C&O Steam To Chicago

[bill613a]

In the mid 1980's the ex-C&O line was home to the CARDINAL and the on line cities of Marion, Muncie and Peru tried to promote the train as best they could but the pressure to serve Indianapolis (and Beech Grove) proved to be too much and the service was rerouted again.

[rrnut282]

IINM, the C&O of Indiana was the last main line built across the state of Indiana, and the first removed.  

In the steam era, trains neede helpers up Cheviot Hill out of Cinci (Ohio River Valley) and out of the Wabash River valley at Peru Yard.  The yard in Peru had a large shops area at the far West end of the yard and a nice concrete coal tower near the East end.  

The C&O stations at Muncie and Peru were rebuilt and still in-use today.  The Muncie station serves as a trail head for the Cardinal Trail (what most of the C&O of I was turned into) and Peru is now owned by the City of Peru and used for small events as the city treats the R/W along the trail as a park.  

[daveklepper]

They probably provided a van service.  Not sure about this.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The C&O of Indiana missed almost every city of size between Chicago and Cincinnati.  It's not too surprising that the only passenger service was a local that didn't even make it into Illinois.

Also, the South Shore station in Hammond was about one to one-and-one-half miles north of the Erie/Monon station on Douglas Street, not an easy connection.

[Miningman]

Great information Dave. A lowly Atlantic between Cincinnati and Hammond on the whole Chicago Line of the mighty C&O. That is something I did not know.

 

Maybe that's were 'Engine, engine, number 9, goin' down the Chicago Line comes from' ... suppose letting the Central handle the varnish was a smart move, saves a lot of headaches and moo-la. 

Thanks again Dave. 

[daveklepper]

C&O's only passsenger train on its Chicago line was a Cincinnati - Hammond local pulled by a 4-4-2.  A C&O ticket to Chicago was honered on the CSS&SB Hammond - Chicago.  Sleepers of the FFV, GW, and Sportsman went on the Big-Four New York Central System Cincinnati - Chicago.

[rcdrye]

C&O's biggest power on the C&OofI were 2-8-2s, serviced at Nickel Plate's roundhouse near 95th.

[BaltACD]

Don't think the Cincinati-Chicato line really fit into C&O's heavy traffic core.  The other line out of Chicago was the Pere Marquette and did not become part of the C&O until 1947 or thereabouts.  PM 1225 is representative of the heaviest power the PM operated.

https://www.1westproductions.com/co-cincinnati-to-chicago-line/

The discription above would tend to indicate that the line would not be a good fit for the heaviest of C&O power that was used to move coal to the Tidewater.

[SPer]

I'm a big fan of Chessie and Ohio steam locomotives especially the Alleghenys and I want to know if any large C&O steam locomotives-Berkshires, Greenbriars,Mountains, Mallets,and Alleghenys went to ,say,Chicago since C&O serves Chicago.