Vandalia Railroad (1905–1917)

Last updated
Vandalia Railroad
Overview
Locale Indiana
Illinois
Dates of operation19051916
PredecessorSt. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute Railroad, Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, Terre Haute & Logansport Railway, Logansport & Toledo Railway, and Indiana & Vincennes Railroad.
Successor Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Share of the Vandalia Railroad Company, issued 7. December 1910 Vandalia RR 1910.jpg
Share of the Vandalia Railroad Company, issued 7. December 1910

The Vandalia Railroad Company was incorporated January 1, 1905, by a merger of several lines in Indiana and Illinois that formed a 471-mile railroad consisting of lines mostly west of Indianapolis.

Contents

On January 1, 1917, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (the Panhandle) which the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) had acquired in 1868, was merged into the Vandalia Railroad to form the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. This gave the PRR a direct route from New York City to St. Louis. In 1968, PRR merged with the New York Central (NYC) to become Penn Central (PC) and in 1976, becoming part of Conrail (CR). Much of the north–south line was abandoned with the Conrail formation but parts of the east–west line survive as part of CSX Transportation.

The Vandalia Railroad lineage

1896 Railroad map of Indiana. Detailed township and county map distinguishing railroads by color and name. Includes a list of railroads in left margin, coded by color. Railroad map of Indiana. LOC 98688475.jpg
1896 Railroad map of Indiana. Detailed township and county map distinguishing railroads by color and name. Includes a list of railroads in left margin, coded by color.

Terre Haute and Richmond

The Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad was chartered in January 1847, with construction starting in late 1849. In February 1852, 73 mi (117 km) of track between Indianapolis and Terre Haute were completed. On March 6, 1865, the name was changed to the Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad. On April 26, 1870, an extension was finished from Terre Haute to the Illinois state line that met up with the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute. [1] Chauncey Rose of Terre Haute served as promoter of this railroad and was its first President.

Indianapolis and Vincennes

The Indianapolis and Vincennes was originally promoted as a route to the Gulf of Mexico when construction started in 1867, with the Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette Railroad providing financial help in return for a lease on the line. A.E. Burnside, major General in the Union Army during the Civil War, was an early promoter of the railroad. In 1868, two Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) companies were also added as guarantors for the line. The line was completed between its namesake cities in 1869, with the PRR taking control in 1871. The line, however, never reached the Gulf of Mexico as its promoters had planned. [1]

Terre Haute and Logansport

A former Vandalia train depot in Kewanna, Indiana. Streetside 2554.jpg
A former Vandalia train depot in Kewanna, Indiana.

In 1871, the initial section of the Terre Haute and Logansport Railroad connected Rockville, Crawfordsville, Frankfort, and Clymers, Indiana, which is six miles (9.7 km) southwest of Logansport. The railroad used trackage rights on a Wabash Railroad predecessor for four years until they built their own tracks into Logansport. The Terre Haute and Logansport then leased the 23 miles (37 km) segment of the Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad that stretched from Rockville to Terre Haute in 1872. [1]

The Terre Haute and Logansport finished a 69 miles (111 km) line in 1884, that connected Logansport with South Bend. This line was also leased to the Terre Haute and Indianapolis, which in 1890, leased the Indiana and Lake Michigan Railway, giving it access to St. Joseph, Michigan. [1]

Detroit, Eel River and Illinois

Completed in 1874, between Logansport and Butler, Indiana, the Detroit, Eel River and Illinois had been planned as a farm-to-market road. The Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific leased the line in 1879, to complete the middle link of a St. Louis–East Coast line. The lease was canceled after a long legal battle. The line was later reorganized as the Logansport and Toledo Railway and was bought by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1901. [1]

Merger

Vandalia Railroad pass (1908) Vandalia Railroad pass 1908.JPG
Vandalia Railroad pass (1908)

The Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, the St. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute Railroad, the Terre Haute & Logansport Railway, the Logansport & Toledo Railway, the Indiana & Vincennes Railroad were all merged on January 1, 1905, to form the Vandalia Railroad Company. The railroad connected Indianapolis in the east with St. Louis in the west and South Bend and Butler in the north with Vincennes in the south. [2]

