When I was a kid I remember seeing Conrail coal trains headed up to Ashtabula with units on the front, middle, and end. Once in the middle of the night a was on a 4 wheeler and saw 2 units coasting back down the hill, hardly making any noise.
CR used to use helpers on the Youngstown Line. They would shove up from the docks at Ashtabula, and also shove normal Buffalo-Conway manifests south on the Youngstown Line. I don't know who inherited the dock operation, but both carriers run the Youngstown Line today.
Haselton is Youngstown OH. I wonder if these are the NS helpers that work the Youngstown Line.
8 Conrail:
