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----Richmond Indiana----
MP63 |
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Chessie 6554 sets at the Richmond Indiana yard next to the ramp. Guessing by the clues in the picture that the ramp by this time had been closed. |
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Amtrak's Cardinal heads north at South 4th street in Richmond. To say this was a unique location, I believe a few train crews had stories about this location. |
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North 3rd street in Richmond provides a nice view point of a passing southbound freight through the small yard. Today the only remaining thing is the depot, still bearing Chessie markings. |
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The Cardinal heads north out of Richmond toward Chicago, shown from the GR&I's former overpass, you can see the Wayne Bus Company in the distance. This was located on the north side of Richmond and south of Interstate 70. |
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From the looks of it, its Waterfall Road crossing on the north side of Richmond, we see a northbound train heading toward Muncie, Peru and Chicago. |
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Taken from North 3rd Street, the Richmond Avenue overpass provided an unwanted shadow, but no shadow can kill a C&O of Indiana picture. The train is southbound and in just seconds will pass the Richmond depot and yard. |
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----Muncie Indiana----
MP103 |
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GP38 #3866 glides slowly under the former NKP bridge at the east/south end of the yard at Muncie. |
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A yard goat waits at the east/south end of the Muncie yard, chances are the coal traffic you see was waiting for the NKP to pick it up. |
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A northbound led by C&O #5790 rolls around the 4 degree curve and into the almost 7 degree curve at the depot in Muncie. The NKP diamond and PRR interchange lay just ahead of the engine. Today only the NS runs trains through here and the C&O mainline is now the "Cardinal Greenway". |
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C&O 5793 waits for its duty call at the Freight station in Muncie. The freight station was located just north and slightly west of the passenger station. If you are familiar with the area, it was behind Ed's Warehouse. |
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Miami Valley Milk in Muncie is what most call "Ed's Warehouse" today. Although Ed's closed a few years ago, the building is still a landmark to the area. |
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Taken from the abutment of the NKP bridge over the C&O in Muncie, you can see a northbound freight passing under the NYC mainline and around the curve, soon it will cross the Indiana SR 32 (Jackson Street) crossing. Not much here has changed, just no tracks here anymore for the C&O. |
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Another GP38 rolls through Muncie, here we see it heading northbound across the White River bridge. The PRR Matthews branch crossed on the bridge to the right of the C&O train, and the NKP crossed just up river (left). |
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Taken at the east end of the yard looking east/south, the flood wall is in the background, and the PRR's Matthews Branch is the tracks in the weeds closest to the camera. |
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Muncie was home to "MU CABIN", as seen in the pictures to the right, it wasn't anything fancy, it was located at Hackley Street just east of the Depot, but on the west end of the yard. |
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A Chessie work extra is working at the site of the NKP diamond, by this time the diamond wasn't in use and I do believe this is a shot of the work train working on the removal of the diamond. |
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A southbound freight passing through the bridge over the White river, having passed the old Muncie Mallable plant. It will soon round the big curve and past the depot. |
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Waiting at the west end of the yard, a train bound for Peru idles away waiting for its turn to head north. In the background you can see the NKP track heading to East Yard, this would become the New Castle District mainline in a few years. |
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The Muncie turn is waiting for its crew in the yard at Muncie. |
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Not sure what is taking place here. Imagine that the Muncie turn is grabbing the local engine to take it north to Peru for service and or to get fuel as needed. From what I have been told, this was a weekly change. |
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Taken toward the north end of Drew siding on the north side of Muncie, I believe this was taken from the playground behind Northview Elementary School. |
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A close up shot just a tad south of the previous location at the north end of Drew siding. |
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The C&O had a small oops at the south/east end of Drew siding. The location is just north of Centennial Avenue, you can clearly see the crossing ahead, and if you look the stop light for the intersection of Granville and Centennial. The C&O passed through the intersection, the PRR Matthews Branch is off film to the right and crossed Centennial just west of the intersection. |
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Passengers stir outside the depot at Muncie awaiting the arrival of Amtrak's Cardinal. The orderboards were moved from MU Cabin (just east of the depot) when MU was closed. |
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The date says 1978, taken from the parking lot at the Muncie Depot. Here you can see a N&W engine on the former C&O yardlead and NKP interchange track. The N&W engines are heading back to Muncie East Yard on the former NKP Frankfort District. Today the engine is on the New Castle District mainline! |
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Arriving from Peru, we see the Cardinal pulling into the Muncie depot, passengers ready to head south. |
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Bound for Cincinnati, the Cardinal departs Muncie. The engines on the Cardinal are passing through the yard and heading south/east. The PRR is out of view to the right of the picture, the NKP track is on the left of the Cardinal. |
