abandoned logansport

Trains Magazine General Discussion
21

I spent about an hour last night on the broadway.pennsy website taking a look at the freight movements thru Logansport. There is a great graphic showing a 24 hour time period of freights arriving and departing Logansport.

Also took a look at a specific train CO2 which ran from Chicago to Cincinnati and the blocks of freight it carried. It dropped a block off at Logansport and also picked up cars. The schedule was really fascinating as it detailed the specific blocks the train handled and the trains each block “protected”.

At Logansport CO-2 would drop off a block which could have cars for the following routes radiating out of the terminal: Effner, Terre Haute, South Bend, Conway, Ridgeville, and Ft Wayne. It would pickup cars set off from trains from Ft Wayne, Effner, Greenville (NJ), Indianapolis, Conway, Ridgeville, and South Bend.

Further, by looking at the outbound trains from Logansport (to Effner, Terre Haute, etc) one could see that in 1960, at least theoretically PRR was offering pretty good carload service.

Obviously Logansport was an important terminal in 1960, with a “hub and spoke” type operation not only for branchlines, but also for points such as Conway (Pittsburgh). The Chicago terminal (59th Street Yard) ran freights to Conway, not only on the Ft Wayne line, but also via Logansport. Further, it appears that they would “keep cars moving”, by having Conway cars on the CO-2 (Cincinnati train) which would be dropped in Logansport for pickup by a later Conway train. Why would this occur? My only guess is because of the many interchange carriers in Chicago this kept the freight moving (possibly due to capacity issues at 59th st?)

I really dont have much knowledge on the operations at Logansport, but having taken a look at those schedules, it is obvious it was a major center in 1960.

Does anyone know what size the yard was? Didnt Richmond, In hav

22

One final note on this, unless there is further discussion. It appears PRR had 30 freights per day at Logansport, broken up as follows:

14 thru trains (Chicago Greenville, Chicago Louisville, Chicago Enola, Chicago Cincinnati, Chicago Conway, Effner Greenville, PItcairn Chicago, Conway Effner, Hartsdale Columbus, Columbus Chicago, Columbus Hartsdale, Louisville Chicago, another Columbus Hartsdale, Cincinnati - Chicago)

8 trains originating and 8 trains destined for Logansport, mainly out and back trains (FtWayne, Ridgeville, Indianapolis, Effner, TerreHaute, South Bend, Richmond, and Chicago)

A couple of points…there was considerable traffic moving to and from TPW at Effner, with four trains daily. The NW/NKP/Wab merger really hurt PRR, as there were three trains daily between Columbus, Oh and Hartsdale(EJE) that were run thrus to the NW. These appeared to be coal trains and empties plus any steel business out of Gary.

The above does not include any local freights in and around the Logansport area.

Conclusion…yes, Logansport was a railroad town.

ed

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Thank you MP173 for the detailed info on logansport that isnt including passenger trains ether is it like you wrote 16 passenger trains two WOW!!! that was one heck of a place. you go there today it is a shadow of its former self there were two control towers there both ex pennsy i was there in 1995 and tried to find RACE tower and VAN tower but all i found were cement slabs were they used to be. I then went to kenneth indiana were the main line to chicago and effner indiana split. very heavy rail it was 140 pound you could really tell it was a main line at one time. but is was single tracked you could tell were the second track used to be.

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The more I thought about Logansport ( I went there in 1979 and spent an afternoon photographing the old shops and what was left of the yard), it became obvious that my impressions of the traffic were wrong. Looking at the PRR map, I figured Logansport handled primarily north south freight. Not so. Most of their thru freight moved east west (Chicago or Effner to points east).

It would have been an incredible place 50 years ago.

ed