South Bend, Fort Wayne, or both?

[HarveyK400]

schlimm

 Good research.  What kind of track and ROW is there between SB and Ft.Wayne?

 

Current Google aerial shows former NYC line in place between Goshen. east of Elkhart, to Warsaw.  This was a secondary route used by Conrail between Elkhart and Indianapolis, the kind of short-hauls that weren't very profitable.  The route served to consolidate traffic that once used the Big Four from Chicago.  I haven't been out that way in years.

[schlimm]

 Good research.  What kind of track and ROW is there between SB and Ft.Wayne?

[HarveyK400]

Here are my thoughts on the intra-state battle between South Bend and Fort Wayne for corridor service might be mitigated by doing both.

• Chicago-Columbus and Chicago-Pittsburgh through both South Bend and Fort Wayne via Goshen (IN) and Warsaw (IN)
  
• Chicago-Cleveland-Pittsburgh/Buffalo via Waterloo (IN)
  
• Cleveland-Indianapolis by way of Toledo and Fort Wayne

FWIW, the South Bend area has a greater population than Fort Wayne's area; but why choose between them when you can link both?  South Bend could get pairs of Chicago-Cleveland and Chicago-Pittsburgh r/ts and a single Chicago-Buffalo r/t to supplement the Lakeshore.  Fort Wayne could get a pair of Chicago-Columbus r/ts, a Chicago-Pittsburgh r/t, and a commuter schedule to South Bend and Chicago and back.  Cleveland gets 5 r/ts from Chicago and Pittsburgh gets 3 out of this.

In Warsaw, the Dollar General store would need to be moved for a connection on the route from Chicago.

Only 24 miles of track upgrade are needed compared to 89 to reach Fort Wayne; but the route is 27 miles longer.  Fort Wayne still is 39 miles shorter to Columbus, only 146 miles from Goshen through to Dunkirk (OH) compared to 185 miles by way of Toledo.

Lima, OH is picked up on the route to Columbus from Chicago while Toledo, Bowling Green (OH), and Findlay (OH) could be part of a Detroit - Columbus - Charleston (WV) route.

A complementary Chicago-Fort Wayne-Pittsburgh daytime train serving Lima, Mansfield, and Canton might be feasible, serving smaller cities with little or no air service and the Football Hall of Fame.

A pair of Indianapolis-Fort Wayne-Cleveland trains might be mirrored by a Fort Wayne-Indianapolis commuter r/t schedule.

Fort Wayne is about 30 miles and 39 minutes driving time from Waterloo while South Bend is only 24 miles but 42 minutes from Plymouth (IN) on the more direct former PRR line.