Norfolk Southern Pounding The Diamonds!

“Diamonds, it’s all about the sound!”

Marion, Ohio, boasts a total of 8 diamonds that intersect each other!

100’s of railfans flock to this tiny town in Ohio each year to stand by the old train station and watch up to 60 to 80 trains per day pound across these level junctions known as “Diamonds”.

Known as 8 diamond junction, this intersection used to serve up to 4 railroads at one time in its heyday. Now, it is down to two, the Norfolk Southern and CSX.

As you can hear, the rail junctions take a real pounding and the maintenance of way crews continually need to inspect and replace the worn track.

Marion is the center for 3 mainlines!

The different types of diamonds are:

• Level junction: at grade or on the level
• Flying junction: individual tracks rise or fall in order to pass over each other

Conflicting routes like the ones seen here are controlled by interlocking signals in order to prevent collisions.

Let us know if you have been to Marion or any other diamonds crossings! We love to hear about your experience!