Indiana Railroad
Encyclopedia
This article is for the electric interurban railroad of 1930-1941. For the currently operating freight railroad Indiana Rail Road see Indiana Rail Road
.
The Indiana Railroad (IR) was the last of the typical Midwestern United States
interurban
lines. It was formed in 1930 by combining the operations of the five major interurban systems in central Indiana
into one entity. The predecessor companies had all previously come under the control of Midland Utilities, owned by Samuel Insull
. It was Insull's plan to consolidate the Indiana interurban network, modernizing the profitable routes and abandoning the unprofitable ones. With the onset of the Great Depression
, the Insull empire collapsed and the Indiana Railroad was left with a decaying infrastructure and little hope for overcoming the competition of the automobile
. During the 1930s the Indiana Railroad's lines were all abandoned one by one until a fatal wreck in 1941 put an end to the last operation of interurbans in Indiana.
The late 1890s was a time of horsedrawn carriages and wagons pulled along roads of ruts, dust, and mud, so the arrival of the streetcar was appreciated. A number of streetcar lines that started prior to 1900 in Indiana grew into hundreds of miles of interurban lines networked across Indiana by 1910. "When before we had moved by horse and carriage we now rode on plush seats to places 20, 30, even 50 miles distant." In 1930, this unprofitable network formed the new Indiana Railroad interurban. The plan was to increase both passenger and freight business and profits. A brief description of these IR predecessors follows.
, Elwood
, Marion
and Muncie
. UTC was created in 1897 to operate an initial line between Anderson and Alexandria
, and in 1902 came under the control of the Schoepf-McGowan Syndicate. UTC purchased or leased several neighboring interurban lines in short order: the Elwood and Alexandria was bought in 1903, the Indiana Northern in 1905, the Indiana Muncie Hartford and Fort Wayne was leased in 1906, and also in 1906 UTC purchased all of the Dayton and Muncie's trackage in Indiana. In 1910, UTC had a very bad wreck at Kingsland. Two wood bodied cars impacted head on with one "telescoping" into the other, with over forty fataities. This was considered to be the worst interurban accident in the history of interurban transit. UTC absorbed the Indianapolis New Castle and Toledo in 1912 and extended its trackage from New Castle
to Muncie. UTC went into decline in the 1920s along with the other Indiana interurban systems and in 1925 entered bankruptcy
. It survived its bankruptcy whole, though, and passed into IR control in 1930 intact.
to Louisville
, which had been built between 1896 and 1907 under a variety of small independent lines. Through service between Indianapolis and Louisville was inaugurated over these separate lines in 1908, but it was not until 1912 that ownership of the different segments was consolidated and IPS was created. During the 1920s, IPS modernized its fleet of cars extensively. It operated extensive passenger services from Indianapolis to Louisville and operated suburban services around Louisville. By 1930 it was one of the strongest of the Indiana interurban lines. IPS operated three car overnight sleeper trains each way between Indianapolis and Louisville during the years before the Great Depression. The all-steel interurban sleeper cars, traction controls and motors removed, were purchased and used into the 1960s by British Columbia Railway.[Classic Trains, 2008]
branch having been previously abandoned. The 400 class ISC cars were operated by Indiana Railroad along with IR's new high speeds until abandonment. One of the combines was eventually purchased by the CSS&SB South Shore Line where it still operates today as a catenary maintenance car.
(THI&E) was purchased at auction. The THI&E was the second largest interurban system in Indiana, operating just over 400 miles (643.7 km) of interurban lines as well as streetcar service in several western Indiana cities. It operated branches out of Indianapolis west to Terre Haute
and Brazil
, to the university town of Lafayette
, and east to Richmond
. It stretched nearly from the eastern to the western boundaries of the state. Due to lack of funds, it had never modernized and was financially among the weakest of the Indiana lines. As a power untility it had profits, but the interurban division had been losing money for a decade. It fell into receivership in 1930, and several major branches, including lines to Danville
, Martinsville
, Lafayette
, Crawfordsville
, Sullivan
and Clinton
were abandoned prior to absorption by IR in 1931. But its Indianapolis east to Richmond line connecting to the Dayton and Western interurban was a very important IRR link to the Ohio interurbans for freight. From 1930 to 1938, the Indiana Railroad interurban and the Cincinnati and Lake Erie interurban were very important to each other.
