# Columbus Subdivision

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The **Columbus Subdivision** is a freight railroad line extending from [Columbus, Ohio](/source/Columbus,_Ohio), north to [Fostoria, Ohio](/source/Fostoria,_Ohio). The line is currently owned by CSX Transportation.[1][2]

This rail line is a mostly double-tracked route that sees a relatively high amount of traffic per day.[3] Unit coal trains are very common on the Columbus Subdivision, but a large variety of commodities travel along the line. The line is controlled via a [Centralized Traffic Control](/source/Centralized_Traffic_Control) system that allows for a high throughput of trains.[3] [Direct Traffic Control](/source/Direct_Traffic_Control) is also used along the subdivision to separate trains, with a large number of DTC Blocks named after nearby municipalities.[4]

The Columbus Subdivision should not be confused with CSX's [Columbus Line Subdivision](/source/Columbus_Line_Subdivision), which stretches from [Columbus, Ohio](/source/Columbus,_Ohio), to [Galion, Ohio](/source/Galion,_Ohio), and is located several miles east of the Columbus Subdivision.

## History

The right-of-way that it known today as the Columbus Subdivision began construction in August 1875, once the newly founded Columbus & Toledo Railroad company raised enough funds to construct a rail line from [Columbus](/source/Columbus,_Ohio) north to [Toledo](/source/Toledo,_Ohio) through the villages of [Linworth](/source/Neighborhoods_in_Columbus,_Ohio#Linworth), [Powell](/source/Powell,_Ohio), [Delaware](/source/Delaware,_Ohio), [Prospect](/source/Prospect,_Ohio), [Morral](/source/Morral,_Ohio), and [Fostoria](/source/Fostoria,_Ohio). The primary purpose of the line was to forward coal from the Appalachian region to markets beyond Columbus. Nonetheless, the line also carried passenger traffic and reported 25M passenger-miles and 2.6B freight ton-miles per year. The Columbus & Toledo was later consolidated into the [Hocking Valley Railway](/source/Hocking_Valley_Railway), along with another connected route extending south of Columbus.[5]

After the Hocking Valley system was acquired by the [Chesapeake and Ohio Railway](/source/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Railway), the line was under C&O ownership. During the 1950s, the track was modernized to include [CTC](/source/Centralized_Traffic_Control) signals and remote dispatch capability. Facilities for [Diesel Locomotives](/source/Diesel_Locomotive) were instituted while aging steam equipment was removed and scrapped. Passenger traffic also began to dwindle as personal automobiles and [Interstate Highways](/source/Interstate_Highway) proliferated, forcing the railroad to focus more on freight movements and remove most small, local depots from service.

In 1980, the C&O's holding company, the [Chessie System](/source/Chessie_System), and [several other railroads](/source/List_of_CSX_Transportation_predecessor_railroads) merged into the [CSX Corporation](/source/CSX_Corporation). In the mid-1980s, CSX established [CSX Transportation](/source/CSX_Transportation), which brought all owned lines into a single railroad with the modern-day CSX livery.

In 2006, CSX split the Columbus Subdivision at [Fostoria, Ohio](/source/Fostoria,_Ohio). The southern, Columbus–Fostoria portion kept its name, while the northern track towards Toledo was renamed the [Pemberville Subdivision](/source/Pemberville_Subdivision) and placed into CSX's Great Lakes operating division. Additionally, the track within the high-volume city of Fostoria was renamed the [Fostoria Subdivision](/source/Fostoria_Subdivision).

## References

1. ["CS-Columbus Sub - the RadioReference Wiki"](https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/CS-Columbus_Sub)

1. [http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Huntington%20Div%20East%20ETT%20%231%201-1-2005.pdf](http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Huntington%20Div%20East%20ETT%20%231%201-1-2005.pdf) CSX Huntington East Division Timetable

1. ["Columbus Subdivision (CSX)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160305025203/http://www.morpc.org/pdf/2007DraftInventorySection2Line1.pdf). Morpc.org. Archived from [the original](http://www.morpc.org/pdf/2007DraftInventorySection2Line1.pdf) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2013-09-08.

1. ["CSX Transportation : Huntington East Division Draft"](http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CSX/CSX%20ETTs/CSX%20Huntington%20Div%20East%20ETT%20%231%201-1-2005.pdf). Multimodalways.org. Retrieved 2013-09-08.

1. *The Hocking Valley Railway* by Edward H. Miller

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Columbus Subdivision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Subdivision) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Subdivision?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.