Over 3,000 miles of railroad west of Pittsburgh to Chicago and St. Louis were acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad through lease or otherwise during the late 1860s and early 1870s. One of the railroads acquired was the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway (the successor to the original Panhandle Railway), over which the PRR reached Indianapolis in 1869.

To manage this vast network, in 1871 the PRR established a subsidiary called the Pennsylvania Company as a separate operating entity. The Pennsylvania Company actually operated the lines to Chicago but only leased the Panhandle lines to Indianapolis.

The independence of the JM&I ended and its Pennsylvania years began when it was leased on August 1, 1871, to the PC&StL. This was only five years after the JM&I was formed by merger of the I&M and Jeffersonville railroads. The PC&StL lease was replaced on January 1, 1873, when the Pennsylvania Company leased the JM&I. The corporate succession of the M&I and the Jeffersonville Railroad is shown in the table.

The table shows that on September 30, 1890, the JM&I disappeared as a separate corporation when it was consolidated with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway and other railroads to form the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company. When the PCC&StL Railway was consolidated with other railroads on January 3, 1917, the PCC&StL Railroad was formed. On March 26, 1921, the PRR leased the PCC&StL Railroad for 999 years.

The Ohio and Mississippi Railroad (later part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad) completed its line to Jeffersonville and New Albany from North Vernon in 1869. On June 5, 1872, the JM&I and the L&N agreed with the O&M to allow it to use their Ohio River Bridge to enter Louisville. The O&M trackage rights continued until 1887 when the O&M began to use the K&I bridge at New Albany.

After its 1866 merger the JM&I gradually acquired the three railroads between Columbus and Cambridge City. On November 18, 1881, it acquired the Columbus and Shelbyville. On April 10, 1882, it acquired the Shelbyville and Rushville. On June 26, 1890 it acquired 21 miles between Rushville and Cambridge City built in 1866 and 1867 by the Lake Erie and Louisville Railroad. This last line was once known as the “Calico Road” because its workmen were paid in yard goods.

The 63-mile route from Columbus to Cambridge City saved 30 miles for traffic that previously would move to and from the East via Indianapolis. The use of this bypass route also relieved congestion at Indianapolis. At its peak the bypass carried four local passenger trains and one through passenger train daily, plus freight trains. In 1910 the PCC&StL Railway elevated its main line through Cambridge City and built a new 4.8 mile connection from Bentonville to Dublin Junction, 3.5 miles west of Cambridge City. The 5.8 miles from Bentonville to Cambridge City was then abandoned. After 1917 when the PRR completed its new Hawthorne yard at Indianapolis, use of the bypass decreased since it was more efficient to route all traffic through Hawthorne Yard, where freight cars could be blocked in direct trains destined to various eastern terminals.

The PRR referred to its Indianapolis-Louisville line as the Louisville Branch, to its Columbus-Madison line as the Madison-Columbus Secondary Track, and to its Columbus-Shelbyville line as the Columbus-Dublin Junction Secondary Track.

The 1952 map shows PRR tracks in Columbus as they were from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. The Madison line earlier ran through the center of downtown Columbus at 5th and Washington streets as shown by the dotted line on the map. But in 1952 only a stub track remained to reach the Dunlap Building Materials spur. The stub track ended at Washington Street where the Madison Hill H10s class engine was exhibited during the 1952 Columbus Pioneer Days festival.

The passenger station in Columbus was torn down in 1953, and the block station and passenger facilities were relocated a short distance south as shown on the map to a remodeled portion of the building that housed the freight station.

In the 1960s a major downtown redevelopment project relocated most PRR tracks in Columbus. Mill Race Park was created west of 5th and Brown streets where the Mooney Tannery had been, and where the Driftwood and Flat Rock rivers join to form the East Fork of White River. The new railroad route runs due north from the White River railroad bridge along the east side of Mill Race Park, on a line two blocks west of Jackson Street. The freight yard shown on the map was removed and relocated to Cornbrook.