Routes

The main east–west line ran from Indianapolis to St. Louis, with a major branch, the Terre Haute & Peoria Railroad, connecting Decatur, and Peoria, Illinois. The line was double-tracked for much of its length, serving the coal region of southern Illinois, and as a passenger route for the Pennsylvania Railroad's Blue Ribbon named trains, The St Louisan, the Jeffersonian, and the Spirit of St. Louis . [3]

The main north–south route ran from Terre Haute to Logansport and then to on to South Bend. Logansport was a PRR hub, with six branch lines radiating in all directions. Logansport also featured a yard and engine terminal. From Logansport, the line proceeded northward intersecting every major east–west trunk line including the PRR's main east–west route and PRR's "panhandle" route. Upon reaching South Bend, the line proceeded northward through an industrial corridor toward the Studebaker plant to a depot just short of South Bend Union Station. Because the New York Central (NYC) trackage was elevated, interchange with NYC and tenant Grand Trunk Western (GTW) was indirect via a west-routed branch that reached the Studebaker plant railroad, New Jersey, Indiana, and Illinois (NJI&I) subsidiary of the Wabash Railroad, GTW, and NYC's Kankakee Belt Railroad subsidiary. PRR maintained few facilities other than the depot in town as there were no other connecting PRR lines in South Bend.

From Logansport, the Logansport & Toledo Railway proceeded northeast to Butler, where it connected to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway.

Equipment

The Vandalia Railroad was a PRR subsidiary for most of the twentieth century. PRR was known for equipment standardization and as such, all properties and subsidiaries operated with standardized PRR equipment.

Traffic

Freight traffic was the primary use of the Vandalia Railroad. Studebaker loaded trucks for shipment south. Passenger trains were operated, including football specials for the University of Notre Dame. The university is located a few miles north of the station.

Abandonment

Despite the shutdown of most Studebaker operations in South Bend, abandonment was delayed until the Conrail consolidation. At that time, Conrail had three routes to/through South Bend and the Vandalia Railroad was deemed redundant. It has been abandoned piecemeal from the city border northward, with online industries served from trains based on the former NYC territory.

Remnants

The depot in South Bend still stands as a business. The tracks to the South still stand to Ewing Street, but are not in use. The tracks west to the Kankakee Belt connection still stand and are rarely used.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Pennsylvania Railroad, legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia. It was named for the commonwealth in which it was established. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad, the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Central Railroad</span> American Class I railroad (1853–1968)

The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midwest, along with the intermediate cities of Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Rochester and Syracuse. New York Central was headquartered in New York City's New York Central Building, adjacent to its largest station, Grand Central Terminal.

The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. It included the current Norfolk Southern-owned Fort Wayne Line east of Crestline, Ohio, to Pittsburgh, and the Fort Wayne Secondary, owned by CSX, from Crestline west to Tolleston in Gary, Indiana. CSX leased its entire portion in 2004 to the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad (CFE). The remaining portion of the line from Tolleston into Chicago is now part of the Norfolk Southern's Chicago District, with a small portion of the original PFW&C trackage abandoned in favor of the parallel lines of former competitors which are now part of the modern NS system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad</span> Railroad in the United States (1917–1956)

The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route, was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, which began at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, crossed the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, and continued west to Bradford, Ohio, where it split into a northern line to Chicago and a southern one through Indianapolis, Indiana, to East St. Louis, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Company</span>

The Pennsylvania Company, later known publicly as the Pennsylvania Lines was a major holding company. It included the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, the PRR's main route to Chicago. It also owned but did not operate the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, another line to Chicago. It merged back into the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Park crossing</span>

The Brighton Park crossing is a major railroad crossing in Chicago, Illinois, hosting three major freight railroads. The crossing is northwest of the intersection of Western Avenue and Archer Avenue, in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The railroads involved in the crossing are CSX, Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. The crossing consists of the CN's two-track Joliet Subdivision in a roughly east–west orientation intersecting five north–south tracks operated by NS and CSX. Collectively, these railroads operate approximately 80 trains per day through the crossing. The junction is visible from the CTA Orange Line trains that pass on an elevated structure immediately southeast of the crossing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway</span> Short-line railroad in Illinois & Indiana

The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short line railroad that operates 247 miles (398 km) of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana. TP&W has trackage rights between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria, between Logansport and Kokomo, Indiana, and between Reynolds, Indiana, and Lafayette, Indiana. TPW has connections with UP, BNSF, NS, CSXT, CN, CP, BL, CERA, CIM, KBSR and T&P. The railroad is now owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. The railroad's traffic comes largely from agricultural products, including both raw and processed grain products, as well as chemicals and completed tractors. The TPW hauled around 26,000 carloads in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chauncey Rose</span> American businessman

Chauncey Rose was a successful American businessman of the 19th century.