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A sad scene taken at Muncie. This is the former NKP/C&O diamond located just west of the depot. You are looking north on the former NKP now NS New Castle District, as you can see the N&W pulled the interchange switch and straight railed it around the curve to head east toward their east yard. The diamond had been removed and the C&O straight railed. By this time the PRR's Matthews Branch had been removed and the NKP/PRR interchange was gone. This interlocking was an interesting arrangement agreement wise over the years. Originally established as a Target interlocking crossing, it was later changed to a controlled interlocking and reverted back, and finally controlled from the dispatcher in Peru. |
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The Westbound Cardinal is pulling past the yard at Muncie and slowing for the depot just behind the photographer. By the time this photo was taken, much of the industrial traffic on the C&O at Muncie was handled by the turn only and held at South Muncie if needed. The yards looks very empty and would appear this way until the end of service in 1993. The track curving off to the left under the code line is the NKP interchange to their east yard. Today it is the New Castle District mainline. |
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Taken from the southbound/eastbound Cardinal, you can see the former PRR Matthews Branch bridge over the river. |
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Looking north from the NYC overpass, you can see SR32 and the NKP overpass, just beyond the NKP overpass is the eastend of the Muncie yard. |
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----Marion Indiana----
MP132 |
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Taken at Marion Indiana, the PRR Bradford main is just off camera to the left. Both roads ran in a cut through the west side of Marion. |
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Taken at almost the same spot as above, but just a tad west, you can see the new overpass and still see the wooden overpass that is just east of the modern bridge. Look just above the freight cars and below the modern bridge. |
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MP133 was a very accessible location, it gave you a chance to shoot the PRR/PC/Conrail's Redkey (Bradford-Logansport line) and the C&O side by side. Here we catch a westbound freight that in just an short time will be in Peru and off duty. |
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GP40-2's seem to be the theme here, and Kevin explained that in the late 70's the GP40-2's would be found on anything running the Chicago Division. This series seems to prove that one and it is what I remember, that and GP30's. |
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The local is working the Dana plant at Miller avenue on Marion's west side. This was also the start of the east end of Phoenix siding. As some know, this was also the end of through service about the time this photo was taken, as Amtrak had moved the Cardinal and CSX decided to have local service only on the line. Soon Peru north would be removed and the end of an era for the C&O was over for good! |
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A different view of MP133 and the wooden bridge. The PRR is on the right side now and you are looking west at this eastbound led by a U25B. |
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Another them, this time a few years in rewind and you will now see how popular the U25B was on the Chicago Division. Something I never knew was how popular the U25B was on this section of railroad. |
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Another westbound through MP133, you can more clearly see the PRR tracks on the left of the picture. You are looking east and can see the C&O turning southeast away from the PRR. |
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No greater illustration for the PRR and C&O running side by side at MP 133 then in this shot. Here you see a PRR eastbound tail end and caboose being caught by the head end of a C&O eastbound. Just behind the camera the C&O train will turn southeast and head for Muncie leaving the PRR freight to head to Columbus Ohio. |
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A westbound has encountered an issue at the east end of Phoenix siding and the engine crew has stopped to call the dispatcher. You can clearly see a eastbound in the siding. If you look closely you can see the speed sign for eastbounds entering Marion just over the flatcar behind the engine. |
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Miller Avenue made for easy grab shots of crews working at Dana or getting to the Eastend of Phoenix siding. More U25B's in the lead. |
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More U25B's at MP 133 as they take a train eastbound from Peru to Cincinnati. Must have been a nice spring from all the weeds between the PRR and C&O. |
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Something every railroad hated was the thought of hitting a school bus, and at MP 131 that became a reality for this crew of a southbound train at Marion. No details are available for this accident. |
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Amtrak's Cardinal hurries north and through west Marion having just departed the depot at Marion moments before. Track speed is just ahead and it won't be long before he arrives at Marion for a crew change. |
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Amtrak E8 #201 illustrates the curve out of Marion to head due west toward Phoenix siding. This curve is where the C&O joined to run side by side with the PRR on the west side of town. |
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A southbound Cardinal has arrived at the Marion depot to pickup and drop off its passengers. After a quick stop, the crew will depart for Cincinnati in short order. |
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----Peru Indiana----
MP161 |
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A northbound trailer train heads up and out of the Peru terminal via the heavy grades from the Wabash valley. |
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B&O 6618 in Chessie paint waiting in the yard at Peru Indiana. |
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On the ready tracks at Peru we catch a B&O switcher waiting for its next assignment. |
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From everything I can find, this was the coal dump for the boiler at the Peru Shops. |
