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From: Philip Albano palbano AT earthlink DOT net
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 04:55:53 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
Subject: West End
"Rochester_Ind.9-8-06.jpg" - image/jpeg, 837x582 (24bit)

>From Archives@Railfan.net
>Message-ID: <1B8C2E08B21B8743A2B3AED07407DA7617B17EB4@nj7460exch002u.ho.lucent.com>
>Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 15:18:27 -0400
>From: "Tupaczewski, Paul R (Paul)"
>Subject: RE: (erielack) FW: Tallmadge, Ohio

>I don't know the answer to this, but I sure would love to learn more about the
>West End.

>This question brings up a question I have on an area that I have VERY little knowledge
>of - the EL in Ohio and Indiana and what happened after C-day.

>* I understand that CR abandoned many portions of the main on April 1, 1976 - what
>did they get rid of?
>* What shortline carriers (e.g., Erie Western) operated the remaining sections -
>and what operators are still running today?
>* How much local business was there on the West End? I assume a lot of farm goods?

> - Paul


Paul T. and List:


April 1, 1976 was a sad day for the EL from Marion to Chicago as that was the end of the line (pun intended) for through trains to and from Chicago. As most of you know Conrail had 2 mainlines to Chicago: the former NYC via Elkhart and the former PR via Fort Wayne and so did not need another one. The day before Conrail all the normal through freights, locals and yard engines ran. The last train was BN99 by SJ Tower at 2326 hrs. (1126pm). the next day April 1, 1976 all of the through freights were rerouted over the former PRR and NYC lines. There were just afew locals and yard engine left running on the EL. The diamond at SJ Tower in Lima, Ohio where the EL crossed the D.T.&I. was removed November 22, 1976. This was probably the first break in the main to Chicago.

The line from Marion to Alger, Ohio was retained to serve industry at Kenton, Ohio and a grain elevator at Alger that shipped unit grain trains. It was accessed from the NYC at Kenton. The Marion - Kenton segment was supposedly used once for an emergency train during the Great Blizzard of 1978 - paging Mr. Rich Tubbs: do you remember any details on it? The trackage in Kenton still exists to service local industry. The line to Alger was abandoned over 10 years ago. One of the reasons given was years of brine dripping from the old reefers had caused structural damage to bridges, especially on the eastbound main and the rusting out continued thru the years.

The Lima Branch (as shown in Conrail's Western Region timetable dated Nov. 21, 1976)extended from MP 49.0 (just east of Lima) to Elgin MP 71.8. Conrail used the trackage in Lima at SJ Tower to interchange with the D.T. & I. and to service the Sohio (BP, Clark, Premcor and now called Valero) refinery. The three railroads in Lima (Conrail, N&W, and CSX)would take turns switching the refinery
every 3-4 months, if I remember correctly. It is currently switched by a private company. MP 54.3 at the west edge of Lima was the dividing point between Conrail and the Light Density Line (LDL) that was subsidized. It was operated by Conrail for a brief period with a local going to Spencerville and Elgin, Ohio. In 1978 the state of Ohio purchased this line from the EL trustees and the Allen County and Van Wert Port Authorities became responsible for its operation and maintenance. The Spencerville and Elgin (SPEG) started operating and continued until 1993 when the parent company, Indiana Hi-Rail entered bankruptcy. The line was dormant until 1996 when RJ Corman started operations. An article in the Lima News in 2003 stated the Allen County Port Authority had spent over $100,000 in maintaning the line while taking in only $12,000 in lease payments, so it is a minor miracle this portion of our favorite railroad still survives.. There are currently only 3 companies using rail service: Flexible Foam and a grain elevator at Spencerville and an elevator and farm service center at Elgin.There is no business at Ohio City and the grain elevator at Glenmore, the west end of the line, has not used rail service in years.

Conrail also operated the Hunt Branch from Decatur, Indiana MP 95.8 to North Judson, Indiana MP 199.4 with local service until the Erie Western, a new shortline subsidized by the state of Indiana started operations on Sept. 25, 1977. After some problems with the Chicago & Western Indiana and a union challenge to operations with 2 man crews, the Erie Western re-instated service to Chicago. The diamond at Kouts Tower where the EL crossed the Penn Central was put back in as it had been removed earlier since Conrail did not operate west of North Judson. In August 1978 the Erie Western ran an excursion train from Huntington, Indiana to North Judson and return - did anyone on the list ride it?

The Erie Western stopped operating in June 1979 when the state of Indiana stopped subsidizing it. The Chicago and Indiana (C&I) began operating but did not last long, shutting down on December 30, 1979. The EL trustees were asking $21.5 million for the line, much more than C&I could afford.

One of our favorite Erie urban legends (the other being the possible existence of K1 Pacific 2524 in Korea) raised its war bonnet head one final time in an article in the Huntington, Indiana Herald-Press newspaper headlined "No Plans to Acquire C&I Says Santa Fe Official". In the article dated Nov. 21, 1979, Bob Gehrt, Santa Fe Assistant Vice president of Public Relations is quoted "We don't have any plans to acquire the (C&I) railroad. We have made no offer to buy the line. To say we're interested in buying the line is not accurate, but to say Chicago & Indiana officials have talked to us is true". (End quote). The Erie Western deserves a magazine article and maybe even a small book about its trials and tribulations during its short life.

The EL trustees eventually sold the line to L.B. Foster for over $17 million. L.B. Foster removed the track and ballast in 1981. A few segments remained in service. A short piece of the line called the Fulton County railroad still exists at Rochester, Indiana to serve a grain elevator. A section of track between Bolivar and Laketon, Indiana was relaid to serve a refinery that has since closed. The Tippecanoe railroad, later called the JK Line, served the grain elevator at Monterey, Indiana and ran to North Judson. This was abandoned recently with about 2 miles retained at N. Judson by the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum. A detailed history of the line can be found here: http://hvrm.railfan.net/news.archive.html

Major shippers at Lima included the refinery, the Lima Locomotive Works and a strong interchange business with the D.T. & I. and N&W. A local Lima trucking company made good use of the Lima piggyback ramp. Huntington shippers included the Majestic Co., our Sunday Visitor, Orton Crane and Huntington Laboratories, and the Huntington ramp was well used also. Elevators at Monterey, Indiana, Spencerville, Elgin and Alger, Ohio were also major shippers. But in general, the West End was light on local traffic, just as was the respective west ends of the NYC and PRR.

Surviving stations include Kemp, Ohio (house), Spencerville, Ohio (unused), Decatur, Indiana (freight station in use by a lumber company; passenger station is gone), Akron, Rochester, and Monterey, Indiana stations lay unused and in varying states of deterioration, with Monterey being the worst off with a lot of wood rot and large sections of eaves missing.


PA




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