly vanished for good, as the Chessie System discontinued through freights between Clarksburg and Cincinnati, followed by the subsequent abandonment of chunks of the "Branch" a few years later. Today, only a few portions remain, including the original main line from Grafton to Clarksburg & Parkersburg to Belpre (both operated by CSX), Greenfield to Cincinnati (operated by the Indiana & Ohio Railway) and most of the section from West Junction near Richmonddale to McArthur, now operated by Indiana Eastern Railroad subsidiary Ohio South Central Railroad under the ownership of the City of Jackson, Ohio. The OSCR uses an eclectic mix of green first generation Geep's to service several customers near McArthur, Hamden, & Jackson (on the former B&O Portsmouth Branch) On this brisk December weekend, however, all five motors sit quietly, waiting for Monday morning to return to work.
