History

At the turn of the 20th century Fort Wayne, Indiana was a vibrant railroad town, hosting six railroads including the New York Central, Wabash, Nickel Plate Road, Pennsylvania Railroad, Grand Rapids & Indiana, and Fort Wayne Union Railway. The city also had an enviable interurban network that linked it to the rest of the state. … Continue reading →

4th Street

Constructed in the 1860s, the Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw Railroad joined its namesake cities and later reorganized as the Fort Wayne & Jackson. It was leased to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern before being absorbed by the New York Central Railroad System. The railroad terminated just south of its yard between Clinton, Calhoun, … Continue reading →

Background

On October 4th, 1955 the Nickel Plate Road opened a two-track overpass that elevated its busy rails above city streets and unleashed city development northward. Breaking the ribbon on that day was a Berkshire-type steam locomotive, no. 767. The 80 fast freight Berkshire-type steam locomotives constructed for the Nickel Plate Road earned the company a … Continue reading →

Local, Regional, National Draw

Diverse programs lead visitors and tourists on rail and trail to downtown. To get to Chicago, nearly every major railroad in the east had to cross Northeast Indiana and almost every town and city was connected to the other via the railroad. So immense was this infrastructure, that its atrophy since the 1960s is alarming … Continue reading →