In the 1930s the Great Depression generally hastened the decline of railroad passenger service. The year 1930 saw the last passenger train on the Columbus-Dublin Junction Secondary Track. The steam passenger train between Madison and Columbus was discontinued June 30, 1931, and replaced by a gasoline-powered “doodlebug.” The “doodlebug” was discontinued August 16, 1935, and a coach was attached to the daily local freight to accommodate the line’s few passengers. At the same time U.S. mail and less-than-carload (LCL) shipments began to be handled by trucks. The coach was discontinued October 10, 1938, ending all passenger service on the Madison-Columbus Secondary Track. Stations were closed starting in 1930, so that by 1954 the only open stations were Columbus, North Vernon, and Madison.

After discontinuance of passenger service, the 4.8 mile section from Bentonville to Dublin Junction was no longer used as a main track. For awhile it was used to store wreck-damaged freight cars held for repair. In 1952 it was out of service, and train and engine movements were prohibited beyond Bentonville. It was abandoned in 1955.

The South Wind began running in the 1940-41 winter season as an all-coach train between Chicago and Miami via Indianapolis and Louisville. In 1941 the train began operating year-around. For several years a streamlined K4s pulled the South Wind.

During World War II the Louisville Branch carried more freight and passengers than ever before. Wartime freight traffic was greatly increased because of the Army’s Camp Atterbury west of Edinburg, Jefferson Proving Ground north of Madison, and Atterbury Air Base at Columbus. Helping to move this traffic were some of PRR’s newest and largest steam locomotives. An occasional T1 class passenger locomotive (4-4-4-4 wheel arrangement) passed through Columbus after the war.

The Appendix includes the scheduled times at Columbus of passenger trains in 1887, 1937, and 1952. Remarkably, there were five pairs of passenger trains in 1952 compared to four pairs in 1887 and 1937. However, no passenger trains were operated in 1952 on the two secondary tracks. The Appendix also includes timetable times at Columbus for through and local freight trains in the winter of 1952-53, the stations and maximum speeds for these three lines in 1952, and a brief description of the manual block system used to control train movements.

Columbus in 1952 was the operating base for four local freight trains. In order of their time of departure from the Columbus freight yard, they were the Shelbyville local, the Indianapolis local, the Madison local, and the Seymour local. On the Louisville Branch, the H6sb and H10s locomotives used on these locals were restricted to a maximum speed of 50 mph while running forward pulling a train and to 35 mph while running backward pulling a train.

The first local freight train to leave Columbus yard early each weekday morning was the Shelbyville local. In 1952 the PRR’s 62 mile Columbus-Dublin Junction Secondary Track was in service to Bentonville, 57 miles from Columbus. There were no locomotive turning facilities at the end of the branch, so the locomotive ran backward from Columbus and ran forward on the return trip. For the first two miles through Columbus, speed was restricted to 15 mph due to numerous city street crossings at grade. Prior to 1952 I lived close enough to hear the train’s going and coming and the constant blowing of its locomotive whistle over these crossings. Outside of Columbus the maximum speed was 20 mph. The number of cars varied from ten to as many as 40 during the summer wheat rush, when the round trip would require 12 to 16 hours. Other days when traffic was lighter, the local would not go all the way to Bentonville, but perhaps only to Rushville and return.

The second train to depart Columbus yard was the every-other-day-but-Sunday Indianapolis local. In 1952 it ran south from Indianapolis one day and north from Columbus the next day. Its locomotive was always turned on the turntable at Columbus. Maximum speed was 50 mph, and it usually had 10 to 15 cars.

The third train to leave each week day was the Madison local in mid-morning, with its locomotive facing forward. On arrival at North Madison, the locomotive would be turned on the wye track at the Jefferson Proving Grounds before backing down the hill with any cars it had for Madison. PRR timetable special instructions for movement between North Madison and Madison required the locomotive to head north and operate at the south end of the train (see Appendix). The Madison local returned to Columbus in the late afternoon. Maximum speed was 30 mph except between North Madison and Madison, where maximum speed was 12 mph. The local usually had 20 to 40 cars.

The fourth and last train to leave Columbus yard each week day just before noon was the Seymour local. It went beyond Seymour to Austin and Scottsburg and returned to Columbus each evening. There were no locomotive turning facilities at the south end of its run, so the locomotive ran backward from Columbus and forward on the return trip. The local would have 15 to as many as 40 cars during the canning season at Austin and Scottsburg. On its return the local would stop at Garden block limit station to obtain permission from the Columbus block operator to come north to Columbus and enter the freight yard. Under manual block system rules, this allowed the Columbus yard engine to occupy the main track and to continue switching cars at Columbus yard while the local ran from the Seymour block station to the Garden block limit station.

