Berea Tower, Berea Ohio
Posted by: 
Team RAGAR
N 41° 22.817 W 081° 51.342
17T E 428449 N 4581326
An average of 160 trains a day -- weighted a little more to NS than to CSX -- pass through Berea. NS' activity is fairly steady throughout the day, while CSX tends to fleet eastbounds in the morning, westbound in the afternoon.
Waymark Code: WM6Z61
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 08/09/2009
Views: 20
Berea is "CP 194" on NS -- 194 miles from Buffalo because NS uses the former NYC mileage measurements on the "Chicago Line." On CSX Berea is "MP 21.5", based on the mileage from Collinwood Yard via CUT.
Berea has been a major factor on the Cleveland railroad scene since the mid-1860s when several predecessors of the New York Central System (NYC) laid their tracks on roughly the same alignment as what you see today. The Berea Union Depot, now The Station Restaurant, dates from 1878 and was the city's passenger station until 1958.
Berea, today, is at least the third rebuilding of the interlocking which was done in the late 1950s, with some modification in 1999. At the height of the NYC, later PennCentral, the "Chicago Line"-- today's NS route -- had four tracks. The inner pair (Tracks 1 and 2) were for high- speed passenger and freight trains, and the outer pair (now cut back to Track 4 and the North Controlled Siding) were for regular freight and slower passenger trains.
CSX's "Columbus Line" is the ex-NYC "Big Four Route," and originally was the main passenger route from Cleveland Union Terminal (CUT). It had three tracks through Berea Depot, and two tracks west of there, but in the late 1970's Conrail reduced these to a single track (CSX Track 1). CSX reinstalled Track 2 as part of the 1999 Conrail breakup. At one time high-speed crossovers west of the depot connected the "Chicago" and "Big Four" lines for passenger trains in and out of the Berea Depot and CUT.
Berea Tower closed in 1997 and its functions were transferred to Conrail's, now NS', dispatching center in Dearborn, MI, which controls the "Chicago Line" with NS "Cleveland Terminal" and "Toledo East" dispatchers, as well as some local control from Rockport Yard.
CSX's "IG" dispatcher at its Indianapolis center dispatches both the "Columbus Line" and the "Short Line." In February, 2009, CSX extended the IG dispatcher's territory from CP 13 (West Rd., Berea, all the way to Greenwich (CP 54), about 50 miles from Berea as part of a realignment of dispatching territories in Ohio.
Scanner Frequencies:
These are the radio frequencies for your scanner while at Berea:
CSX "IG" Dispatcher - Berea-Greenwich - 160.485
CSX "IG" Dispatcher - Berea-Greenwich - 160.860
? In 2/09, CSX reassigned the Columbus Line from Berea to Greenwich from the "IF" dispatcher to the "IG" dispatcher (who also controls the Short Line to Collinwood), but this expanded territory retains the former "IF"
Scanner Frequencies.
CSX Columbia Detector - 160.860 (A little difficult to hear)
CSX "IG" Dispatcher - Berea-Collinwood - 160.800
CSX "IG" Dispatcher - Collinwood - 160.995
NS Cleveland Terminal Dispatcher - 161.070
NS Rockport Yardmasters - 161.070 and 160.350
NS Toledo East Dispatcher - 160.980
NS Olmsted Falls Detector - 160.980 (Quite difficult to hear)
What Best Describes This Location: Mainline
If there is a fee how much?: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Is this rail location handicap accessible?: Yes, You don't even have to leave your vehicle.
Related website: [Web Link]
Other Describe: Not listed
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