IR inherited a very large fleet of interurban cars from its various predecessor companies, totalling perhaps 100-150 interurban cars (of which about 60 were retained), probably 200 or so streetcars (of which about 150 were retained), around 50 pieces of freight equipment and about 55 work cars of various types.
The interurban cars varied considerably in age and design. A number of pre-1910 very large arch windowed wooden combines
that had survived in service on ISC and THI&E were disposed of within the first couple of years of IR's existence, leaving a fleet predominantly made up of heavy steel single-ended combines. There were about half a dozen 400 class ISC combines, 30 UTC steel combines including 15 modern cars only five years old, and nine of Interstate IPS's handsome heavyweight combines, parlor and sleeping car
s. A few of these former Interstate cars were still operated by a British Columbia railroad in the 1990s. (Classic Trains Magazine, Sept 2008.)
The city cars, excluding earlier wooden types that were scrapped, mainly consisted of single-truck Birney
cars inherited from UTC and THI&E. The only exceptions were a handful of double-truck cars left over from UTC and from IPS's suburban Louisville
operations.
The freight and work equipment was a hodgepodge of mainly homebuilt designs, outdated passenger cars converted for alternate use, and secondhand equipment. Most of this equipment was quite old, but even some equipment dating to before 1905 remained in IR's employ for years. Some of the retired better shape passenger coaches were rebuilt into box motors and utility cars.
IR purchased two series of modern interurban cars during its life, and it was the first - the famed Indiana Railroad High-Speeds - that always symbolized the railroad. When IR was created, its owners knew that they would have to modernize their fleet of interurban cars if they hoped to prevent further erosion of their ridership. In 1930 and 1931, IR designed a series of lightweight, low center of gravity, high-speed interurban cars that could operate quickly and economically on the far-flung IR network. The new cars owed much to the Cincinnati and Lake Erie
lightweight cars built a year before. They were single-ended, low-floor cars designed for operation by a single man and were built largely of aluminum to save weight and, therefore, require less power to operate. The biggest difference with the C&LE cars was in the trucks
: whereas the C&LE cars had smaller arch-bar trucks, the IR cars were designed with heavy Commonwealth cast steel trucks designed specifically for high-speed service and to cope with poor light rail track.
A total of 35 cars was ordered. The first 14, cars 50-63, came from American Car and Foundry and were deluxe cars with coach seating at the front and parlor car chairs at the back. The remaining 21 cars, numbered 64-84, came from Pullman
and had all coach seating with a small baggage section at the rear. Delivery of the new high-speeds began in July 1931 and they were an immediate success, making it possible for IR to reduce running times on some of its routes and economize on its operations.
The second series of new cars was a group of ten Cummings
-built lightweight cars that were bought in 1935. They were not brand new; they had been constructed in 1930 for the Northern Indiana Railway but had been seized by Cummings when the Northern Indiana couldn't pay for them. These cars were numbered 90-99.
In 1937, though, the final slide into bankruptcy began. By order of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Midland Utilities was dissolved and the interurban lines it controlled were divorced from the subsidy income of their parent electric power generating company. In March 1937, the line abandonments began. The old Indiana Service Corporation ISC lines from Fort Wayne
north to Waterloo
, Garrett
and Kendallville
were abandoned on March 15. On May 9, the former THI&E line east of Indianapolis to Richmond was abandoned. This severed the IR's important connection with the Ohio
C&LE interurban network and hurt both the IRR and the C&LE by ending their interchange business. In September 1938, the former Union Traction line from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne via Peru
was abandoned leaving the more southern Indianapolis to Ft Wayne via Muncie route intact. A year later, the major trunk former Interstate Public Service Indianapolis to Louisville
line was cut back to Seymour
. In January 1940, the former THI&E line west of Indianapolis to Brazil, Greencastle and Terre Haute was abandoned. On January 18, 1941, the remaining Union Traction Indianapolis to Fort Wayne and Bluffton
and Muncie to New Castle branch were abandoned, ending practically all service on the IR. The final operation, Indianapolis to Seymour, was abandoned following a fatal wreck of a passenger car and a freight motor.
