Is your favorite main line now full of weeds and wild flowers?

[PBenham]

It wasn't anything close to a main line, but per Tuesday's News Wire,the Knox& Kane has bit the dust, losing the Kinzua bridge killed off their passenger business and a railroad can't survive with only one shipper. Too bad, as this was a fairly nice ride, the view from the top of the viaduct was something!

[CMSTPP]

My favorite railroad isn't just full of weeds............ it's full of trees!! The Milwaukee road rocky mountain division was and still is my favorite railroad of all time. Those mighty electrics running along and those diesels roaring there guts out.... sigh.... oh well!

James

[samfp1943]

Some of my favorites are the lines here in S.E. Kansas that were rationalized by the BN when it bought out the FRISCO. Still a lot of bridges and bits and pieces laying around.

[Anonymous]

Last fall we took VIA from Montrael to Halifax. Quite a trip. With a rented car we toured the Maritimes. One stop was Prince Edward Island. You can see the ROW of the abandoned line there. Most of it has been made into a hike and bike trail. Sorry we were too late to see it in operation. Sames goes for the Newfoundland Railway. Although we did not get there on this vacation I would have loved to ride it. Sadly it is also gone.

[solzrules]

Definitely the Milwaukee Road's Pacific extension. It went through some absolutely amazing scenery but now is nothing more than a glorified hiking trail. My wife and I followed it all the way to Washington on a recent trip, and it was pretty sad to see all the towns in MT, ID, and WA that have had a tough time of it since the railroad left. (Two Dot, Avery, Harlowtown, etc.) Hard to believe so much rail was pulled up on a whim.

[espee]

The Tennessee Pass line. 06orchard, what kind of tapes are you looking for??

[Bob-Fryml]

Three of my favorites definitely are full of weeds, wildflowers, and/or hiking trails: the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee; the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin; and the route of the "Lake Geneva 400s." The latter was the C.& N.W. branch that connected Williams Bay and Lake Geneva, Wisc. with Richmond, Ringwood, McHenry, and Crystal Lake Jct., Ill. as well as the freight only extension southwards to Algonquin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, Elgin, and South Elgin, Ill.

Last month while driving southwards from Albert Lea, Minn. to Des Moines, Iowa (mostly along I-35) I was amazed at the number of generally east-west abandoned right-of-ways I saw. Passing over the ripped-up Milwaukee Road Chicago - Council Bluffs mainline was somewhat painful considering that I rode the "City of Los Angeles" (Aug. '59) and the "City of Denver" (Mar. '68) through there. Realizing that the Milwaukee's route went from heavy rail with automatic block signals to abandonment seemingly overnight is still a shocker!

[mudchicken]

FD-33447 at The Surface Transportation Board for The Neb City Line.

[Anonymous]

Update: I was partially right [:)] (this doesn't happen that often)

OPPD owns the line and Kyle (at one point at least) operated on it. But UP won the contract with OPPD in 2003 and the line doesn't show up on Kyles Route map.

[Mookie]

They are fire engine red - (Big Red Line) and yeah, crossing O street now would terrorize most crews! Some chicky with a cell phone sewed to her ear would wind up as a hood ornament on an engine or in the crews lap - car and all!

Moo

[Anonymous]

I forgot about the Kyle! I have seen Kyle locomotives and such, but not for years.

I like this line:

QUOTE:
It is not abandoned yet.

As in "I'm not quite dead yet!,..."

I have had people tell me they've seen Big Red Line stuff around town but I've never seen their locomotives. [:(]

Cool info about the Rock, hard to imagine anything crossing "O" street now. [8D]

[Mookie]

2Ghost - I think you are referring to the Kyle Line - the one going down highway 2. Our resident Mudchicken can fill you in better than I can. It is not abandoned yet. It is just resting for now. And the Big Red Line is still owned by Abel Construction - we see some engines every so often.

When driving I used to have to wait for the Rock Island to cross O street so I could continue either in or out of town.

[Anonymous]

I have two, kind of,....

1. The first is the line from Lincoln, Nebraska to the coal power plant about 50 miles east near Nebraska City. Although not really a main line it provided about a 5 trains a day.

Although it wasn't the busiest line in the world the traffic was timed perfectly for me. The days coal train would come through around 3 or shortly after (right after school growing up) and return around 10 empty, with helpers returning sometime in between.

I asked on a forum (maybe it was this one) what became of the line. I had left for college and upon coming back hadn’t seen a train since. According to whoever answered my question (thanks again btw) the power plant bought the line from outside Lincoln to their facilities and they now get their coal from Union Pacific via Omaha along the Missouri River on a different line.

The Cement plant down the highway a ways still in town (Lincoln) no longer receives rails service. I remember fondly the locals with the unique “Big Red Line” short hopper cars. There appearance often indicated the coming of summer construction and more importantly for me at the time summer vacation :-). I’ve often wondered if this was a result of the line being sold or the cement plant giving up on the rails.

The line itself looks in good shape but I think its only a matter of time before it gets ripped up at least outside of Lincoln.

When I saw crews poking around by the state pen I wondered if they were ripping track out entirely but they were actually building new industrial spurs for the former Fleming plant near the State Pen. The Warehouse receives a short cut of boxcars everyday but never quite makes it to my former home and pretty much east of that it goes from well maintained line to grass and weeds. Every once in awhile the local ventures close enough to make the old crossing go down but never quite makes it to my old childhood stomping grounds.

