I wanted to know if any of you have any new info on this possible connection. It was supposed to be a shorter route for NS Heartland Corridor trains from the ports in Virginia to Chicago and beyond. We had heard of 4-6 trains a day taking this route between NS and CF&E. The new connector would be built at Bucyrus, OH between these to railroads. It was supposed to happen last year around October, but there was a real estate issue. There was a parcel of land out of 3 parcels that was in question. We heard this from several locals around Bucyrus and railfans and NS personnel. Some of them said it had been in the local paper there. I wanted to know if the “Fort Wayne Connector” is still going be a reality . Or has anything changed. Thanks. PW
I read the Bucyrus paper online every day (http://www.bucyrustelegraphforum.com/) to keep up on things back in my hometown, but I have yet to hear anything on there about any real estate issues regarding the proposed connector.
Kevin thanks for responding. We were at the depot at Bucyrus and there were some men working on it. Some of them had said they knew about the possible new connector and that it was now a land issue. Do you know if they are still planning on building the connecto?. They had already demolished some buildings and it looked they had moved some telephone/power poles. Because it wouldn’t take that long to build it versus the clearance projects for the Heartland Corridor. I wondered if its still a go or has the economy or something changed this. After all, NS can still just run the trains via Bellevue and on to Chicago or vice versa. Thanks. PW
It is alleged that there are trackage rights issues and property issues, as well as the wording of the lease agreement to RailAmerica, by property owner CSX. Have no idea of the validity of these rumors.