www.railroad.net US Railroad news. 25th November 2011

HOTSPOT- Butler, Indiana
Posted: 25 Nov 2011 01:19 PM PST

Butler, Indiana, located in the northeastern corner of the Hoosier State along U.S. 6, is a great train-watching location. Not as renowned as Wellsboro or Elkart, Butler has two busy mainlines crossing at a severe angle that is accessible without being apprehended for tresspassing.
Norfolk Southern’s Detroit-Kansas City mainline crosses their ex-Conrail Chicago Line, once NYC’s Water Level Route. All types of freights can be seen here, as well as Amtrak’s Lake Shore and Capitol Limited. Right before the Conrail break-up in 1999, a connecting track was installed on the southeast quadrant, and another was placed on the northwest quadrant to enable trains from Chicago to reach Detroit.
I have visited this town many times between 1996 and 2004. The power has changed but the action is still there! A local street crosses NS just south of the diamond to provide easy access. U.S. 6 itself is one of the best train-watching highways in the U.S. If you are in this area, Butler is worth a stop.




Fulton County Authority- Rochester, Indiana
Posted: 25 Nov 2011 12:36 PM PST

Following the Erie Lackawanna’s 1972 bankruptcy, Conrail picked up the remains in 1976, and promptly eliminated all trackage west of Marion, Ohio as a through route. After short line operators Erie Western and Chicago & Indiana RR went belly-up, most of it was returned to Mother Nature. One segment west of Rochester,Indiana was retained by Fulton County as the Fulton County Authority. They ran west to Monterrey, Indiana to interchange with the Tippecanoe Railroad, another short line. This operation began in 1981, but only lasted for two years; the line was cut back all the way to a point just west of Rochester to serve a single grain elevator. This small 1-mile piece of track passed the old EL depot and interchanged with the N&W’s IMC branch the ran to Michigan City.

Short Line Indiana Hi-Rail took over operation of the IMC Line in 1989 through a lease, but the Fulton County continued their operation of the EL segment. I was fortunate enough to capture this line in service in 1999:

The Alco C4020 is now at a museum, but the grain elevator continues to be served with leased NS power. As of May, 2010, the depot was still standing; although it has been gutted:

Service to the grain elevator continues, although local rumors have surfaced that the IMC may be on its last legs due to the economy. Along with it, the EL segment would also be in jeopardy. With the piece of trackage in Griffith, Indiana severed, and the 17-mile segment west of Monterrey now gone, this is now only one of two fragments of the former Erie Lackawanna in service in the Hoosier State!  Get your photos now!