Maumee & Western Railroad Company (reporting mark MAW) is a Class III shortline railroad, located between Napoleon, and Defiance, Ohio. The MAW operate on a former Wabash Railroad mainline, which ran Westward out of Toledo. After the merger between the Wabash and Norfolk & Western Railroads, the line became a neglected branch under the auspices of the Norfolk & Western Railroad. N&W sold the line to the Indiana Hi-Rail Company in the mid-70s. Indiana Hi-Rail operated for several years before being liquidated in 1997. The line seemed to be facing abandonment. However, the Maumee & Western Railroad, with help from the State of Ohio's, "Rail Development Commission," operates a daily train between Defiance and Napoleon, except for Saturdays and Sundays.
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as you can see, is in dire need for repairs. However, costs are estimated in the millions. It's hard to imagine that this line was once a mainline on the Wabash. MAW has made some minor improvements with ballast, but other then that, the line deteriorates. Since circa 1964 (after the Wabash/N&W merger), the line hasn't received any major repair work. Therefore, MAW is bound to creepily slow speeds. In this video, ex-Illinois Central GP10 #16 (in a special Operation Lifesaver paint scheme) struggles to pull empty box cars through the small community of Jewel. The portion of track through the small town is absolutely horrible. Subscribe for more footage on the Maumee & Western Railroad, in full, 1080P HD!