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When the C&O dieselized the Chicago Division they built a new modern Diesel shop onto the old locomotive building. At right you can see the modern shop and compare to the older steam era shops on left. |
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Inside the Diesel shop you can see even at the end of the era, the crews took good care of the facility. |
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Here we see the modern version of the Peru car repair shop. |
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The final days are close, the Peru Turntable will only see a few more times of use before it goes still for good. |
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After the tracks had been removed, you can clearly see the old Coaling tower. Its days were numbered, soon it would be a pile or rubble. |
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The mainline is still in place, but the yards are being removed. This shot was taken around 1989/90 we believe. |
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The office witnessed the removal of the yard at the east end, again only the mainline is left down as the yard is removed. |
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The yard is almost all gone now, you can see the gons on the mainline ahead, this was just before they cut the mainline north. |
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A side view of the Chicago Division office at Peru, the building was home to the dispatchers office as well. |
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Here we see the Cardinal northbound into Peru at the Peru Office building. |
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Welded rail is coming just south of Peru. Here we catch the Chessie Steam Special running hard toward Cincinnati over the heavy duty jointed rail. |
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The depot at Peru was the end of the double track through "Peru Terminal", as seen from the rear of the Northbound Cardinal. |
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Peru Indiana was the crossing of the mighty Wabash river, here we see a view north across the bridge from the rear of the Cardinal. |
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The sharp curve at the north end of the bridge is seen in this view from the northbound Cardinal. |
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Taken in 1991 we see the remaining signs of steam at the now abandoned C&O Peru yard. The tower lasted longer then most other things in the Peru yard, but even it too fell by the late 1990's. |
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Peru yard was a great place to catch trains, the narrow confines allowed photographers access to stuff that in most years they couldn't even see. Here a Westbound awaits a crew to take it on to Chicago. |
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The pit at Peru was also on the north side of the yard and that too meant easier access to get pictures. Here we see power awaiting assignment. More U25B's! |
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A U25B has hit the ground at the westend of the Peru yard. At this location the main and yard leads turned northwest to head out of town. The shops are off picture to the right. |
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A great shot, fixing the accident we see the big hook and the crew working quickly to get the engine back on the rail and the line cleared for traffic again. Today it would be done by a private contractor. Lucky for the railroad this happened in the yard and not 100 miles away! |
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Great shot of the side of the engine shop. This is the steam era shop, as the diesel shop was located just off view to the left. Obviously this engine is getting a little extra service by the guys at Peru today. |
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----Cincinnati to Peru---- |
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A Northbound on the Cheviot Hill grade, this segment of the line was called a mountain railroad in the middle of the city! For good reason too. |
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Fernald Ohio in 1982 was the end of the line toward Cincinnati, all the traffic by now turned the corner at Cottage Grove. Only the local came south now! |
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Shandon Ohio wasn't a large town, but due to some industry it survived late into life. Picture year is unknown, but guesses place it in the early 30's. |
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Cottage Grove Indiana MP45 is the site of the B&O crossing, located only a stones throw out of Ohio, the location is still served by a shortline. Here we see a Chessie local at the signal heading south to Fernald in 1993. |
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Williamsburg depot was like the others at Gaston and such. Not much to see, but nice detail shot. |
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A northbound freight led by C&O 3520 head north past the town of Economy Indiana MP80. US35 is just off frame on the right, this location is still very evident today, as the tracks turn slightly away from the road. |
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In March of 1993 the rail train had made it to Losantville Indiana MP87. Here we see the train laying over at the south/east end of the siding, just short of the US36 crossing. The engines wait on the siding. Losantville was the north end of the helper district and actually had a wye to allow the turning of engines as needed, it was located behind the Blue Moon restaurant and came off the mainline. |
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Mt.Pleasant Indiana MP95 wasn't actually on the railroad, but less then 1/8th of a mile south. I was told the town chose US35 over the railroad because of commerce, good choice considering the tracks are a trail now! Here we catch the southbound Cardinal running hard out of Muncie but putting on the brakes for the 40 and 50mph curves ahead. |
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A southbound freight rumbles through the town of Gaston Indiana MP114. The CTC siding here at Gaston was the longest on the line outside of the yardlimits of Peru. |
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Janney Indiana was located at the Delaware/Grant County line, the town if you could call it that was actually in Delaware County and located at MP119. This shot was taken in the early winter of 1992 (I believe December of 92') taken from I-69 looking north toward the town of Fowlerton Indiana. The rails only had another month until the rail train would have them pulled up. Today you can still see the right of way, but south of here several farmers have removed the signs of any railroad and corn fills the right of way. The segment from Gaston to Jonesboro wasn't included in the Cardinal Greenway. |