The conversion from steam to diesel electric locomotives occurred during 1952 to 1954, although the Chicago-Miami South Wind had already been converted from steam to diesel electric locomotives in the late 1940s. The K4s class, Pacific type 4-6-2 steam locomotive had years earlier replaced older Atlantic type 4-4-2 locomotives and continued to be used until 1953 on passenger trains between Louisville, Indianapolis, and Chicago. In late March 1953 the last steam switching locomotives used in Louisville passed through Columbus “dead in tow” on a local freight train. The class of freight locomotive pictured on the cover was used extensively from after the war until the end of 1953, when diesel electric locomotives took over completely. Last of all, diesel electric locomotives replaced steam locomotives on local freight trains and yard switchers based at Columbus. A diesel electric switch engine was assigned to duty in the Columbus yard and also used for the Shelbyville local. Two specially-designed 1,750 horsepower, diesel electric, six-axle SD7 locomotives were assigned to the Seymour local and the Madison local November 9, 1953. A small diesel electric switch engine was assigned to Madison to switch the power plant sidings.

In the 1950s construction of a large power plant on the Ohio River at Madison was a temporary boom for the Madison Branch, requiring many carloads of construction equipment, machinery, and supplies to be hauled into the plant. The plant had its own railroad yard west of Madison near the bottom of the railroad grade. But after it was finished, the power plant ceased to be a major source of traffic. Its coal was shipped in by barge on the Ohio River.

Freight traffic carried on the former JM&I in the 19th and early 20th centuries mainly consisted of agriculture and forest products, including cattle and hogs; wheat, corn, and other grains; meat, hides, and leather; logs and veneer; cornstarch and corn syrup; and canned food such as corn and tomatoes. Railway Express and LCL freight shipments were handled at local passenger and freight stations until the 1950s. In the first half of the 20th century, the railroad transported increasing amounts of manufactured products, including, for example, auto parts and consumer products manufactured by Noblitt Sparks (later Arvin) at Columbus, Franklin, and North Vernon.

But as the road network in southern Indiana was improved in the 1930s and 1940s, the railroad faced increased highway competition for passengers and freight, especially manufactured products. Highway transport became more efficient as portions of US 31, the parallel Indianapolis-Louisville highway, were widened to four lanes in the 1950s. Highway transport was greatly improved by the opening in 1961-63 of limited access Interstate Highway 65 between the Ohio River and a point eight miles north of Columbus. By the time the balance of Interstate Highway 65 from Columbus to Indianapolis was opened in 1971-72, both the Railway Express and LCL freight business had disappeared, along with much of the carload traffic in manufactured products. New industries were being located in cities along the railroad, but most were not rail-served. Changes in the storage and distribution of farm products eliminated most railroad wheat and corn shipments from country grain elevators on the Columbus-Dublin Junction and Madison-Columbus secondary tracks, as well as from those on the Louisville Branch.

Consequently, segments of former JM&I lines were no longer economical and were abandoned. The 12.3 miles from North Rushville to Bentonville was abandoned in 1962. By 1974 when I made an engineering inspection trip of Penn Central lines for the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, only the track between Shelbyville and North Rushville was being operated. Penn Central had abandoned 6.2 miles of the line between Flat Rock and Fenns in 1972 and would abandon 22.2 miles between Fenns and North Rushville in 1976. Since Conrail did not acquire the 8.8 miles between Columbus and Flat Rock from Penn Central, this last segment of the Columbus-Dublin Junction Secondary Track was abandoned in 1977.

By 1974 at the time of my inspection trip, the Madison-Columbus Secondary Track between a point south of Columbus and a point north of North Vernon was out of service. Penn Central’s trains reached the North Vernon-Madison segment using trackage rights from Seymour over the B&O Railroad, now part of CSX Transportation Company. Since Conrail did not acquire the line from Penn Central, the 16.6 mile Columbus-North Vernon segment was abandoned in 1976.

