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ThePittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railwaywas a major part of thePennsylvania Railroadsystem, extending the PRR west fromPittsburgh, Pennsylvania,viaFort Wayne, Indiana,to Chicago, Illinois. It included the currentNorfolk Southern-ownedFort Wayne Lineeast ofCrestline, Ohio,to Pittsburgh, and theFort Wayne Secondary,owned byCSX,from Crestline west to Tolleston inGary, Indiana.CSX leased its entire portion in 2004 to theChicago, 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.
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Pittsburgh, PAtoChicago |
| Dates of operation | 1851–1976 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft8+1⁄2in(1,435 mm)standard gauge |
History
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TheOhio and Pennsylvania Railroadwas chartered inOhioon February 24 and inPennsylvaniaon April 11, 1848, to build fromAllegheny City(annexed byPittsburghin 1907) west toCrestline, Ohio,on theCleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad.It was organized on June 15 withWilliam Robinson Jr.as president,[1]and construction began on July 4, 1849. The first section, from Allegheny City west toNew Brighton,opened July 30, 1851. Extensions opened toNew Galileeon October 22 andEnon ValleyNovember 19. On November 27, 1851, a section betweenSalemandAlliance, Ohio,was completed, not yet connected to the rest. On December 8, the east section was extended west toEast Palestine, Ohio,with astagecoachtransfer provided for through travel. Further sections opened January 3, 1852, west toColumbiana,and on January 6 the gap between Columbiana and Salem was filled. In conjunction with theCleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad,connecting at Alliance, a through line was provided betweenClevelandand Pittsburgh. On March 11, 1852, an extension west toMassillonwas opened with an excursion. On August 10, 1852, a further extension from Massillon west toWoosteropened. The line west toMansfieldwas finished April 8, 1853, and the full line toCrestlineopened April 11. With this it formed part of a through line toCincinnativia theCleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad.
Work began on August 16, 1854, on theFort Wayne Railroad Bridgeover theAllegheny Riverto extend the O&P intoPittsburghto connect with thePennsylvania Railroad.The bridge opened September 22, 1857, with a temporary station at Penn and Wayne Streets (todayPenn Avenueand Tenth Street).
TheOhio and Indiana Railroadwas chartered inOhioon March 26, 1850, and inIndianaon January 15, 1851, to extend the line west toFort Wayne, Indiana.It was organized July 4, 1850, and work began in February 1852. Some of the capital was gained from a merger with theGreat Western Railroadof Ohio in 1851. On August 26, 1853, the line opened fromCrestlinewest toBucyrus,and a continuation west toForestopened in early January 1854. On June 10 the line opened west toDelphos,and on October 31 the full line to Fort Wayne was completed, opening the next day.
TheFort Wayne and Chicago Railroadwas chartered inIndianaon May 11, 1852, and organized September 14, 1852, as a further extension west toChicago.It was chartered February 5, 1853, inIllinois.The first section opened in February 1856 from Fort Wayne toColumbia City.
On July 26, 1856, thePittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail Roadwas formed as a consolidation of the Fort Wayne and Chicago, Ohio and Indiana, and Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads. Extensions opened west toWarsawSeptember 28,PlymouthNovember 10,Englewood, Illinois(south ofChicago) on November 29, 1858, and Van Buren Street in Chicago on December 25, 1858. On January 1, 1859, trains started running to Chicago, with a terminal at the future location ofUnion Station.The part west of Plymouth was built with rails removed from theNew Portage Railroad.
From the early days, thePennsylvania Railroad(PRR) had been involved with the project, supplying funds. Once theFort Wayne Railroad BridgeatPittsburghwas finished in 1857, trains began to run through fromPhiladelphia.In 1858 the PFW&C began using the firstUnion Stationin Pittsburgh, shared with the PRR.
On July 1, 1859, the PFW&C defaulted on its debts, and was sold atforeclosureon October 24, 1861. It was reorganized as thePittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago RailwayFebruary 26, 1862.
On July 1, 1865, the PFW&C leased theNew Castle and Beaver Valley Railroad,giving it a branch fromHomewood, Pennsylvanianorth toNew Castle.TheLawrence Railroad,branching west fromLawrence Junctionon the NC&BV toYoungstown, Ohio,was leased on June 27, 1869. On June 1, 1887, the Lawrence Railroad became part of theYoungstown, Lawrence and Pittsburgh Railroad,which on August 1 merged into the PRR'sPittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railroad,and on January 9, 1906, that merged with the New Castle and Beaver Valley to form thePittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railway,still leased to the PRR.