Even this fragment of interurban service did not last long. On September 8, 1941, one of the two high-speed cars still in use met the one remaining work car in a head-on collision
at speed. The high speed car had stalled, and the other was sent from Indianapolis to investigate. But the first car had recovered and proceeded, leading to a head on collision and injured passengers and crew. The operator of the high speed car eventually died, as did one of the passengers. The Indianapolis to Seymour service immediately stopped and soon the track was removed. This was the end of the Indiana Railroad. It was an ignominious end to a great interurban system created ten years earlier to use and make profitable the former widespread network of 1920s Indiana interurbans. Had the Great Depression not occurred, the IR would have survived into WW2 and benefited from increased passenger and freight activity, but eveventually it would have faced the reality of competing transportation modes.
Indiana Rail Road
The Indiana Rail Road is a United States Class II railroad, originally operating over former Illinois Central Railroad trackage from Newton, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana, a distance of 155 miles...
.
The Indiana Railroad (IR) was the last of the typical Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
lines. It was formed in 1930 by combining the operations of the five major interurban systems in central Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
into one entity. The predecessor companies had all previously come under the control of Midland Utilities, owned by Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull was an Anglo-American innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull was notable for purchasing utilities and railroads using holding companies, as well as the abuse of them...
. It was Insull's plan to consolidate the Indiana interurban network, modernizing the profitable routes and abandoning the unprofitable ones. With the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the Insull empire collapsed and the Indiana Railroad was left with a decaying infrastructure and little hope for overcoming the competition of the automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
. During the 1930s the Indiana Railroad's lines were all abandoned one by one until a fatal wreck in 1941 put an end to the last operation of interurbans in Indiana.
Predecessor Companies
Union Traction Company
The Indiana Railroad was created on July 2, 1930 when Midland Utilities purchased the Union Traction Company of Indiana and transferred ownership to IR. Union Traction (UTC) was the largest interurban system in Indiana with 410 miles (659.8 km) of interurban trackage and 44 miles (70.8 km) of streetcar lines in AndersonAnderson, Indiana
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison county. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is...
, Elwood
Elwood, Indiana
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 9,737 people, 3,845 households, and 2,660 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,743.1 people per square mile . There were 4,179 housing units at an average density of 1,177.3 per square mile...
, Marion
Marion, Indiana
Marion is a city in Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,948 as of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Grant County...
and Muncie
Muncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...
. UTC was created in 1897 to operate an initial line between Anderson and Alexandria
Alexandria, Indiana
Alexandria is a city in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is about northeast of Indianapolis. It is part of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and in 1902 came under the control of the Schoepf-McGowan Syndicate. UTC purchased or leased several neighboring interurban lines in short order: the Elwood and Alexandria was bought in 1903, the Indiana Northern in 1905, the Indiana Muncie Hartford and Fort Wayne was leased in 1906, and also in 1906 UTC purchased all of the Dayton and Muncie's trackage in Indiana. In 1910, UTC had a very bad wreck at Kingsland. Two wood bodied cars impacted head on with one "telescoping" into the other, with over forty fataities. This was considered to be the worst interurban accident in the history of interurban transit. UTC absorbed the Indianapolis New Castle and Toledo in 1912 and extended its trackage from New Castle
New Castle, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,780 people, 7,462 households, and 4,805 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,987.5 people per square mile . There were 8,042 housing units at an average density of 1,351.3 per square mile...
to Muncie. UTC went into decline in the 1920s along with the other Indiana interurban systems and in 1925 entered bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. It survived its bankruptcy whole, though, and passed into IR control in 1930 intact.