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The northbound Cardinal slows for the town of Jonesboro located just south of Marion Indiana at MP127. Grey siding was located just out of camera view, it was on the south edge of Jonesboro. |
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Amtrak loved to put the POOCH engines on the Cardinal, here we see it coming into the town of Jonesboro. |
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The Jonesboro freighthouse served both Jonesboro on the west bank of the river, but also included the town of Gas City which was on the east bank of the river. The PRR Logansport-Columbus mainline served the town of Gas City proper however! |
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Jonesboro Indiana was home to the rail train in the winter of 1992-1993, here it is just north of the SR22 crossing heading southbound toward Muncie at ultimately Cottage Grove. |
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Sweetser Indiana located at MP138 was home to a siding and not really much else. A few small industries typical of rural Indiana. |
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Sweetser's depot was unique, I'll have to ask my sources, but I believe it was like no other. I've seen 2 pictures of it now and both are late 60's-early 70's era pictures. Details, please email me! |
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Steam at Sweetser, gotta love those C&O steamers! |
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The grade separation at Converse with the PRR's Logansport-Columbus mainline meant a sharp curve on both sides of the underpass. This meant speed restrictions and well, one can imagine by the photo that the downhill grade may have played into this wreck! |
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A high wheeling passenger train stops at Converse, this was in the final days of passenger service on the line. |
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----Peru to Chicago---- |
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----Fulton Indiana----
MP180 |
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More proof that Chessie GP15T's did make it down the Chicago Division, we see #1514 setting in the elevator track at Fulton Indiana. This is the second image now seen, the other taken just south of Muncie. |
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The elevator at Fulton was a common holding place for power, from the locals and when needed to hold extra engines for the pull up the hill. |
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Must have been a temp block office at Fulton, as an operator is getting ready to hand up orders to a passing train. |
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Hoover Indiana interlocking looked oddly enough like Losantville, if you have ever seen the pictures! A second glance was needed even with the sign. |
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A tad north from what we have been looking at, this isn't on the C&O of Indiana, but it was on the rerouted railroad. Its the former Pere Marquette and the train just crossed the B&O and GTW mainlines and will take the balloon connection and head to Chicago. |
_______________________Chicago Division Dispatchers Office_______________________
Peru Indiana
The quality of these photos aren't the best, but they will give you a good idea of what the line looked like from the perspective of the dispatcher. A brief description will follow the image.
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A brief overview of the entire panel. You can get a feel for the entire line from the south at Fernald and the north at Malden. These photos were taken around 1980-81. |
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The push button control panel, everything the dispatcher needed to line a train up and give him signal indication over the railroad. |
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This was the phone system at the main panel. |
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You can see the north end of the line was taped over, as by this time the signals had been removed from north of LaCrosse and only track occupancy was shown on the branch to Malden. Below that you can see the segment from Amboy to Deer Creek (Marion) |
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The top of the panel is Wade (LaCrosse) to Beardstown and the bottom of the panel is Grey (Jonesboro) to Drew (Muncie) |
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The top of the panel is Beardstown to Hoover and the bottom is from Muncie to Losantville |
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A nice close up of the Amboy to Sweetser section. You can see better detail here. |
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Here is the segment from Grey (Jonesboro) to Muncie. |
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A close up view of the southend of Peru (called "South Peru) to Santa Fe. The track segments that aren't solid mean that no detection is offered to the dispatcher. |
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The yard limits at Peru were controlled by an older type CTC machine, only controlling the yard limit mainline. |
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The top of the panel is CW Tower (Peru's Wabash crossing) to Santa Fe, the bottom section is Economy to Richmond. |
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A close up view for the Economy to Richmond section of the board. |
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A nice close up shot for the area around Phoenix, this was on Marion's west side at the location of the diamond with the NKP's Marion belt to the PRR's Goodman yard. |
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Train graph plotters, this one told the story for the Peru to Cottage Grove section of the railroad, notice the line south of Cottage Grove was no longer graphed. This plotted the trains time on the graph when they passed through a controlled interlocking (or the OS circuit). |
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Train graph plotter for the Peru to LaCrosse segment, also note the line north/west of LaCrosse is no longer on. |
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The key interlocking of Cottage Grove, this was the tie in to the B&O line to Hamilton Ohio and onto Cincinnati. |
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