The PFW&C bought theCleveland, Zanesville and Cincinnati Railroadbydeedon July 1, 1865, making it its Akron Branch. The line ran fromHudson, Ohio,on theCleveland and Pittsburgh Railroadsouth throughAkron,crossing the PFW&C atOrrvilleand continuing toMillersburg.In 1868 a short 3.5 mile (5.5 km) extension to the south was built, and on November 4, 1869, the PFW&C sold the line to thePittsburgh, Mt. Vernon, Columbus and London Railroad.That company later became part of the PRR'sCleveland, Akron and Cincinnati Railway.
On May 22, 1869, the PFW&C leased theMassillon and Cleveland Railroad,giving it a short branch fromMassillonnorth to the Akron Branch atClinton.
On July 1, 1869, the PRR leased the PFW&C and began operating it directly, but on April 1, 1871, the PFW&C was transferred to the newly formedPennsylvania Company.On December 1, 1871, the Pennsylvania Company leased theCleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad.Since January 25, 1860, the C&P had been operated jointly by itself and by the PFW&C, providing a branch of the PFW&C fromRochester, Pennsylvania,west and north, crossing the PFW&C atAlliance, Ohio,and continuing toCleveland.
Operation was transferred back to thePennsylvania Railroadfrom thePennsylvania Companyon January 1, 1918.
On February 1, 1968, the PRR was merged intoPenn Central.The PFW&C stayed separate, filing forbankruptcyon July 14, 1973, over three years after Penn Central's 1970 bankruptcy. On April 1, 1976, the PFW&C became part ofConrail.Conrail downgraded the line, preferring other parallel lines. On June 2, 1994, theNorfolk Southern Railwaybought 18 miles (29 km) fromGarytoValparaiso,which had been out of service since 1991, for $1.4 million. They soon bought 61 more miles (98 km), from Valparaiso east toWarsaw,and acquiredtrackage rightseast toFort Wayne.
With the August 22, 1998, breakup of Conrail, the line was split atCrestline, Ohio.West of Crestline, including the section that had been owned by Norfolk Southern since 1994, went toCSX Transportation,along with the intersectingCleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway(better known as theBig Four,a part of theNew York Central Railroadsystem until 1968). Tracks east of Crestline went to Norfolk Southern, which also obtainedtrackage rightswest of that Ohio city.
At the western end of the route, the original PFW&C line has been abandoned from Buffington (an area of far northwesternGary, Indiana,abuttingEast Chicago) northwest for a little over four miles toWhiting, Indiana;at both of these locations there are connections to the parallel tracks of the oldLake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway(New York Central Railroad). Northwest of Whiting, the LS&MS itself disappears, and the present-day line goes back to using the old PFW&C tracks, which run the rest of the way intoChicago,carrying both Norfolk Southern freight trains and severalAmtrakpassenger services.
On August 1, 2004, theChicago Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad,a newshort lineowned byRailAmerica,leased the western part of the line, fromCrestline, Ohio,west tothe Gary, Indiana, neighborhood of Tolleston,from CSX. It also obtainedoverhead trackage rightsalong the formerly out-of-service line from Tolleston, at the junction with the oldMichigan Central Railroad(now CSX), northwest to Clarke Junction (also in Gary, just north of theGary-Chicago International Airport), and then west along the formerBaltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad(now CSX) toBlue Island, Illinois.Norfolk Southerncontinues to own the line east of Crestline, Ohio, as well as the part west of Whiting, IN.
References
editCitations
edit- ^Wilson, Erasmus, ed. (1898).Standard History of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.Chicago: H.R. Cornell & Co. p. 138.
General references
edit- Railroad History Database
- PRR Chronology
- Corporate Genealogy - Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago
- Pennsylvania Railroad Company Inspection of Physical Property By Board of Directors November 10-11-12, 1948
- Surface Transportation Board - Central Railroad Company of Indianapolis--Lease and Operation Exemption--CSX Transportation, Inc.
- Arrivals & Departures,TrainsSeptember 1994