Interstate Public Service
At the same time as UTC was acquired, three other systems already owned by Midland Utilities were put under the control of IR. The largest was the Interstate Public Service Company (IPS), which was reorganized as an independent company known as Public Service Company of Indiana but was operated under the auspices of IR. The IPS operated the line from IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
to Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, which had been built between 1896 and 1907 under a variety of small independent lines. Through service between Indianapolis and Louisville was inaugurated over these separate lines in 1908, but it was not until 1912 that ownership of the different segments was consolidated and IPS was created. During the 1920s, IPS modernized its fleet of cars extensively. It operated extensive passenger services from Indianapolis to Louisville and operated suburban services around Louisville. By 1930 it was one of the strongest of the Indiana interurban lines. IPS operated three car overnight sleeper trains each way between Indianapolis and Louisville during the years before the Great Depression. The all-steel interurban sleeper cars, traction controls and motors removed, were purchased and used into the 1960s by British Columbia Railway.[Classic Trains, 2008]
Indiana Service Corporation
At the same time IPS became part of IR, the Indiana Service Corporation (ISC) did as well. ISC was the successor to the Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley Traction Company, a system that had been assembled from smaller predecessors around 1902. The FW&WV had gone into bankruptcy following the terrible Kingsland wreck of 1910, the worst interurban disaster ever, which killed 41 people. It had been reorganized as the Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana, and it was this company that failed in 1919 and was purchased by ISC. ISC had also acquired two other lines, the Fort Wayne and Northwestern and the Marion and Bluffton Traction Company, in 1924 and 1926 respectively. In the 1920s, IPS purchased an impressive group of heavy steel combines and coaches (class 400) from St. Louis Car Company. ISC was absorbed into IR essentially intact, with only the Battle GroundBattle Ground, Indiana
Battle Ground is a town in Tippecanoe Township, Tippecanoe County in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,334 at the 2010 census. It is near the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe....
branch having been previously abandoned. The 400 class ISC cars were operated by Indiana Railroad along with IR's new high speeds until abandonment. One of the combines was eventually purchased by the CSS&SB South Shore Line where it still operates today as a catenary maintenance car.
Northern Indiana Power
Absorbed into IR along with ISC and IPS was the Northern Indiana Power Company, which was a successor to the old Kokomo Marion and Western Traction Company. This line was the smallest and weakest of the companies that were folded into IR.Terre Haute Indianapolis and Eastern
It was not until a year later, on June 23, 1931, that the final piece of the IR system was added when the Terre Haute Indianapolis and EasternTerre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company
The Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company, or THI&E, was the second largest interurban in the state of Indiana at the height of the "interurban era." This system included over 400 miles of track, with lines emanating from Indianapolis to the east, northwest, west and southwest as...
(THI&E) was purchased at auction. The THI&E was the second largest interurban system in Indiana, operating just over 400 miles (643.7 km) of interurban lines as well as streetcar service in several western Indiana cities. It operated branches out of Indianapolis west to Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
and Brazil
Brazil, Indiana
Brazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 7,912 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, to the university town of Lafayette
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
, and east to Richmond
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
. It stretched nearly from the eastern to the western boundaries of the state. Due to lack of funds, it had never modernized and was financially among the weakest of the Indiana lines. As a power untility it had profits, but the interurban division had been losing money for a decade. It fell into receivership in 1930, and several major branches, including lines to Danville
Danville, Indiana
Danville is a town in Center Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,001at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Hendricks County. -History:...
, Martinsville
Martinsville, Indiana
Martinsville is a city in and the county seat of Morgan County, Indiana, United States; the population was 11,828 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Lafayette
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
, Crawfordsville
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Union Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,915. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, Sullivan
Sullivan, Indiana
Sullivan is a city in Hamilton Township, Sullivan County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,617 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is the county seat of Sullivan County...
and Clinton
Clinton, Indiana
Clinton is a city in Vermillion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,893 at the 2010 census. The city was established in 1829 and is named after DeWitt Clinton, who served as governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. Many of Clinton's original settlers were immigrants working in coal...
were abandoned prior to absorption by IR in 1931. But its Indianapolis east to Richmond line connecting to the Dayton and Western interurban was a very important IRR link to the Ohio interurbans for freight. From 1930 to 1938, the Indiana Railroad interurban and the Cincinnati and Lake Erie interurban were very important to each other.
