Model Railroading > A Small Yard You Can Model-Wabash RR-Gary, Indiana

I posted this at the Model Railroader Forum but thought that perhaps some of you here might find it interesting. This small yard and the trains that used it are covered in my book, "Railroading on the Wabash Fourth District".

Let's face it, even on small railroads, stub-ended yards are rare, except perhaps for industries. But most model railroad yards are stub-ended because of lack of space or the need to use the space saved for something else. Here is an example of a small stub-ended yard on the Wabash Fourth District circa 1950 that also serviced a mixed train. To best of my knowledge, it never had a turntable, ash pit or engine house, but did have a hostler on duty. The passing track on the mainline was used as a run around track if necessary. There had been a depot to the west of the freight house, across Broadway Avenue (a street that had two trolley tracks) but circa 1950, with no regular passenger service, operators and clerks had moved into the freight house on the east side of Broadway and a color light trainorder signal had been installed.

"Goldie", an African American, who lived in a nearby shanty, serviced the mixed train steam locomotive(usually a "2400" series Mikado). Track No. 3 in the stub track yard was elevated so Goldie could shovel coal from a gondola down to the loco's tender and he also used a hose to water the tender. No. 4 or 5 track was usually used to drop cinders but there were no cinder pits. (The entire yard was ballasted with cinders.)

The mixed train at this time ran M-W-F from Montpelier, Ohio to Gary and then T-TR-Sat back to Montpelier, staying overnight at its endpoints. Goldie would only put enough coal and water into the mixed train's engine tender to get it east to Crocker the following morning, where there was water and a coaling machine on the mainline to top off. The mixed would work all the interchanges and industries btw Montpelier and Gary. In addition, express was handled by the REA man in the heavyweight combine baggage section and box cars loaded wtih LCL on the end of the train were also unloaded at the stations along the line.

Two switch runs worked Gary. The Gary Switch Run ran btw Tolleston (a support yard to the west) and Gary and sometimes east of Gary working sand pits. The Calumet Local would work btw Landers Yard (Chicago) and Tolleston. Once a week, the Calumet Local would also drop off an LCL car at the Wabash station on the B&OCT at Hammond and then pick it up on another day after it had been loaded, taking it to Gary to be put in the mixed train for a trip east. It might also drop some other cars in the Gary Yard. However, the 1st and 2nd shift Gary Switch Runs handled all the switching at Gary. Sometimes No.98 would drop off cars at Gary for the Yallowitz Fruit Market. The Swtich Run would also sometimes pick up cars at Tolleston from No.89 to get them to the 47th Street Yard without the need for classifying.

In the late steam days, the switchers were 0-6-0 B-6 and B-7 Class engines and later, diesels could be Alco or EMD switchers. The mixed train was eventually dieselized with an EMD GP7. It was the last mixed train in Indiana, operating to 1962. Photographs and an entire chapter dedicated to the mixed train, including operations at Gary are in the book.

And you might ask if there were no turning facilities, how was the mixed train loco turned for it to return to Montpelier the next day? Well, the 2nd Shift Gary Switch Run crew would borrow the mixed loco overnight, because it had more power, and turn it on a B&OCT Wye at East Chicago before the crew brought it back.

Victor Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com/



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/14 19:37 by wabash2800.

---

Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana Indiana
From the Music Man

Is this the same line that crossed the ex. B&O line and ran next to the ex. NYC at Willowcreek, In?

espeefan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is this the same line that crossed the ex. B&O
> line and ran next to the ex. NYC at Willowcreek,
> In?

That's the one.

TAW

Yes, thanks Tom. Espeefan, in the book, I have a photo of the Willow Creek Tower (probably never published before) and drawings of the track layout there, along with a history of that location and many others. There was a connecting track btw the B&O and the Wabash at Willow Creek that was used by both roads for wreck detours over the years.

There are a few pictures of the mixed train on my Ready Track Page on the website.

Victor Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com/



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/14 13:25 by wabash2800.