Archived Changes/News: 2004

Note:  Some links may not work anymore, depending on how old they are.
 
 
 

December 9, 2004
 

Changes added 2 Mike Tower board photos to Contributor page.  Thanks Keith! updated CFER references on the following pages: Delphos, EL Adams County, Fort Wayne Rail Frequencies (map), Fort Wayne Historical Aspects, Junction, Fort Wayne Rail Locations, Mike, Piqua Yard, Fort Wayne Rail Lines, Norfolk Southern Reroute, Links, Monroeville, Passenger Train, Quiz, Restaurants With A View, and Van Wert. updated Amtrak Trains at Waterloo page; Winter/Spring schedules. replaced main page logo.

 

September 4, 2004
 

News RailAmerica's Chicago, Fort Wayne, and Eastern is now operating the Fort Wayne Line.  It will take me a while to "de-CSX" the Fort Wayne/PRR references on the Fort Wayne Railfan website.  As always, I appreciate any information you can give me or corrections to the website.  This is much more critical to the upkeep of this site since I do not live in the area anymore.

Changes minor update to Wabash Central page; fixed error on WBCR caboose section. updated CSX references to Conrail and Decatur Line page.  More changes to come. added photos to Contributor page; 2 at Mike tower at dawn, NW 8519 at Payne, and Wabash covered hopper at Edgerton, IN.  Thanks Bob! archived Changes/News April 25 and earlier. updated Fort Wayne Railroad Operations page;  changed some NS train symbols, deleted CSX section, added CFE section. replaced main page logo.

 

June 15, 2004
 

Announcement Due to accepting a job transfer, I will be moving away from Fort Wayne to Columbus, Ohio on June 23.  As for the future of the Fort Wayne Railfan website, I am initially going to keep everything as is.  I will still try to keep the individual pages of the site updated, but some of them may have to be deleted as time passes.  We'll see how it goes.  Keep checking this page for future updates and changes to the site.  You can still keep in touch with me via the e-mail address on the front page.

News Fort Wayne Line to RailAmerica:  On August 1st RailAmerica's subsidiary Central Railroad of Indianapolis will be leasing the CSX Fort Wayne Line from Crestline, Ohio to Tolleston, Indiana.  This also includes the CSX Decatur Secondary.  Click here for a press release from RailAmerica's website.

Changes updated map and text on Runnion page to reflect recent removal of New Castle District west wye and other remnant.  This is now changed on the Norfolk Southern Rerouting page, as well. updated maps on NE and Fort Wayne Rail Locations pages to reflect new NE track alignment. added 7 mid-1990s photos to the Contributor page, including NS 083 at New Haven and 084 at Dunfee, CR FWEL at Arcola, IHRC power at Rochester, NS 291 at Columbia City, and CSX Q227 at Garrett. Thanks Michael! changed photo on main page.

April 25, 2004
 

News Passenger Excursions To Run On Indiana Northeastern:  The Lake Central Railroad will be running passenger train excursions on the Indiana Northeastern Railroad beginning May 8th and continuing through December 11.  The Lake Central Railroad will supply the passenger cars and IN will supply the diesel power.  Click here for more information. More NS Symbol Changes:  NS 193 now operates between Fort Wayne and Cincinnati on days that 177 does not.  No sooner do I mention it below does L80 return as the day local on the New Castle District, however it is now operating from Muncie instead of Fort Wayne.  About once a week they have been running a 57R to bring the grain hoppers from East Wayne Yard to Bluffton and points south.  This was traditionally done by L80.  NS has started running a westbound 26R that comes off the Fostoria District and terminates at the GM plant in Roanoke IN.  There has also been a new 26Q operating on the Huntington District, as well.

Changes added several photos to the Contributor page: 2 of Pennsy shops building demolition, 2 EL at Huntington and 1 at Laketon, 5 at Garrett in the 1970s and Warsaw PC tower.  Thank you Mark and Victor! added several new pictures to Junction page. added interior photo of Baker St. station to the Fort Wayne Train Stations page. updated Fort Wayne Rail Operations page;  NS train symbols. updated new Amtrak schedules on Amtrak Trains at Waterloo page. archived Changes/News December 9 and earlier.

 

April 6, 2004
 

Announcement Sunday April 18th at 2:00pm there will be a presentation on the Fort Wayne & Jackson Railroad given by Victor Baird.  This will be at the Baker St. station in downtown Fort Wayne at the corner of Harrison and Baker St.  This presentation is open to all enthusiasts.