Inherited rolling stock
The interurban cars varied considerably in age and design. A number of pre-1910 very large arch windowed wooden combines
Combine car
A combine car in North American parlance, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of railroad car which combines sections for both passengers and freight....
that had survived in service on ISC and THI&E were disposed of within the first couple of years of IR's existence, leaving a fleet predominantly made up of heavy steel single-ended combines. There were about half a dozen 400 class ISC combines, 30 UTC steel combines including 15 modern cars only five years old, and nine of Interstate IPS's handsome heavyweight combines, parlor and sleeping car
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
s. A few of these former Interstate cars were still operated by a British Columbia railroad in the 1990s. (Classic Trains Magazine, Sept 2008.)
The city cars, excluding earlier wooden types that were scrapped, mainly consisted of single-truck Birney
Birney
A Birney or Birney Safety Car is a type of streetcar that was manufactured in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. The design was small and light and was intended to be an economical means of providing frequent service at a lower infrastructure and labor cost than conventional streetcars...
cars inherited from UTC and THI&E. The only exceptions were a handful of double-truck cars left over from UTC and from IPS's suburban Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
operations.
The freight and work equipment was a hodgepodge of mainly homebuilt designs, outdated passenger cars converted for alternate use, and secondhand equipment. Most of this equipment was quite old, but even some equipment dating to before 1905 remained in IR's employ for years. Some of the retired better shape passenger coaches were rebuilt into box motors and utility cars.
New rolling stock
Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad
The Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad was a short-lived electric interurban railway that operated in 1930-1939 Depression-era Ohio between Cincinnati, Springfield, Columbus, and Toledo...
lightweight cars built a year before. They were single-ended, low-floor cars designed for operation by a single man and were built largely of aluminum to save weight and, therefore, require less power to operate. The biggest difference with the C&LE cars was in the trucks
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
: whereas the C&LE cars had smaller arch-bar trucks, the IR cars were designed with heavy Commonwealth cast steel trucks designed specifically for high-speed service and to cope with poor light rail track.
A total of 35 cars was ordered. The first 14, cars 50-63, came from American Car and Foundry and were deluxe cars with coach seating at the front and parlor car chairs at the back. The remaining 21 cars, numbered 64-84, came from Pullman
Pullman Company
The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
and had all coach seating with a small baggage section at the rear. Delivery of the new high-speeds began in July 1931 and they were an immediate success, making it possible for IR to reduce running times on some of its routes and economize on its operations.
The second series of new cars was a group of ten Cummings
McGuire-Cummings Manufacturing Company
McGuire-Cummings Manufacturing Company was a streetcar builder based in Paris, Illinois. The company was one of a few suppliers for the Toronto Civic Railways.-Products:* DE DT M - later TTC Class I cars* DE ST snow sweepers...
-built lightweight cars that were bought in 1935. They were not brand new; they had been constructed in 1930 for the Northern Indiana Railway but had been seized by Cummings when the Northern Indiana couldn't pay for them. These cars were numbered 90-99.
