Eastern Railroad Discussion > Noblesville, IN street trackage removal...

Sad to see it go, been a while since any trains moved on it. Until the early 2000's there was a coal train that
used to go to the Riverwood power plant north of Noblesville, which was later converted to natural gas. Only
a few excursions since then.

https://fox59.com/2019/10/14/work-begins-on-nickel-plate-railroad-on-eighth-street-in-noblesville/

How bad is that line?  Who owns it down to Fishers?  Looking at it via aerial views on Google, it looks in good shape down to Fishers.  I can't believe there is absolutely zero business down to Indianapolis?  Absolute travesty ripping 20 miles of track out.  . I read enough from the "save the nickel plate" source and Ohio based US rail to see the raw deal from these politicians. Nothing to see here, just move along.  
Rich S



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/19 07:50 by richs.

NS severed the diamond and connector at Tipton over 20 years ago, and CSX cut the south end connection almost 10 years ago, leaving the segment landlocked ever since. As much as I hated to see the events at ITM unfold the way they did, any hopes of generating online freight were slim indeed.

atsf616 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NS severed the diamond and connector at Tipton
> over 20 years ago, and CSX cut the south end
> connection almost 10 years ago, leaving the
> segment landlocked ever since. As much as I hated
> to see the events at ITM unfold the way they did,
> any hopes of generating online freight were slim
> indeed.

With this Tipton connector and diamond gone, and what looks like the former NKP line north of Tipton left to be reclaimed by mother nature,  I see what ITM was up against.
Does the E-W NS line through Tipton see any traffic anymore?  Thanks atsf616.
rich S  

richs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> atsf616 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > NS severed the diamond and connector at Tipton
> > over 20 years ago, and CSX cut the south end
> > connection almost 10 years ago, leaving the
> > segment landlocked ever since. As much as I
> hated
> > to see the events at ITM unfold the way they
> did,
> > any hopes of generating online freight were
> slim
> > indeed.
>
> With this Tipton connector and diamond gone, and
> what looks like the former NKP line north of
> Tipton left to be reclaimed by mother nature,  I
> see what ITM was up against.
> Does the E-W NS line through Tipton see any
> traffic anymore?  Thanks atsf616.
> rich S  

North of Tipton is a grain mill. Last time I was up there it was in use, but it's close to the E/W line which is the NS Frankfort District.

Plenty of grain is handled on this line, I believe there is a train between Frankfort and Cinncinnati handling non-intermodal freight.
Been a while since I visited this line.

Heath_Tower Wrote:

> North of Tipton is a grain mill. Last time I was
> up there it was in use, but it's close to the E/W
> line which is the NS Frankfort District.
>
> Plenty of grain is handled on this line, I believe
> there is a train between Frankfort and Cinncinnati
> handling non-intermodal freight.
> Been a while since I visited this line.

I don't have a traffic count available, but the Frankfort District is far from dead.  The line north to Kokomo is out-of-service just beyond the mentioned small grain facility, and is washed out at one spot just south of Kokomo. Oddly, NS has chosen to leave it intact after about 20 years of idleness, but the line is severed.  The long-running Kokomo railroad soap opera once included a plan to reopen all the way to Tipton, but G&W's acquisition of Railamerica in 2012 smoothed stormy relations with Kokomo Grain and that idea was aborted a few months before implementation was to begin.

atsf616 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Heath_Tower Wrote:
>
> > North of Tipton is a grain mill. Last time I
> was
> > up there it was in use, but it's close to the
> E/W
> > line which is the NS Frankfort District.
> >
> > Plenty of grain is handled on this line, I
> believe
> > there is a train between Frankfort and
> Cinncinnati
> > handling non-intermodal freight.
> > Been a while since I visited this line.
>
> I don't have a traffic count available, but the
> Frankfort District is far from dead.  The line
> north to Kokomo is out-of-service just beyond the
> mentioned small grain facility, and is washed out
> at one spot just south of Kokomo. Oddly, NS has
> chosen to leave it intact after about 20 years of
> idleness, but the line is severed.  The
> long-running Kokomo railroad soap opera once
> included a plan to reopen all the way to Tipton,
> but G&W's acquisition of Railamerica in 2012
> smoothed stormy relations with Kokomo Grain and
> that idea was aborted a few months before
> implementation was to begin.

Thank you both for answering my questions.  I have to say, after looking at a 10 year old rail map, Indiana rivals Ohio for miles of abandoned track.
Rich S

The battle for Tipton - Indianapolis was lost by N&W/NS circa 1980 when Conrail, after Staggers, exerted its control of the Indianapolis Union Railway and jacked the switching charges sky high. For N&W/NS to maintain existing traffic or pick up new traffic became a near impossibility.

 

$400.00/car to move through or interchange in Indianapolis. 

NS ended their Indianapolis service in 1989.

Heath_Tower Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> $400.00/car to move through or interchange in
> Indianapolis. 
>
> NS ended their Indianapolis service in 1989.

That sounds about right. Appreciate it. 

That made it about impossible to regain traffic to and from the GM Stamping Plant. Another big bit of traffic which the high switching charge fenced off was coke from Citizens Gas and Coke.