2. My second is a line I never actually saw run, but I have always wished I could have seen in action. The line is the old Rock Island right of way knifing through Lincoln, Nebraska. The towering man-made right of way is still very prominent and has always been impressive to me. The giant right of way turns into a giant a man made valley towards the edge of town. I always thought it was cool how much the line had impacted the area long after it had been removed. The line is a paved bike path now, so it should remain in place for sometime, but if anyone has any pictures of the line in action or any info I would be very interested.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Rustyrex

Here in Kansas, there have been quite a few main and branch lines either torn out or just railbanked. The one that bothered me the most was the Former Missouri Pacific Colorado Main line From Kansas City, KS via Osawatomie, Herington and Hoisington to Pueblo, CO. which SP later used via DRGW rights for its central corridor. I can remember MP coal trains literely screaming(hence the name screaming eagles[:)] ) pass through, then SP manifest and coal trains pound through on this line, AC4400CWs and ABS signaling, CWR, so much ballast you had to crawl up it to reach the tracks. Then, I watched some of the last trains on it blast through at 50 60 MPH with the rail removal crew not to far behind[:(!] UP found the old Kansas Pacific route was a more efficient route for all cross state traffic, but I think it was to keep another operator putting together a new transcontinental. There are short sections of it still in use but around 500 miles of it torn out.

Im with ya rusty i miss that line too, so did you ever find thsoe VHS tapes of the line??????????

[nssr9169]

Well my fav. has to be an abondonment that was saved known as th Wisconsin Great Northern, a roughly 32 mile shortline opperating out of Sonner wis. BUT YES EVEN THOUGH IT OPERATED THE TRACKS ARE IN THE WEEDS, but that's the way I like it.

[Anonymous]

WHEN I WAS AT THE AGE FROM 5 TO 10 I USED TO SIT AT THE ERIE LACKAWANNA YARD IN NIAGARA FALLS ,ATHER SCHOOL AND ON THE WEEK END SUMMER TIME YOU KNOW WHAT I SAYING THERE. I MET AND MISS ALL THE T/E CREWS THAT WERE MY BEST FRIENDS. WHEN IN 1964 THE CITY AND STATE MOVED THE ERIE,LV AND THE NYC OUT OF THE FALLS I SAT AT THE END OF THE DEAD END STREET AND CRYED WHEN THEY WERE RIPPING OUT THE TRACKS. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE CAB RIDES I HAD TO THIS DAY.

[Tharmeni]

I asked someone at the "Welcome to Arkansas" booth on the Interstate a few years back and she said "(the Reader Railroad) "is gone". True (I hope not).

[Anonymous]

Significant portions of the Jersey Central (Central Railroad of New Jersey) mainline are gone in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

[Anonymous]

Two lines come to mind: one from my childhood in Connecticut and the other from later years in Iowa.

I grew up in a small town just north of Bridgeport, Connecticut near what used to be the Pequonock River Valeyy line of the Housatonic Railroad. It ran from Bridgeport north through Trumbull, Monroe, Stepney and Newtown, where it linked up with what became the New Haven's "Maybrook Line". The line through my hometown was shut down and abandoned in the 1930, so when I first saw it in the 60's as a kid, it was just a path through the woods with the occasional stone cut or concrete abutment to remind you it once carried trains. I would have loved to see the old steam engines that once ran on the line. My elderly next door neighbor's father used to be the staion master at the Trumbull depot.

The second line was the former Rock Island Chicago to KC main that ran through Southeast Iowa and had a huge yard and division point at Eldon, Iowa. It was still running back in the mid to late 70's when I worked in nearby Ottumwa, which saw brancnh line trains runn from Eldon through Ottumwa and on up to Oskaloosa before that line too was abandoned and ripped up. I went back several years after the "Rock" (how funny) crumbled. It was all overgrown, but here and there you could still see a culvert or even an old signal post with broken flags or lenses that looked like it was left behind to signal "ghost trains". Always makes me kind of melancholy to remember those images.

[germanium]

Is there any site so desolate as an abandoned railroad ?
Saw one in New Zealand's South Island in 1990 - Probably was hydro-electric powered using catenary, just before diving in a tunnel on the Trans-alpine route - very saddening !!

[chad thomas]

Well if I had to pick a favorite line I would have to say the Sunset, and it's bussier than ever. But loosing the Modoc hits close to home.

[drench]

I miss the old Michigan Central/Conrail air line that ran between Jackson, MI and Elkhart, In. The line ran behind my fathers parents house and cut through the middle of my moms parents farm. It was quite active until the late 70's and abandoned in the early 80's. I can still remember running out at Christmas and Thanksgiving to check the signals for my dad. He ended up with Conrail for 29 years, leaving after the CSX/NS merger. Dennis

[Anonymous]

Nope mine sure isn't it has 150 Trains a day the BNSF Chicago Sub:D

[waltersrails]

The one through Fairfield IL the OLD B&O. There is several bridges left and 1/4 of the crossings but buried left. I mess the old B&O.

[SALfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Tharmeni

I miss the Reader Railroad in Arkansas. Rode it several times in the 1960s.

Is the Reader Railroad abandoned? SAY IT ISN'T SO, ETHEL!! I had my only cab ride (on a steamer, no less!) on the Reader. Long live the Possum Trot Line, if only in memory.

[Tharmeni]

I miss the Reader Railroad in Arkansas. Rode it several times in the 1960s.

[Anonymous]

i don't necessarily have a favorite once-mainline. when i'm out and about driving around and i see an abandonded right of way i wish i could go back in time to see it in action...

[Anonymous]

The DT&I mainline from Washington Court House, Ohio to Jackson. It was a little tast of mountain-style railroading for us flatland hillbillies here in the Buckeye State.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately I never witnessed one of my favorite mainlines in action, only just in family pictures and stories. The Great PERE MARQUETTE!!!!!!!!! The mainline of which I speak ran from Midland, MI. to Ludington, MI. I used to be able to see the remains of the track bed and a trestle belonging to this once majestic RR, all from the rear deck of my home.[:D]