Saturday October 27, 2001, ends a Highly successful year for the Ohio Central Railroad's Steam Department. Today was the last day for our 4-6-0 #1551 and our daily trains in Amish Country. (www.amishsteamtrain.com) The daily Steam trains will return next year at the beginning of may with a new face 4-6-2 #1293.

Here is a quick recap of 2001 events:

March 20th - After 42 years ex-GTW 4-8-4 #6325 had a fire put into her firebox for a test fire and a check of the many new parts for proper operation. Everything went well.

May 5th - We restarted our daily Steam train operation in Amish Country after a two year shutdown for rail upgrade. The power was 4-6- 0 #1551. (We went from 90lb stick rail to 127lb welded rail for a much smoother ride)

July 31 - ex-GTW 4-8-4 #6325 moved under her own power with CEO, Jerry Jacobson, at the throttle. She finally took her first steps after a two and a half year restoration. It was a very rewarding day.

September 22 - #6325 began her second career, this time as an excursion locomotive leaving Dennison, OH at 2:30pm on her way to Columbus. With a completely sold-out train behind her, she ran 40mph most of the day and performed flawlessly.

October 22 - #6325 was put to bed for the winter. She was winterized and awaiting an awaking next spring. The #6325 ran four excursions, covered over 700 miles and pulled over 2500 passengers. 2002 is shaping up to be a very good year for the #6325. She should hit the mainline quite a bit next year with many different excursions and events planned. As soon as a schedule is finished it will be posted at www.ohiocentral.com

October 27 - #1551 wraps up a successful season of pulling thousands of passengers on 625 one hour narrated trips through the largest Amish Community in the World. It covered over 6500 miles without any major mechanical problem. It will go down for mechanical upgrades next year to make it compliant to the new FRA Steam Locomotive Regulations.

Now that the steam operations conclude, the work really begins. This past week was spent getting the #6325 winterized and all drained out. This coming week we will do the same to #1551 and get her ready for a winters nap. Then we can concentrate on 4-6-2 #1293. We will re-tube the boiler this winter as well as ultrasound the boiler for thickness and add a second water-glass. This will bring the #1293 up to the standards of the new Federal Regulations required in 2002 for steam locomotives. If time permits we will convert the trailing truck from friction to roller bearings.

As you can see it has been a very successful year and it should be a very productive winter. Next year should be very exciting and quite interesting at the Ohio Central Railroad. We would like to Thank everyone that came out this year and supported us and for those who have not yet made the journey, leave some vacation time open for next year.

One last note, I would like to put two people in the spotlight for making this year as successful as it has been. Owner and CEO of the Ohio Central Railroad, Jerry J. Jacobson. If it were not for his vision and passion for steam, none of this years events would have taken place. I would also like to recognize the OC Chief Mechanical Officer, Tim Sposato, for leading up the mechanical work and for all the time spent on excursion coordination. He usually does most of the detail work that holds everything together that usually goes un-noticed and is often unrewarding. Both men very modest and usually don't get enough credit for the work that they do behind the scenes. Thanks!

Ohio Central Steam Department