South Shore
While the main goal was to shoot the freight in the street I must admit I really do like shooting be electric mu trains too.
The Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad is considered the last interurban railroad in America and it's right of way clearly belies that fact despite modernization over the years.
For me the big draw has always the nearly two miles of street running through downtown Michigan City. The railroad snakes down 11th street for 1.1 miles then jogs across Amtrak's Michigan Line (ex NYC new Michigan Central) before another 0.6 miles or so of street running down 10th street before regaining a private right of way for a fast race west thru the Indiana dune country.
Like much of the midwest Michigan City has a good variety of rail action though nowhere near what it once was. In addition to the CSSB and Amtrak (which sees a tiny bit of NS action) CSXT's main to Grand Rapids (ex Pere Marquette) that also hosts a pair of Amtrak trains, cuts through the city. In days of old the Monon and Nickel Plate also came to town though the Monon is long gone and the NKP has been cut and a good portion of it is now a branch operated by the CSSB.
Anyway, a bit of history of the famed South Shore:
The South Shore began in 1901 as the Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway, a streetcar route between East Chicago and Indiana Harbor. Reorganized as the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway in 1904, by 1908 its route had reached South Bend, Indiana via Michigan City, Indiana. The company leased the Kensington and Eastern Railroad, an Illinois Central Railroad subsidiary, to gain access to Chicago. Passenger service between South Bend and Chicago began in 1909. The Lake Shore added freight service in 1916.
Samuel Insull, the Chicago utility magnate, acquired the bankrupt Lake Shore in 1925 and reorganized it as the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, which it remains today. The railroad experienced two more bankruptcies, in 1933 and 1938. Despite having become unprofitsble again in the post WWII period, in 1967 the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) purchased the road to gain direct access to then new Bethlehem Steel plant at Burns Harbor (which still today as an Arcelor Mittal plant is still the CSSB's largest customer). Under C&O ownership electric freight operations ended and the famed 800s (Little Joes in Milwaukee Road parlance) were retired. In 1981 10 GP38-2s were bought new and they have been stalwarts ever since.
In 1977 the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) began subsidizing the passenger operations on the South Shore Line and in 1984 the Venango River Corporation (VRC) purchased the South Shore from the Chessie Sysem. Venango declared bankruptcy in 1989 due largely to problems with its much larger Chicago Missouri and Western property. In 1990 the Anacostia and Pacific Company stepped in and purchased the South Shore, while at the same time NICTD purchased the passenger assets. The two operations are entirely separate businesses but closely integrated, and NICTD continues to use the familiar South Shore branding for its passenger operations.
To learn more check out these great articles from TRAINS:
cs.trains.com/ctr/b/mileposts/archive/2019/01/10/putting-...
www.anacostia.com/sites/www.anacostia.com/files/assets/Tr...
But these iconic scenes aren't going to be around for long. A massive nearly half billion dollar project to double track the line all the way to Michigan City in order to shave 30 or more minutes off transit times and allow greater train frequencies is supposed to start construction soon (though the Covid-19 situation may push back the dates). This will lamentably lead to the end of street running and the removal of nearly all the homes and structures on the south side of 11 th street. To learn more check out the project web site and the detailed PPT presentation on the project: www.doubletrack-nwi.com/images/DT_PRS_DTVirtualOpenHouse_...
But change is the only constant in life, and the CSSB has been modernizing and rebuilding since the Insull era. In fact in 1956 the long section of street running in East Chicago was bypassed and in 1970 the street running into downtown South Bend was abandoned...so I suppose this is just a continuation of what has come before.
Anyway, I do think this will not be my only visit before this trackage disappears because there just isn't quite anything like it.
As for this shot, here is wesbound NICTD train 606 with a consist of Nippon-Sharyo built electric multiple unit cars. Trailing #10 is a double ended car built in 1982 and was one of the cars that replaced the old Pullman and Standard Steel cars dating from the 1920s.
The train is departing the Michigan City 11th Street station near MP 33.9. The historic station with its ornate facade was built in 1927 and closed to passengers in 1987. It has been vacant since with trains stopping at a bus stop style shelter adjacent to it. It was sold to the city in 2007 and has an uncertain future with the coming changes.
