Continues to amaze me that a railroad (interurban) the size of Indiana Railroad System at 790 miles long (440 miles of that being interurban) saw none of its records preserved (especially the maps and land records). Because it was largely not federally regulated, nobody at the state level seemed to preserve much of anything.
If you are in need of metes and bounds, check out power line easements. I know of several medium voltage transmission lines that "took over" the easement or R/W of the Indiana RR or its predecessors radiating out of Fort Wayne. Whether they were diligently recorded is another matter. I follow one former R/W to work some mornings. Many are still easy to spot out in the field, especially when they leave bridge abutments behind, like on the East side of Logansport.
When my family lived in Garrett, IN 1959-62 our house faced a median that at that time I wondered why it was there.
When I learned of the Indiana Railroad as a Interurban carrier it all fell into place - that median was the IRR's 'country' right of way to where it began 'city' running in Garrett.
https://earth.google.com/web/search/garrett,+in/@41.34173285,-85.13628336,267.7021716a,194.04930521d,35y,0.00000001h,44.94579952t,0r/data=CnYaTBJGCiUweDg4MTYxMDE3MmRhMDk1M2Y6MHg3ZjAwNmI2OThjMTJhNmUxGWRTUze8rERAIQcPLnisSFXAKgtnYXJyZXR0LCBpbhgBIAEiJgokCQp2kReeRENAEZ-oTksuRENAGSRVauhMrFTAIRpy3aLmrFTA
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Here is one example where the powerlines follow the old interurban line. As a bonus here is the diamond with a steam line abandoned ca 1910. The Vee shaped tree lines indicate the former tracks. The N-S is the CB&C, a short line that tried to survive on overhead traffic that could take a route 30 miles longer to cut them out of the revenue. The NE-SW line is the former Ft.Wayne, Bluffton & Marion that eventually became part of the Indiana RR. line to Indianapolis.
https://earth.google.com/web/search/garrett,+in/@40.72543273,-85.17805949,253.1276412a,809.08864481d,35y,0.00000001h,44.94970671t,0r/data=CigiJgokCQp2kReeRENAEZ-oTksuRENAGSRVauhMrFTAIRpy3aLmrFTA
The Central Electric Railfans Association Book, "The Induiana Railroad, the Magic Interurbasn," is full of the material you are requesting. George Krambles was an employee, later was Generasl Manager of ther Chicago Transit Authority, and he made it a priority to salvage as much as he could. The book is very-well written, has numerous photographs, maps.amd schedules, and is well worth obtasinig.
BaltACDWhen my family lived in Garrett, IN 1959-62 our house faced a median that at that time I wondered why it was there. When I learned of the Indiana Railroad as a Interurban carrier it all fell into place - that median was the IRR's 'country' right of way to where it began 'city' running in Garrett. https://earth.google.com/web/search/garrett,+in/@41.34173285,-85.13628336,267.7021716a,194.04930521d,35y,0.00000001h,44.94579952t,0r/data=CnYaTBJGCiUweDg4MTYxMDE3MmRhMDk1M2Y6MHg3ZjAwNmI2OThjMTJhNmUxGWRTUze8rERAIQcPLnisSFXAKgtnYXJyZXR0LCBpbhgBIAEiJgokCQp2kReeRENAEZ-oTksuRENAGSRVauhMrFTAIRpy3aLmrFTA
A busy day at the Interurban station in 'downtown' Garrett - back in the day!
daveklepperThe Central Electric Railfans Association Book, "The Induiana Railroad, the Magic Interurbasn," is full of the material you are requesting. George Krambles was an employee, later was Generasl Manager of ther Chicago Transit Authority, and he made it a priority to salvage as much as he could. The book is very-well written, has numerous photographs, maps.amd schedules, and is well worth obtasinig.
You may wish to contact Commonwealth Edison Company and Northern Indiana Public Service Company. Both were Insull utilities and may have some records of the various interurbans in the Insull empire.
The Shore Line Historical Society (www.shore-line.org)has published a bunch of articles on the Indiana Railroad in their magazine First & Fastest. Their web side lists back issues for sale with at least two in the current list containing articles on the Indiana Railroad (well, THI&E).
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