Freight Operation
Although considerable planning and expenditure was going into improving the passenger operation, the real hope for profits from Insull's Midland Utilities' new Indiana Railroad amalgamation of the former five marginal interurban lines was to come from an expanded freight operation. Less-than-carload (LCL) overnight deliveries between the various IR linked towns and to or from Ohio was possible that was not available from the competing railroads which could require two to three days. For example, delivering machined parts made in Terra Haute overnight to Fort Wayne auto manufacturer Auburn. Some cartage business already existed due to the interurban's ties to local power companies. Regularly at night the IR's arch windowed wood bodied box motors would rumble down the quiet brick streets of an Indiana town towing one or two gondolas loaded with coal for the local power plant. The income generated supplemented passenger income by providing lcl freight and package services, and many merchants, newspapers, and small manufacturing companies used the frequent scheduling provided. Should this business increase with an improving economy along with that generated by a motivated sales force, the IR would have a promising future. The idea was a good one, but the national economy didn't improve. Instead, it collapsed further. When the Indiana Railroad lost an important freight interchange connection with neighboring interurban Dayton and Western which had ties to the important Cincinnati and Lake Erie interurban with its Ohio towns of Toledo, Cincinnati, and Columbus, prospects for survival were poor. The C&LE abandoned operations in early 1938. The IR continued to barely survive with just Indiana freight business, but lines were abandoned one by one. Total abandonment occurred in 1941.[1,2]Decline
The Indiana Railroad could not sustain its planned infrastructure improvements for long due to declining income. Automobile competition was increasing, and the Depression weakened the entire economy dramatically. On July 28, 1933, IR went into bankruptcy. Control was placed into the hands of receiver Bowman Elder. Elder was able to keep the system virtually intact for four years, and IR was operating about 600 miles (965.6 km) of interurban lines throughout Indiana during this period. In 1936, IR actually showed an operating profit. This was the only time in its history that it did so. In that year, IR brought under its control a final interurban line, the Dayton and Western, which it leased for two years. This provided a valuable link to the very active Cincinnati and Lake Erie Ohio interurban which ran from Cincinnati to Toledo and east to Cleveland using the Lake Shore Electric interurban. When the Lakeshore Electric abandoned, the C&LE was soon to follow. The Dayton and Western provided a connection from the IR to the C&LE.In 1937, though, the final slide into bankruptcy began. By order of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Midland Utilities was dissolved and the interurban lines it controlled were divorced from the subsidy income of their parent electric power generating company. In March 1937, the line abandonments began. The old Indiana Service Corporation ISC lines from Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
north to Waterloo
Waterloo, Indiana
Waterloo is a town in Grant and Smithfield townships, DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,242 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Waterloo is located at ....
, Garrett
Garrett, Indiana
Garrett is a city in Keyser Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,286 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1875, Garrett was named for John W...
and Kendallville
Kendallville, Indiana
Kendallville is a city in Wayne Township, Noble County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,862 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Kendallville is located at ....
were abandoned on March 15. On May 9, the former THI&E line east of Indianapolis to Richmond was abandoned. This severed the IR's important connection with the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
C&LE interurban network and hurt both the IRR and the C&LE by ending their interchange business. In September 1938, the former Union Traction line from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne via Peru
Peru, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,994 people, 5,410 households, and 3,397 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.5 people per square mile . There were 5,943 housing units at an average density of 1,287.7 per square mile...
was abandoned leaving the more southern Indianapolis to Ft Wayne via Muncie route intact. A year later, the major trunk former Interstate Public Service Indianapolis to Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
line was cut back to Seymour
Seymour, Indiana
Seymour was the site of the World's First Train Robbery, committed by the local Reno Gang, on October 6, 1866 just east of town. The gang was put into prison for the robbery, and later hanged at Hangman's Crossing outside of town....
. In January 1940, the former THI&E line west of Indianapolis to Brazil, Greencastle and Terre Haute was abandoned. On January 18, 1941, the remaining Union Traction Indianapolis to Fort Wayne and Bluffton
Bluffton, Indiana
Bluffton is a city in Harrison and Lancaster Townships, Wells County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,897 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Wells County.-Geography:Bluffton is located at ....
and Muncie to New Castle branch were abandoned, ending practically all service on the IR. The final operation, Indianapolis to Seymour, was abandoned following a fatal wreck of a passenger car and a freight motor.