When properties of the northeastern bankrupt railroads were conveyed to Conrail on April 1, 1976, the remaining portion of the Madison Secondary Track between North Vernon and Madison was not included in Conrail. The state then named a designated operator who managed it as the Madison Railroad in 1977 and 1978. In September 1978 the City of Madison through its port authority acquired the line in a condemnation suit against Penn Central Corporation and has operated the line as the Madison Railroad since that time. Over $6 million dollars has been spent on track and bridge upgrades to improve service to customers.

In recent decades, the lack of industry on the river front at Madison and existence of more efficient alternative modes of transportation have minimized the need for a rail line in Madison. Therefore, the Madison Railroad has not maintained the track to allow trains to operate on the Madison Hill. An exception was in 1992 when the Madison Railroad, with financial assistance from Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation, rehabilitated the track and transported some equipment from North Madison down the Hill to the power plant on the Ohio River.

Conrail took over the Louisville to Indianapolis line on April 1, 1976, but sold it in March 1994 to the Anacostia and Pacific Company. The Anacostia and Pacific formed the Louisville and Indiana Railroad to operate it. The L&I currently operates 113 miles of track, with seven of those miles jointly owned with other railroads. The L&I has about 40 employees (a small fraction of the number PRR had in 1952).

The L&I main track consists mostly of PRR 130-pound section, jointed rail, cropped to 33 foot lengths when it was re-laid about sixty years ago from its first position on other PRR lines. There is some welded rail. Due to track conditions, maximum speed is only 30 mph. The L&I owns 13 diesel electric locomotives: two SW1200s, one GP10, four GP16s, three GP11s, and three GP38-2s.

The L&I serves several on line shippers. CSX is its largest interchange partner. Most of the traffic is chemicals, plastics, auto parts, steel, grain, fertilizers, and scrap metal. The Consolidated Grain and Barge Company, located at the Clark Maritime Centre in Jeffersonville, is the largest customer.

The L&I has its main switching yard in Jeffersonville, a smaller one at Columbus, and is a tenant of the CSX at Avon Yard in Indianapolis. L&I traffic fell about 40% when Conrail was divided in June 1999 between the Norfolk Southern Railroad and CSX, but traffic has recovered somewhat.

CSX agreed in May 2001 to use the L&I track from Louisville to Indianapolis, but so far it is only using the track from Louisville to Jeffersonville. One of the issues is the inability of CSX to operate higher horsepower, heavier six-axle diesel electric locomotives between Jeffersonville and Indianapolis due to bridge weight restrictions at Columbus and elsewhere.

The northbound Indianapolis local is making its air test before departure from Columbus yard on a spring day in 1952. The first three cars carry large tanks for Camp Atterbury.

H6sb engine 9979, the Columbus yard engine, switching cars on a bright, cool day in March 1952.

The southbound Madison local pulled by H6sb engine 8606 is passing Columbus passenger station in the summer of 1952. The 8606 was the first to be equipped with a cross compound air pump. A few weeks later this engine would be replaced by class H10s engine 8177.

The locomotive for the Indianapolis local, H10s engine 8006, is being turned on the Columbus turntable. The turntable was operated by compressed air from the locomotive.

H10s engine 9901 is being loaded with coal by the clam shell and crane at the Columbus servicing facility in December 1952. The H10s engines had replaced most of the H6sb engines only a few months earlier.

The Columbus coaling tower served the main line. Coal was loaded in the tower and in local and yard engines by the clam shell and crane.

At the Columbus servicing facility in November 1952, there were four H10s (one is hidden from view) and one H6sb still assigned to Columbus at far right.

In a blur of speed and with plenty of smoke and steam, northbound symbol freight LC-11 charges across State Road 46 a mile south of Columbus in December 1952. The train is doubleheaded by a K4s 4-6-2 and an N2sa 2-10-2. With only 50 cars, the train has ample power! The N2sa locomotives had the PRR standard Belpaire wide firebox, modified from the original radial stay, wide firebox of the N2s locomotives built to United States Railway Administration specifications in 1919.

No. 307, northbound afternoon passenger train with K4s engine 5362, leaves Columbus and passes the car inspector’s shanty at Columbus yard, near the end of steam on the PRR Louisville Branch in March 1953. The K4s engines were soon to be replaced on this and other Louisville-Chicago passenger trains by Baldwin BP20 “shark-nose” diesel electric locomotives.