Train no. 312

NG501053

Train no. 312

Steam M&E Train

Moraine, mentioned briefly in the preceding commentary, is not a town but rather an industrial "park" inspired, constructed, and nourished by the General Motors Corporation to revolutionize the manufacture of iceboxes and other household appliances. It is not a plant, either; it is a complex of low, modernistic structures divided into several plants. The Big Four, whose right of way passes through its middle, has the rare fortune of being the only railroad having direct access to this veritable gusher of carload traffic (the B&O, whose Toledo-Cincinnati main line runs just across the Miami River from Moraine, has been licking its chops and threatening to build a bridge for a long time). In full operation, Frigidaire has been known to load out over 100 cars of its enameled products in one day, and during such bonanzas the Central's harried car distribution forces regularly order up solid "Moraine" trains of 40x10 boxcars from points as far away as Selkirk yard, nearly 700 miles east. Of course, there is a large inbound movement of raw materials and power-plant coal as well. In this photograph, Hudson 5325 is shown running close to the limit of 79 MPH on no. 312 at Moraine. The nine-car train is emerging from the factory area, bound for Dayton, Springfield, Bellefontaine, and points north to Toledo and Detroit. (All trains out of Cincinnati, though they are headed more north than east by the compass, are eastbound on the railroad.). More on the next page about the Ohio Division's attentions to General Motors at Moraine.

Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor

2-1/4x3-1/4 neg

Apr-53

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326

J-1e

#5325

Alco-Schen

Moraine, OH

See NG501053a