End of service
With the abandonment of its two principle remaining lines in January 1941, the IR was essentially gone. The name IR ceased to be used and the one remaining stub of serviceable trackage, between Indianapolis and Seymour along the old IPS (Interstate) to Cincinnati route, continued to be operated under the Public Service Company of Indiana name. This service was operated with just two of the high-speed cars (the balance were scrapped at Anderson shops in 1941), running just one round-trip a day to fulfill franchise obligations.Even this fragment of interurban service did not last long. On September 8, 1941, one of the two high-speed cars still in use met the one remaining work car in a head-on collision
Head-on collision
A head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.-Rail transport:...
at speed. The high speed car had stalled, and the other was sent from Indianapolis to investigate. But the first car had recovered and proceeded, leading to a head on collision and injured passengers and crew. The operator of the high speed car eventually died, as did one of the passengers. The Indianapolis to Seymour service immediately stopped and soon the track was removed. This was the end of the Indiana Railroad. It was an ignominious end to a great interurban system created ten years earlier to use and make profitable the former widespread network of 1920s Indiana interurbans. Had the Great Depression not occurred, the IR would have survived into WW2 and benefited from increased passenger and freight activity, but eveventually it would have faced the reality of competing transportation modes.
Surviving rolling stock
- 55, preserved operational at the Seashore Trolley MuseumSeashore Trolley MuseumThe Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's oldest and largest museum of mass transit vehicles....
as Lehigh Valley Transit 1030 - 65, preserved operational at the Illinois Railway MuseumIllinois Railway MuseumThe Illinois Railway Museum is the largest railroad museum in the United States and is located in Union, Illinois, northwest of Chicago...
- 167 "Scottsburg," preserved at the West Coast Railway AssociationWest Coast Railway AssociationThe West Coast Railway Association is a heritage railway and museum located on Government Road in Squamish, British Columbia near Vancouver, whose purpose is to collect, preserve and restore railway cars and artifacts and operate a licensed railway....
as Pacific Great Eastern "Clinton" - 202, preserved at the Western Railway MuseumWestern Railway MuseumThe Western Railway Museum, in Solano County, California is located on Highway 12 between Rio Vista and Suisun. The museum is built along the former mainline of theSacramento Northern Railway...
as Portland Traction Company 4001 - 205, preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum
- 375, preserved in Scottsburg, IndianaScottsburg, IndianaScottsburg is a city in Vienna Township, Scott County, Indiana, United States, about north of Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 6,747 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Scott County. As of 2010, William H...
as Chicago South Shore and South Bend 503 - 376, preserved by a private owner in Indiana as Chicago South Shore and South Bend 1100
- 377, preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum as Chicago South Shore and South Bend 504
- 429, preserved at the Indiana Transportation MuseumIndiana Transportation MuseumThe Indiana Transportation Museum is a railroad museum located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Noblesville, Indiana...
as Union Traction 429 - 437, preserved at the Indiana Transportation Museum as Union Traction 437
- 447, preserved at the Indiana Transportation Museum as Indianapolis and Cincinnati 606
- 715, preserved by a private owner in Ohio
- several older interurban cars retired in the first years of IR have also been preserved.
External links
- http://www.davesrailpix.com/irr/irr.htm Indiana Railroad photos on Dave's Rail Pix
- http://indiana.railfan.net/maps/interurbanmapclear.gif Interurban map of Indiana.
- http://www.bera.org/pnaerc.html Preserved North American Electric Railway Cars 2006: Hicks, Frank 2006.
- http://www.cera-chicago.org/books.htm Central Electric Railfans' Association list of annual interurban Bulletins releases and authors. Many Bulletins are about Indiana interurbans.
- http://www.davesrailpix.com/odds/in/in.htm#thie Indiana Railroad predecessor THI&E photos from Dave's Electric Railroads very large site of interurban photographs.
- http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr1836.htm Indiana Railroad predecessor THI&E photos from Don Ross' Rail Photos.
- http://www.indianahistory.com/ihs_press/web_publications/railroad/index.html Indiana Railroad Society: historical articles and maps regarding Indiana interurban lines.
- http://www.railsandtrails.com/Maps/Interurban/default.htm Indiana/Ohio Interurbans map.
- http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/cac/ac/page49148.html The Interurban: Bowling Green State University.
- http://www.sbcglobal.pwp.att.net/w/i/willvdv/maptinoh.html Map of Ohio interurbans.
