Bob's Fort Wayne area photo of the week

[Bob Durnell]

Sorry I missed a week guys, been pretty busy around here. How about this photo taken about a week ago of a NS RP-M4C Road Slug and GP59ECO combo working southbound up out of the hole on the GR&I at State Street?

[Hotbox]

Nice photo! Has Dana ever had any significant rail traffic?

[Bob Durnell]

When I was a kid, they got coal delivered, and there were sidings for boxcars at one time, but I imagine this traffic dried up pretty early.

[Steve Bryan]

Bob, what happened to the photo of the week?

[Bob Durnell]

Sorry guys, between the site outage last week and being so busy, I got behind. I'll make it up with a twofer this week.

1) 7/12/14. NKP 765 makes a westbound move across the St Mary's River bridge on the Chicago District and into it's old stomping ground, West Wayne. This was part of a positioning move to loop the engine, tender, water car and crew car around town and get them facing eastbound for the return to Detroit of The Detroit Arrow excursion train.

2) 11/29/11. NS train 365 squeezes fresh fallen snow off the rails as it rolls westbound for Elkhart near East Berry and Clay Streets.

[Bob Durnell]

Another GR&I shot. 1/31/19, the GR&I local creeps southbound over the old wooden trestle over Butler Road. I had wanted this shot for YEARS, and was finally in the right place at the right time.

[Hotbox]

Two engines on a local? Is that customary?

[Bob Durnell]

Diesel and road slug. That's been the normal GR&I power in recent times, but not always the same set.

[Hotbox]

How do they handle the power connection between the slug and unit with the generator? Are they permanently wired, or is there some sort of ultra heavy duty quick-connector?

[Bob Durnell]

The slug and the mother can be disconnected, (I saw a disconnected slug behind the East Wayne fuel pad a few weeks ago) but based on info I was given, some of the cabling has to be disconnected by a shop person, not just by a crew or a hostler.

[Bob Durnell]

8/2/04. Startup day for the then Rail America owned Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern. Freshly refurbished GP38-2's were being readied for use by shop forces, but a couple seemed to be having some teething problems. Sorry for the poor quality scan.

[Bob Durnell]

Continuing our recent GR&I coverage, here is a shot from February as the local enters the switch at West Wayne and prepares to run up the GR&I with some salt hoppers that they just pulled out of the old FW&J line spur.

[Notch 8]

Continuing our recent GR&I coverage, here is a shot from February as the local enters the switch at West Wayne and prepares to run up the GR&I with some salt hoppers that they just pulled out of the old FW&J line spur.

So would this been the southern most part of the Ft. W&J ? A pair of Hi Hoods to boot !

[Bob Durnell]

Craig would be the one give you all of the specifics, he's our expert on this area. Am I thinking right that the NKP/FW&J/GR&I connection track the train is sitting on was put in once the GR&I was removed between Runnion and Junction? I'm trying to remember how PC and Conrail accessed the FW&J between 1968 and the mid 90's. The actual spur that the salt hoppers are stored on IS the former FW&J.

[Steve Bryan]

The actual end of the FW&J was at the PRR crossing at Junction. Remember the track continued south across the NKP at West Wayne, past Paula's Seafood at main Street, crossing the GR&I at Park. I believe NYC had trackage rignts to Hugo but that was NKP owned track. Likewise, I believe NKP had trackage rights between Junction and West Wayne.

Steve Bryan