[N&W] Re: Is station really Coal Grove?

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

As a followup to the last Coal Grove note concerning the carfloats between
ARMCO  STEEL and the Ohio shore which is approximately 1/2 mile water. ARMCO
did set up a truck and crane transfer operation in IRONTON, OH which is
physically directly across the river from the plant shipping dept.  And they
loaded multi car shipments daily in a successful effort to get CSXs
attention which the resulted in a twice per day unit train now operating
between ASHLAND, KY  and MIDDLETOWN, OH via CXS directly between the two
(now SK STEEL) plants. These movements consist of special cars for hot
billets, coils, and coke hoppers (lettered CSX COKE EXPRESS). The hoppers
are loaded in the east end of ASHLAND, KY at the AK STEEL coking plant.

Another point of interest is that watching the transfer operation with
fascanation I prepared a proposal to construct a Short Line into ARMCO via a
$30 Million bridge if ARMCO and the NS would come to terms on a long term
contract for me. It seemed a simple answer to a complex problem with Class I
regs on buildouts. I could do it without much ICC/STB oversite.
It would have been either a private plant project or a Shot Line; which
everone would avoid the reg hassle.

But, unknown to the world at that moment; ARMCO was bust and could no way
offer any contract at that time. It soon became AK STEEL. So much for dreams
of "The OAK FORD & SOUTHERN" WITH 611 and 1218 sitting in the middle span
celebrating the GRAND OPENING of one mile of magnificant new railway. Ah, to
dream the dream!!!



I have seen many trains stop at Coal Grove and I seen many bags of mail
thrown off and "hooked on" to moving trains. The station was an early
casualty of the passenger closings.

Also, Coal Grove had a water tower at the lower end of the older section of
the tile plant. You can identify the location exactly even today if when
looking west from the auto bridge or US 52 down ramp west bound you can see
the double main spread apart. It still reflects the alignment for the water
spout that sat between both tracks. Only the addition of the extra water
tender, "A" units, did its use come to an end.

Just west of the water tower in the next curve sat a section gang car
shanty, which I remember with the heart of a nosiey kid. I would walk down
the main to watch the gang go out in the morning or come it in afternoon and
be amazed at how easily they spun the motor car aroung and pushed in or out.
Then when no one was around it was a quick move and under and up I would go
inside to check out all the neat equipment and tools inside the shack. HOG
HEAVEN FOR 8-9 YEAR OLD.

1960 I was home for the summer for OU and took the job for the family to
paint the entire property, 3 buildings 150x80, 40X20 & 30X50 inside and
outside plus some smaller structures as part of our returning to this site
with the tank truck operation that we had moved into Ironton several years
earlier prior to purchasing additional acreage. Working by myself was fun
and needless to say I watched a lot of N&W and C&O action for the advantage
of 20 foot ladders day after day. During the work two things happened that
show "what a small world it is".

1. An "summer extra gang" from Virgina came into Coal Grove with camp
cars for tie replacement and for a 19 year old that was pure ballet to
watch. It stills seems like hundreds of Negro extra gang members worked
beautifully and needless to say a lot less paint got spread for those few
days. It was just to much not to just sit and be in wonder of what was a
piece of art being performed JUST FOR ME, Thank you GOD.

Some years later when I began traveling to the ICC in Washington,
DC I took a cab from Washington National into town and at that time blacks
had become the prime cab drivers. In just that short ride I was asking the
cabbie how he liked Washington and how long had he been there and from where
did he come from prior. He said he had moved there from Virginia to give his
children what he could never do in Virginia and he was really happy to say
this because all his children were at that time is some type of advaned
education. His pride was a joy for me. Then of course I asked what he had
done in Virginia. His answer as you might expect was that he worked the
extra gangs for the N&W. And then of course I asked him how many times had
he worked out of camp cars at Coal Grove and he had been there a number of
times and we figured he was one of the many I had watched that summer in
1960.

2. Later on that same summer another gang came in from ASHVILLE, OH to
do some speical track work. This was an all white gang and small group of
less than ten men. I did walk over and talk to the foreman, man with hands
tied behind his back. We talked for some time and he really listen to my
questions and it was a good conversation. As I started to walk away he got
my attention and asked, "Are these the same Ford Brothers from ASHVILLE, OH
in the early 30's?". That they were. Then he smiled real pleasantly and told
me, "Well I helped them boys when they built their first truck to haul
gasoline back in the early 30's, '31-'32. They were struggling out there
along the mainline in downtown ASHVILLE tring to roll this big ole heavy
boiler tank upon this truck they had and they were not getting on to well. I
had my gang working right there were they were doing this so I walked over
and ask them if they would like us to help them and we did." Went home and
told my Dad the story and he agreed to every detail and laughed at how
helpless they must have looked.

That one tank took one family from substance farming on shares in
the Depression to a multi million $ per year revenues and 300 people with
good jobs until deregulation took all family trucking operations with a
Teamsters contract out of the picture.

Two of best of my, life's stories.

Oakie G Ford
IRONTON, OH and COAL GROVE