Historic Railroad Photos, Page 8

It is July 4, 1973 and Southern Railway 4501 leaving Argos, Indiana after stopping for a drink from a city fire hydrant. The train is eastbound, just east of the IMC District crossing. Do you suppose the girl in the picture remembers waving to the engineer? The N&W is getting ready to put down welded rail on the former Nickel Plate. The engine track on the left is now gone and the dwarf and signals has been replaced with a signal bridge. Photo by Bob Albert.

Pictured here is a piece of history that will soon be forgotten. In the early 1970s the N&W still had a crossing watchman at the Washington Street crossing of the former Nickel Plate in Plymouth, Indiana. The coal bin appears to be about ready to collapse and shanty needs paint, but this will change shortly when the new crossing protection is installed. Despite the weedy track the line was still used daily and is still use today. Photo by Bob Albert.

Grade crossing safety was an issue even in 1943. Nickel Plate Road southbound extra 667 has hit an automobile at Oakhill Avenue on the south side of Plymouth, Indiana. Reportedly a woman died in the accident. The photo is from the Tom McKee Collection.

This postcard entitled "A WONDERFULL TIME SAVER IN TRACK BUILDING" was mailed on July 31, 1912 from Bremen, Indiana to Garrett, Indiana. The message reads, "Hello Kiddo. I am still in Bremen. I guess I will be here the rest of the week. We had our pictures taken, can you see me? I just had a squirrel dinner, don't I look fat? We are living pretty high. You can look for me Sat. night - Be a good girl. Love and Kisses, Jess." The card is addressed to Mrs. J. B. Bitwall. Jess must have worked for the B&O on the crew of the Jordan spreader and Mrs. Bitwall must have been his wife. The postcard is from the Russell Dove collection.

On June 30, 1957, Harry Zillmer photographed an Illini Railroad Club trip from Chicago to Ft. Wayne and return. The 764 shatters the quietness of Hibbard, Indiana on it's eastward trip as it crosses the Pennsy's South Bend branch. The engineer is John Bounta and the fireman is Jack Thompson, Sandy Goodrick is the photographer on the left and the Hibbard General Store and Post Office are on the right. The depot was closed in September 1957 and razed in February 1960. Photo is courtesy of M. D. McCarter Photographs, please check our links page for his catalog.

Muncie & Western #7, a 65 Ton GE switcher, is shown setting behind the south facility at Ball Brothers Glass in Muncie Indiana on May 4, 1992. After serving its final days on the M&W, the engine was sold to Shideler Grain in Shideler Indiana where it still works loading grain. Doug Boyd slide submitted by Matt Lappin.

Culver, Indiana was a popular place in the early 1900s. Many excursion trains from South Bend and Logansport came to town on the week-ends. There was a small turntable near the east end of the Vandalia Railroad owned park for turning the engines. The depot shown in the picture burned in 1922 and was replaced with a brick depot. There was a shelter on each end of the depot and, surprisingly, they still survive in the park, which is now owned by the town. The postcard view is from the Bob Albert collection.

An unidentified Erie Lackawanna engineer guides E8a #833 westbound over Broad Street in Griffith, Indiana on the EJ&E tracks to drop off some freight cars in March 1975. The #833 is the sole surviving Erie E unit and is painted in the Erie green and gray scheme as #833 and is located on the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway at Passaic, New Jersey. Photo is by George M Stupar, submitted by Matt Lappin.

MaGee, Indiana was the junction of the Pere Marquette and Wabash Railroads. There probably wasn't enough business to justify this size of depot. There was an elevator and interchange track. HVRM Vice-President Elmer Mannen was an operator here in the 1950s. The photo was taken on May 19, 1921. The photo is from the Bob Albert collection.

In June 1965 the Anderson Railroad Club ran a fan trip on the New York Central through Warsaw, Indiana. The train appears to have a diesel on the far end, two gondola cars and interurban car #154. I don't have any other information on this interesting photo. If anyone can supply more details of this trip, please respond via our website e-mail address. Photo is from Bernard Kelker.

If one would drive past the Clover Leaf's milepost 194 today, they would wonder why the tiny hamlet of Forest, Indiana would have such a depot. A person must remember that around 1900 the depot was the main part of many small towns. This view shows it all: the water tank, baggage wagon, train order board, barrel slide, Western Union sign, agent, barrels and a milk can. Photo is from Bob Albert collection.

Prior to its departure for Chicago, South Shore combine car 101 is loading passengers on LaSalle Avenue in South Bend. The nuns on the left and smokestacks in the background relate to the collegiate and industrial heritage of South Bend. The photo was taken about 1961 and within ten years the South Shore would terminate at Bendix on South Bend's Westside. The car appears to have been just washed at the coach yard just east of this location. Photo is by Bob Albert.

Tipton, Indiana is not thought of as a railroad town, but the Lake Erie & Western, later Nickel Plate Road, had a sizable yard, roundhouse and division headquarters here. The Indianapolis – Michigan City line also crossed here. On June 4, 1933 Tipton ceased to be a division point. The Nickel Plate moved the division point to Frankfort and combined it with the former Clover Leaf facilities. The photo shows the depot, which was built during New York Central control, and the division headquarters building to the left. The postcard view is from the Bob Albert collection.

This is a wonderful late1940s aerial view of the Winona at Mentone, Indiana. At the top of the photo is the Nickel Plate Road and the Morgan Street underpass. This underpass is often thought to be the Winona underpass, but it’s not. The Winona did run on the east side of Morgan St. until it crossed US25 (the road in the foreground), but then turned southeast to go under the Nickel Plate. The building in the foreground is now a hardware store and part of the elevator is still in use as a Dollar General Store and some other offices. Photo provided by the Bell Aircraft Museum at Mentone.

This is another great aerial view of Mentone, Indiana from about 1957. Some of the structures from the previous view are still there, but the Winona Railway is gone. The white building on the right with the red stripe is the Winona’s substation and depot. It is still standing as a mini-mart. Directly across US25 is the giant egg, Mentone was known as ‘the egg basket of the Midwest”. The former Winona right of way can be seen curving behind the hardware. There was a connection built to the Nickel Plate to service the elevator. Photo provided by the Bell Aircraft Museum at Mentone.