Michigan, City Indiana
Sunday August 16, 2020
South Shore
While the main goal was to shoot the freight in the street I must admit I really do like shooting be electric mu trains too.
The Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad is considered the last interurban railroad in America and it's right of way clearly belies that fact despite modernization over the years.
For me the big draw has always the nearly two miles of street running through downtown Michigan City. The railroad snakes down 11th street for 1.1 miles then jogs across Amtrak's Michigan Line (ex NYC new Michigan Central) before another 0.6 miles or so of street running down 10th street before regaining a private right of way for a fast race west thru the Indiana dune country.
Like much of the midwest Michigan City has a good variety of rail action though nowhere near what it once was. In addition to the CSSB and Amtrak (which sees a tiny bit of NS action) CSXT's main to Grand Rapids (ex Pere Marquette) that also hosts a pair of Amtrak trains, cuts through the city. In days of old the Monon and Nickel Plate also came to town though the Monon is long gone and the NKP has been cut and a good portion of it is now a branch operated by the CSSB.
Anyway, a bit of history of the famed South Shore:
The South Shore began in 1901 as the Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway, a streetcar route between East Chicago and Indiana Harbor. Reorganized as the Chicago, Lake Shore and South Bend Railway in 1904, by 1908 its route had reached South Bend, Indiana via Michigan City, Indiana. The company leased the Kensington and Eastern Railroad, an Illinois Central Railroad subsidiary, to gain access to Chicago. Passenger service between South Bend and Chicago began in 1909. The Lake Shore added freight service in 1916.
Samuel Insull, the Chicago utility magnate, acquired the bankrupt Lake Shore in 1925 and reorganized it as the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, which it remains today. The railroad experienced two more bankruptcies, in 1933 and 1938. Despite having become unprofitsble again in the post WWII period, in 1967 the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) purchased the road to gain direct access to then new Bethlehem Steel plant at Burns Harbor (which still today as an Arcelor Mittal plant is still the CSSB's largest customer). Under C&O ownership electric freight operations ended and the famed 800s (Little Joes in Milwaukee Road parlance) were retired. In 1981 10 GP38-2s were bought new and they have been stalwarts ever since.
In 1977 the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) began subsidizing the passenger operations on the South Shore Line and in 1984 the Venango River Corporation (VRC) purchased the South Shore from the Chessie Sysem. Venango declared bankruptcy in 1989 due largely to problems with its much larger Chicago Missouri and Western property. In 1990 the Anacostia and Pacific Company stepped in and purchased the South Shore, while at the same time NICTD purchased the passenger assets. The two operations are entirely separate businesses but closely integrated, and NICTD continues to use the familiar South Shore branding for its passenger operations.
To learn more check out these great articles from TRAINS:
cs.trains.com/ctr/b/mileposts/archive/2019/01/10/putting-...
www.anacostia.com/sites/www.anacostia.com/files/assets/Tr...
But these iconic scenes aren't going to be around for long. A massive nearly half billion dollar project to double track the line all the way to Michigan City in order to shave 30 or more minutes off transit times and allow greater train frequencies is supposed to start construction soon (though the Covid-19 situation may push back the dates). This will lamentably lead to the end of street running and the removal of nearly all the homes and structures on the south side of 11 th street. To learn more check out the project web site and the detailed PPT presentation on the project: www.doubletrack-nwi.com/images/DT_PRS_DTVirtualOpenHouse_...
But change is the only constant in life, and the CSSB has been modernizing and rebuilding since the Insull era. In fact in 1956 the long section of street running in East Chicago was bypassed and in 1970 the street running into downtown South Bend was abandoned...so I suppose this is just a continuation of what has come before.
Anyway, I do think this will not be my only visit before this trackage disappears because there just isn't quite anything like it.
As for this shot, here is wesbound NICTD train 606 with a consist of Nippon-Sharyo built electric multiple unit cars. Trailing #10 is a double ended car built in 1982 and was one of the cars that replaced the old Pullman and Standard Steel cars dating from the 1920s.
The train is departing the Michigan City 11th Street station near MP 33.9. The historic station with its ornate facade was built in 1927 and closed to passengers in 1987. It has been vacant since with trains stopping at a bus stop style shelter adjacent to it. It was sold to the city in 2007 and has an uncertain future with the coming changes.
Michigan, City Indiana
Sunday August 16, 2020