Erie Lackawanna - Fulton County, Indiana

 
Fulton County map

Overview

The Erie Lackawanna entered southeast Fulton County at Disko.  Between Disko and Akron the eastbound and westbound mains ran vertically separated by sometimes 20 feet or more.  The eastbound main ran at ground level and the westbound main was well below it.  Both tracks came together just east of Akron which was the highest part of the EL west end.  At AN interlocking just west of Akron, began another single track segment to Monterey.  The EL crossed SR 114 between Athens and Akron before heading west into Rochester.  The tracks hugged the north side of the Fulton County Airport near SR 25.  At Rochester the EL crossed the N&W Michigan City-Indianapolis line about 1/2 mile east of the station.  West of Rochester the route became fairly rural again.  The EL passed through Leiters Ford and Delong before entering Pulaski County.  At Delong the EL crossed the Penn Central South Bend-Logansport line.
 

Remnants

One of the most interesting artifacts that remains of the Erie Lackawanna in Indiana is a radio dispatch base antenna, located just east of Akron.  The wooden station in Akron still stands next to SR 19.  The Rochester station also remains on the north side of downtown.  The original rails are in place between the Rochester station and the US 31 overpass.  A shortline railroad uses the EL to service a grain shipper just west of town.  The Leiters Ford depot is a museum operated by Fulton County.
 
 
County Line

About 1 mile northwest of Disko, Indiana, just inside of Fulton County is a steel bridge that crosses over both mains.  This is near the "tri-corners" area of the Fulton, Wabash, and Miami County lines.  It's New Years Day 1993 and we are looking westbound on the EL right of way from the bridge, which has since been closed off and barricaded.  Where once the scent of diesel exhaust from SDP45s and E8s could be smelt from this bridge, there is now just brush, rocks, and dirt below.  Just west of this bridge the two mains began a vertical grade separation.  You can just barely make it out in the distance.  (46K photo)

This is how the bridge looks from the ground.  This is facing eastbound and taken 8 years after the above photo. The westbound main is straight ahead while the eastbound main ran to the right of middle span.  (56K photo)  Taken on 1/2501.  NOTE:  You can see a photo of this bridge in the 1959 Erie Railroad magazine Marion Second Sub-Division article on George Elwood's EL site.  Here is a link to the actual picture which is taken facing west. The bridge looms in the distance.


 
 
 
CR 300S

At Fulton County Road 300S this is looking east on the westbound main.  This was an interesting location.  A bridge crossed over this track (westbound main) and the eastbound main to the south (right side) crossed at ground level.  The bridge is gone today and fill dirt has taken its place.  A few telegraph poles remain below.  About a mile in the distance is the abandoned bridge near the county line shown above.  A few years ago you could still see it, but the trees are just too tall now.  South of this crossing is a dairy farm which I believe was still in business during EL days.  In the Revelation Video "EL West End" there is a shot taken by Paul Geiger from this road showing an eastbound running with a long-hood forward SD45, as well as a maintenance vehicle going west. (51K photo)  Taken on 1/25/01.

 
 
Akron

Along CR 225S is a fairly tall radio dispatch antenna and control box.  You can see the antenna for miles away.  This antenna has been silent for more than 25 years.

 
Most of the guy wires are still dangling from the antenna mast.  Also coax still runs to the control box.  Just think how many EL trains were dispatched using this antenna.  "EL Marion dispatcher calling NY-100, engine 3607, over..."  Imagine hearing this transmission on Erie Lackawanna channel 1, 161.400 MHz, on your scanner today! 
Next to the antenna is a bridge that crossed over the westbound main.  This bridge is actually a private driveway.  In this view we are standing atop the eastbound main looking east.  The lone telegraph pole on the left shows just how much the grades were separated in this area.

 
 

Looking west on the Erie Lackawanna mainline near CR 225S just east of Akron.  I took this photo on New Year's Day 1993.  The brush is much higher now.  This shows the unusual grade separations that the Erie used while crossing Indiana.  The westbound main sat down in a 20' or so cut while the eastbound main on the left ran at ground level.  This vertical grade separation ran east as far as Laketon.  (33K photo)

 
 
A mile west of the above picture is this sad sight.  This used to be a bridge across the EL and has been removed.  The right-of-way has become a dumping ground over the years.  This is looking east and shows the deep cut that the EL mains once ran through east of Akron.
Looking west from the above location is milepost M157 still standing, buried in a thicket of trees and shrubs.  Artifacts like these can only be seen when the foliage is gone.
The Akron depot sits just east of SR 19.  Since this picture was taken, the depot has been repainted into Erie structure colors.  The tracks were immediately in front of the depot in this view.

 
Rochester
Just east of Rochester at CR 500E we are looking east down the the EL main.  A lot of the EL property in Indiana such as this was sold to nearby farmers and the evidence of the railroad usually went with it as they began to plow it.  The only evidence of the EL in this picture is a little bit of ballast next to the road.
The Rochester depot is used for newspaper recycling storage.  This is looking east.  The depot no longer wears the EL structure red paint.

 
Leiters Ford
The Leiters Ford depot is a museum and the grounds around it are well kept.  No rail remains in this area.

 
Delong
At Delong this is looking west at the SR 17 bridge.  You can see how the right-of-way has been filled in on the left.  This bridge has been since removed.

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© Original Content Copyright 1999-2007 David Safdy
© Design and Updates Copyright 2005-2007 Greg Lavoie
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