West Columbus

The camera is looking west over the PRR Bradford line from the Front Street Bridge.  The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad freight house is on the left.  The PRR tracks are in the middle, with the Spruce Street passenger locomotive roundhouse and yard in the distant haze.  The New York Central (Big Four) passenger yard, along with the water tank and coal tipple are on the right.

Photo-5, from the John W. Barriger III Collection, taken in the late 1920s.

Further west, the photographer is looking west along the PRR Bradford line. Olentangy Tower, also known as HV Cabin, is on the left.  The NYC Big Four tracks, also used by the B&O, are crossing the PRR.  In the distance is the PRR Bridge over the Olentangy River.  The C&O tracks are seen behind the tower. The C&O crosses both the NYC Big Four and PRR lines.

Photo-27, from the John W. Barriger III Collection, taken in the late 1920s.

The camera is pointed east toward Union Station.  Columbus’s gas holder is on the left.  Behind the gas holder is the PRR’s Spruce Street Roundhouse and yard.  Olentangy Tower is on the right with the NYC Big Four track crossing the PRR.  Derails can be seen in the foreground.  Trains that run the stop signal on the PRR have a bumpy ride, and the wreck train has a cleanup to do.

Photo-20, from the John W. Barriger III Collection, taken in the late 1920s.

The photographer is on the west side of the Olentangy River, looking east toward Olentangy tower.  The tower was an Armstrong plant.  The pipes connecting the tower with the switches and signals are on the right.  At Olentangy Tower, some of the pipes were a half mile in length.  It paid for the operator to be nice to the signal department men who kept the plant well lubricated and operating properly.

The C&O bridge is on the left.  This was the start of the grade to Powell.  Helper locomotives were used on both the C&O and PRR Bradford lines.

Photo-25, from the John W. Barriger III Collection, taken in the late 1920s.