Unsure about the Logansport locomotive shop. I have a photo somewhere taken in 1979.
My guess and only a guess is that it was steam era.
There is a railcar repair shop in that area now.
ed
MidlandMike It seems once the Pennsylvania traffic was directed to Cleveland, the Panhandle to St. Louis was doomed. When Conrail was split, NS already had the ex-Wabash for a St. Louis route.
It seems once the Pennsylvania traffic was directed to Cleveland, the Panhandle to St. Louis was doomed. When Conrail was split, NS already had the ex-Wabash for a St. Louis route.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Murphy Siding MidlandMike It seems once the Pennsylvania traffic was directed to Cleveland, the Panhandle to St. Louis was doomed. When Conrail was split, NS already had the ex-Wabash for a St. Louis route. Panhandle ?
Panhandle ?
Backshop Murphy Siding MidlandMike It seems once the Pennsylvania traffic was directed to Cleveland, the Panhandle to St. Louis was doomed. When Conrail was split, NS already had the ex-Wabash for a St. Louis route. Panhandle ? The PRR line from Pittsburgh, through Columbus and Indianapolis, to St Louis was known as the "Panhandle", since it crossed the panhandle of West Virginia.
The PRR line from Pittsburgh, through Columbus and Indianapolis, to St Louis was known as the "Panhandle", since it crossed the panhandle of West Virginia.
Murphy SidingPanhandle ?
Backshop's explanation notwithstanding, sometimes those names come from really obscure back stories. Like, someone looked at a map and said "that looks like a panhandle..." Not the case here, but...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
The Panhandle = The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
A Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary that they financed, and pieced together from various 19th century railroads.
The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway was another, and the route of the crack passenger trains to Chicago.
PRR used to have a 50% share in the ownership of Chicago Union Station, based on its own share and the share owned by the Pan Handle. CB&Q and MILW each had 25% shares in CUS.
(and The Vandalia doesn't get a mention in all of this? Big Four could be added too.)
The PRR Corporate structure was truly a Wall Street circus.
mudchicken(and The Vandalia doesn't get a mention in all of this? Big Four could be added too.)
And don't forget the mighty FW&J. There is your outlier in this discussion. Former NYC...almost completely gone (in Indiana).
I suspect one thing being overlooked in this discussion is that not all lines were built for transparent reasons. Some were built with an eye towards taking someone else's business. And some were built mostly because there were investors wanting to get in on "the next big thing"......which were both ripe for consolidation. Consequently some lines were bought by others not because they needed the capacity, but to keep the lines out of the hands of competitors.
And then there also is the industry-wide loss of business to trucking.
So, to insist that some lines succeeded while others failed....solely as a matter of geography....might be an overly (overtly?) narrow perspective
Convicted One... So, to insist that some lines succeeded while others failed....solely as a matter of geography....might be an overly (overtly?) narrow perspective
I think that lines that survive either had the most business, or were the lowest cost to operate, which has at least some basis in geography.
Convicted OneAnd some were built mostly because there were investors wanting to get in on "the next big thing"......which were both ripe for consolidation.
In some cases that involved folks who wanted a railroad between their town and the next, nevermind economic viability.
An "air-line" was a pitch to the investor class that a railroad could make up for a lack of O&D traffic by pushing the projection for overhead traffic out to infinity.
The PRR western end was two railroads that weren't a good fit for rationalization into a core system, and the PRR managed to those fiefdoms, which fed into the red green battles of PC days.
St Louis never materialize as the dominate rail hub that it was for steam boat traffic, where they "stripped and stuffed" raw materials and finished goods on the region's landings.
The B&O had the same problem of cross WV operating expenses eating up the revenue on moves to St Louis, and landed on the same solution.
Rail traffic through the Ohio Valley gateway cities flows north south, not east west.
As someone pointed out earlier - yards put many PRR lines at a disadvantage that could not have been overcome even without the deferred main line maintenance on much of the PRR side in the Hoosier State (and, frankly, all of PRR Lines West
Pennsy terminal operations, at least west of Pittsburgh, were cramped, obsolete, and in poor physical condition. NYC yards on west end of the system were newer, more efficient, and were in much better condition. Naturally, the Central main lines feeding directly into them were usually the first choice.
PRR's Conway Yard was apparently the largest rail yard in the world during the 1950s, and it was situated near the middle of the railroad. Would it have been likely used mainly to sort traffic traveling between the western and eastern halfs of the railroad, or to serve the Pittsburgh area?
mudchicken (and The Vandalia doesn't get a mention in all of this? Big Four could be added too.) The PRR Corporate structure was truly a Wall Street circus.
What's unusual is that all the NYC components had their own locomotive repair shops---NYC-West Albany. B&A-West Springfield. LS&MS-Collinwood. Big Four-Beech Grove. MC-Jackson. CASO-St Thomas.
Murphy Siding Backshop Murphy Siding MidlandMike It seems once the Pennsylvania traffic was directed to Cleveland, the Panhandle to St. Louis was doomed. When Conrail was split, NS already had the ex-Wabash for a St. Louis route. Panhandle ? The PRR line from Pittsburgh, through Columbus and Indianapolis, to St Louis was known as the "Panhandle", since it crossed the panhandle of West Virginia. Thanks. I was trying to figure out why someone thought Indianna had a panhandle. I even went so far as to Google search states with panhandles. To be honest, some states seem to be pushing it. I'm looking at you Nebraska.
Backshop Murphy Siding
Murphy Siding
MidlandMike It seems once the Pennsylvania traffic was directed to Cleveland, the Panhandle to St. Louis was doomed. When Conrail was split, NS already had the ex-Wabash for a St. Louis route. Panhandle ? The PRR line from Pittsburgh, through Columbus and Indianapolis, to St Louis was known as the "Panhandle", since it crossed the panhandle of West Virginia.
MidlandMike It seems once the Pennsylvania traffic was directed to Cleveland, the Panhandle to St. Louis was doomed. When Conrail was split, NS already had the ex-Wabash for a St. Louis route. Panhandle ?
Thanks. I was trying to figure out why someone thought Indianna had a panhandle. I even went so far as to Google search states with panhandles. To be honest, some states seem to be pushing it. I'm looking at you Nebraska.
One other thing to consider, is the Pennsy liked to move its passenger trains on their own track so the plodding freights didn't slow them down. Witness the almost straight as an arrow Fort Wayne Line across the state vs the wandering route of the Panhandle to keep grades generally lower. This isn't a perfect deliniation, but it helps explain the muliple main lines PRR had and no longer had enough traffic to support. This also worked to the detriment of the PRR. NYC may have done this elsewhere, but not so much across Indiana.
Convicted One mudchicken (and The Vandalia doesn't get a mention in all of this? Big Four could be added too.) And don't forget the mighty FW&J. There is your outlier in this discussion. Former NYC...almost completely gone (in Indiana).
mudchicken (and The Vandalia doesn't get a mention in all of this? Big Four could be added too.)
IIRC, the date on the East wall is 1908 or thereabouts.
MP173 Unsure about the Logansport locomotive shop. I have a photo somewhere taken in 1979. My guess and only a guess is that it was steam era. There is a railcar repair shop in that area now. ed
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