Can any one tell me what railroads have gone through or still go through Terre Haute, IN? I’m particularly interested in what lines went through Terre Haute and also the small towns of Lewis and Blackhawk especially in the late 1930’s to the early 1950’s. Mapquest shows a line running through both of the smaller towns with the letters Cmsp &P. I know that the Milwaukee Road ran through Terre Haute at one point so I’m assuming that is the former owner of this line as well.
My grandfather grew up in Lewis and I have heard him talk about seeing a small train regularly when he was a kid. He said that he and his friends called it the" Hiawatha" Putting 2 and 2 together makes me think that he might have seen a Milwaukee Road Hiawatha.
He also remembers a large explosion from what he thought was an ammunition train during the same time period near either Lewis or Blackhawk. It was powerful enough that both he and my great grandfather, who worked for a railroad as a blacksmith(though I’m not sure which road), were both knocked to the ground by the blast and it broke the windows in their house. If anyone has any info on this it would be greatly appreciated as well.
I know that the Terre Haute area is quite rich with both railroad and interurban history. As a matter of fact the Illinois Railway Museum actually has an interurban car my grandfather likely rode on. I would greatly like to hear any info or stories you have on railroading in that area and any history you can share. Past or present, your tale or a good palce to find about some new ones, it doesn’t matter, I’ve just become very intrigued about this.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Mike
That would be the former Milwaukee Road (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul &
Pacific). I believe they called their line from Chicago the “Terre Haute Division”.
Add the NS/CR/PC/PRR Vandalia Line to the list. (NYC’s Big-4 main is mostly gone now)…Milwaukee took over The Chicago, Terre Haute & Southeastern down to Evansville and never really tried to seriously upgrade the line, or it would still be there. CP/Soo line has some activity on what it calls the Latta Sub and I wonder if that’s still there. Terre Haute Brazil & Eastern (1987-1993, largely ex-CR) died a few years ago and what wasn’t picked-up is rusting in the weeds.
Great info. I think I will try the Indiana Historical Society, as well. Keep the posts coming.
Mike
Not the one my grandfather remembers but still wanted to share. Got this from the IHS website:
The west span of the Big Four Railroad Bridge over the Wabash River at Terre Haute, Indiana, collapsed at 2:35 p.m. on 23 February 1900. The structure crumbled under the combined pressure of ice, the weight of Big Four Locomotive 96, and forty-nine freight cars. The train was en route to Terre Haute from Mattoon, Illinois, loaded with baled cotton, lumber, grain, paper, stove ovens, and general merchandise. Employees of the local waterworks company reported to the Terre Haute Gazette that the bridge was swaying moments before the accident. Fireman Dan Ruddell of Indianapolis died in the wreck
Thought the Big 4 fans might find that interesting.
Also found a spook story from the area as well:
The Headless Trainman
South of Terre Haute there is a stretch of a railroad line that is haunted by a headless trainman. The railroad runs north and south. One night there was a freight train that was highballing its way south on its way to Evansville. One of the rails was too loose for the speed of the train. The speeding train hit that rail, flew off the track and crashed. The crash killed the conductor and the brakeman. The conductor’s body was found in one piece, but the brakeman’s body was found missing its head. And even though they cleaned up the wreckage, piece by piece, and searched all around the area, the trainman’s head was never found. Now if you walk near that track at night you sometimes see someone walking south on the track. He is holding a softly glowing railroad lantern and the light first swings to one side of the track and then to the other. They say it is the ghost of that trainman - still searching for his missing head.
Hope you enjoy!
Terra Haute doesn’t appear on my Monon RR map. It shows a branch to Midland. Did anyone mention CSX / CE&I that runs N-S?
You know - you’re right. I just looked at the Monon Historical Society’s map. I was
thinking of Midland. I apologize for the mis-information.
Yes the Milwaukee became the CP/Soo.They have a yard at Jasonville,Indiana. As far as I know they still go to Louisville,Kentucky.
dont forget the C&EI!
the Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad ran straight down from Chicago, through Terre Haute. passing through Cayuga, Hillsdale, and then down through Sullivan and Vincennes. they had a large passenger station located in Terre Haute.
dennamerritt - Welcome to trains.com! [C):-)]
(Mike) techguy57:
Not sure if you are familiar with the following, but some years back a gentleman named Mike Dettmers wrote a series of essays referencing his times and trials as a dispatcher on the former Milwaukee Sub (later CPR’s route) called “Latta Laments”.
Here is a sub link from the Haley Tower site to Mike Dettmers 'Latta Laments"
(an index and explanation?) http://www.haleytower.org/x/laments/index.html
Here is a link that discusses, and gives a small window into what some of those “Laments” were about.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cpheavyhaul/message/68
and this as well: http://indianarailroads.org/board/index.php?topic=505.5;wap2
I may be mistaken but there is a Preservation and Museum group in Terre Haute that has custody of the collection of Mike Dettmers “Latta Laments”. They are at this link: www.haleytower.org that link brings you to their site for the Wabash Valley Railroader’s Museum, Terre Haute @ http://www.wvrrm.org/
Hope these links help.
Perusing the entirety of the linked issue, it was amazing to look at the advertisements - advertisements for products and companies long replaced by changing technologies. It was also enlightening to find 3 advertisements for ‘railroads’ - the AAR, B&O and UP each had advertisements in the issue.