The St. Louis Line Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Indiana and Illinois. The line runs from Indianapolis, Indiana, west-southwesterly to East St. Louis, Illinois, along a former Conrail line, partly former New York Central Railroad trackage and partly former Pennsylvania Railroad trackage.

The New Castle District is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of Ohio and Indiana. The line runs from Evendale northwest and north to Fort Wayne, Indiana along former Pennsylvania Railroad and New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad lines. Its south end is at Evendale, where it meets the Dayton District and Indiana and Ohio Railway's Oasis Subdivision. It runs along a piece of CSX Transportation's Toledo Subdivision from Hamilton north to New Miami, Ohio using trackage rights. The New Castle District junctions the Frankfort District at Muncie, Indiana. In Fort Wayne, it crosses the Huntington District and ends at the Chicago District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butler Branch (Indiana)</span>

The Butler Branch was a historic railroad line that operated in Indiana, USA. It ran between the city of Logansport on the Wabash River in north central Indiana and the namesake town of Butler near the Ohio border in northeastern Indiana.

The Fort Wayne Line and Fort Wayne Secondary is a rail line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad (CFE), and CSX Transportation in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. The line runs from Pittsburgh, west via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Gary, Indiana, along what was once the Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh to Chicago main line.

The Columbus to Chicago Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Columbus, Ohio northwest via Logansport, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. Junctions included the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford, which split at Bradford to reach the Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line at New Paris, Ohio; the Fort Wayne Branch at Ridgeville, Indiana; the Richmond Branch at Anoka, Indiana; and the South Bend Branch and I&F Branch at Logansport.

The Pittsburgh to St. Louis Main Line was a rail line owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The line ran from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania west via Steubenville, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Vandalia, Illinois to East St. Louis, Illinois. In addition to its east end in downtown Pittsburgh, where it met the Main Line and Pittsburgh to Chicago Main Line, junctions included the Columbus to Chicago Main Line at Columbus, the C&X Branch at Xenia, the Columbus to Indianapolis Main Line via Bradford at New Paris, the Richmond Branch and Fort Wayne Branch at Richmond, the Louisville Branch and I&F Branch at Indianapolis, and the Peoria Branch at Farrington, Illinois.

The Kankakee Belt Route is the nickname for the Illinois Division of the New York Central Railroad, which extended from South Bend, Indiana, through Kankakee, Illinois, and westward to Zearing, Illinois. This line was sometimes referred to as the "3 I Line", in reference to a corporate predecessor, the "Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Railroad". That portion of the line west of Kankakee to Moronts, Illinois, roughly parallels the Illinois River in Northern Illinois and was used, in large part, to transport corn toward eastern markets. See Kankakee Outwash Plain

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winamac Southern Railway</span>

The Winamac Southern Railway is a short-line railroad in northern Indiana, United States, operated under lease by the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway. It owns two lines radiating from Logansport to Kokomo and Bringhurst, and formerly a third to Winamac, all former Pennsylvania Railroad lines acquired from Conrail in 1993. It hauls mainly outbound grain and inbound agricultural supplies, connecting with the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway at Logansport and with the Central Railroad of Indianapolis at Kokomo. Until 2009, the Central Railroad of Indianapolis operated the company as agent.

The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.

The Indianapolis Union Railway Company, is a terminal railroad operating in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was organized on May 31, 1850, as the Union Track Railway Company by the presidents of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad (M&I), the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad (TH&R), and the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad (I&B) for the purposes of establishing and operating joint terminal facilities in Indiana's capital city. The name of the company was changed to its present one on August 12, 1853. The next month, on September 20, Indianapolis Union Station opened its doors, becoming the first union railroad station in the world. Since 1999, the company has been owned and operated by CSX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terre Haute Union Station</span> Former train station in Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute Union Station was a passenger train station located at Ninth Street and Spruce Street, Terre Haute, Indiana, serving riders for nearly 67 years. It was completed on August 15, 1893, at the cost of $273,000.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Simmons & Parker 1997.
  2. Staufer, Edson & Harley 1993.
  3. Walsh 1999.

Bibliography