PRR Fort Wayne Line

I know Rail America is leasing this line, but does CSX still own in? How often is it operated west of Fort Wayne, and does NS still have trackage rights to Warsaw? Also, what is the status of the line west of Tolleston?

CSX owns the line and it is leased to RailAmerica through their CIND subsidiary. Trains operate daily from Ft. Wayne to Chicago including a road freight to the IHB and locals as needed. Track west of Tolleston has is still out of service as far as I know. Norfolk Southern has trackage rights to serve SDI daily in Columbia City.

Anything I missed?

I drive thru Gary a couple times a week and have yet to get caught by a train on the PRR however, the line is clear of brush and in much better shape then the parallel Wabash. Thru Whiting,In the track was torn up about 1993 and houses are built where the Tower and Depot were once located. All trains thru town use the parallel NYC

I know that Conrail did some route consolidation in the area, stripping down the PRR to one track east of where Hammond-Whiting station now is. The track was kept for about a mile to serve a chemical plant, but since the track is now gone from the PRR from the west, how is the plant served? What junctiom did the tower protect?

MR77100 wrote:I know that Conrail did some route consolidation in the area, stripping down the PRR to one track east of where Hammond-Whiting station now is. The track was kept for about a mile to serve a chemical plant, but since the track is now gone from the PRR from the west, how is the plant served? What junctiom did the tower protect?

If you're takling about where the two lines used to split [NYC and PRR], that was called Lake Junction, now CP 506. Hammond Whiting station sit between CP 506 and CP 507. The only tower I know of in the area is Hick Tower at CP 502. It's still a working tower, too, I believe.

Yes, hick tower is still in operation however this is on the NYC..basically that tower operates the one NYC bridge and the EJ&E bridge over the Indiana Harbor ship canal..rumor has it that there's a brand new PRR dwarf signal in the basement..

The tower and station I was referring to orignally was the "Whiting" tower and the PRR station in town. The tower was guarding the crossing of a branch of the B&OCT that ran from its passenger main to its freight main. The PRR tower was paired up with the NYC's "MS" tower also in Whiting...the B&OCT tied into its main there and also the EJ&E as well as crossing the NYC main...It was a busy place way back then!

As for the depot..the station was located across the street from where the current Whiting High School's football stadium is. Basically the only trains to stop there that I've found out about were the Chicago-Valpo commuter runs. The " Valpo Dummy's" is the name I've heard.

When and why did Conrail abandon the PRR east of Lake Junction? Isn;t there a mile of it left to serve the plant?

Actually, BP ended up buying a portion of the former PRR, only the portion thru town was bought by the city and homes built on it. The Oil Refinary is what was switched by the local from Colehour Yard..the plant is now reached from the former NYC line and plant switchers.

When I was there in 1995, the PRR track had been torn up from the west, and the track on the B&OCT was still buried in the weeds! Is the PRR track totally gone from the east? I believe Conrail eliminated a drawbridge.