News Local Operational Notes:  NS has recently changed all of the 400-series train numbers.  The only one through Fort Wayne effected so far is the Muncie turn, 417, which is now 313.  I have heard a new regular coal train pair on the Chicago/Fostoria District.  NS 856 & 857 have been running somewhat regularly for the past few weeks now.  857 is an eastbound and 856 is a westbound.  I have not seen them yet, but I'm guessing the eastbound is the empty and the load is the westbound.  I have spotted both of these trains up on the Chicago Line (ex-NYC) before.  No idea what their endpoints are.  Another new train I caught a few weeks ago was 26K.  This was an eastbound empty auto rack train that went on the Huntington District from Peru to Detroit.  It might be a new symbol for the M20.  The New Castle District north local is now L88 and the L80 job has been abolished.

Changes updated Amtrak Trains at Waterloo page;  time changes reflected.  The new schedules won't be effective until April 25th. updated Fort Wayne Rail Operations page; NS train symbols. added New Haven depot picture to the NE page.

 

March 29, 2004
 

News Maumee & Western Gets Funding For Track Improvements: This article appeared in Friday's Toledo Blade.

Changes updated St. Joe page; map added, sections updated. updated Butler page; new pictures and map added. updated Hugo page; new pictures added. updated Garrett page; operations section. updated Railfanning The Area page; Butler and St. Joe sections. replaced frequency map on the Fort Wayne Rail Frequencies page. updated Passenger Rail Service page; change in some ideas - check out my new Columbus Connection proposal. replaced Baker St. station and New York Central freight depot photos on Fort Wayne Train Stations page. updated Links page. replaced main page picture/logo.

 

March 10, 2004
 

Changes updated Runnion page; 4 new pictures added. replaced photo of the Cass St. depot on the Fort Wayne Train Stations page. updated OmniSource Track section of the Fort Wayne Rail Line Descriptions page; rail removal east of Cass St. is now reflected and a new picture at St. Marys Ave. has been added. updated Fort Wayne Historical Aspects page; New York Central section. replaced main page picture/logo.

 

February 23, 2004
 

News Hugo Online:  With the exception of the 10 mph speed restriction on the wye, Hugo is now pretty much fully operational.  Trains can now run on the wye and on the north track (main 2) at the same time.

Changes updated Fort Wayne Rail Locations map and Hugo page to reflect the new interlocking. updated Fort Wayne Rail Operations page; NS train symbols.

 

February 3, 2004
 

News NS Derailment in Corunna:  It would seem that the section of the NS Chicago Line between Waterloo and Kendallville is becoming somewhat of a regular hotspot for derailments.  On Sunday morning (2/1) train 69T derailed 26 cars next to the State Road 327 bridge, blocking both tracks.  No injuries were reported.  Some trains were detoured through Fort Wayne via Butler and NE that day.  Click here for the full article from the Journal Gazette today. Hugo:  Still status quo.  No word on the when the full implementation of the interlocking will occur.  A 10 mph slow order still exists on the New Castle wye. Coal Traffic Gains on New Castle District:  In addition to the two new coal trains 86Z and 776 added last month to the line, some empty sets are now running the opposite way.  Last Tuesday night I spotted an 87Z headed south with just under 90 empties.  Yesterday another empty was run south in the morning.  In addition, yesterday NS ran an 84A loaded train to Muncie and Indy.

Changes updated Restaurants With A View page; added Butler Eat N Haus. updated Fort Wayne Rail Operations page; NS train symbols. added 2 more Piqua Yard photos and 1 at Mike to the Contributor page;  thanks again, Matt. replaced main page picture/logo.

 

January 21, 2004
 

News New Coal Trains Added To New Castle District:  In the past few weeks NS has started running 2 northbound coal trains on the New Castle District.  NS 776 operates from Ensley, Alabama to the IHB's Gibson Yard.  NS 86Z operates from Mobile, Alabama to the EJ&E at Van Loon.  Trains have been appearing a few times a week. Triple Crown Expansion:  The Triple Crown yard in Fort Wayne will see its capacity doubled in the near future.  Also, new service to Minneapolis, Minnesota will commence in the next few months.  Not sure yet if this will be a new train or just cars added to the current westbound trains 261 or 264.  Click here for the full article from Tuesday's Journal-Gazette.

Changes updated Fort Wayne Rail Operations page;  NS train symbols. added 3 Conrail era photos at Piqua Yard and 1 at Mike to the Contributor page.  More to come.  Thank you Matt! updated Baer Field Yard page; overview and operations sections.

 

January 12, 2004
 

News Hugo Update:  NS is still working on the Hugo project.  They are currently working on the new signaling system.  All of the new track is connected, however the new interlocker will not be fully operational until the new signaling system goes online.

Changes replaced main page picture/logo. updated KTR caboose section on Kendallville page. updated Fort Wayne Rail Operations page; NS train symbols. archived Changes/News October 29 and earlier.