Eastern Railroad Discussion > South Shore's new Hammond station

The new Hammond Gateway station is now in operation.  It has separate platforms for the So. Shore main and the elevated, new, uner-construction West Lake corridor   The old station to the east will be torn down even though it's a fairly recent construction. A segment of the main line has been moved south about two blocks to put it in proximity to the West Lake route.

1. Looking east on the main line platform.   The West Lake platform is above to the right.
2. Looking west on the same platform, showing access to the upper level platform for West Lake trains.  My guess is the elevator will be heavily used.   It's a long climb by stairs or ramp.
3. A look from the new platform of the old main ROW.  The tracks are now gone, but the catenary supports remain.

The West Lake line is only 8 or so miles long with just three stations  To reach the current location a mile (or more) long viaduct carrying its single track was built on the ROW of the old Monon.to bring it through downtown Hammond to the new station.  That's why it's elevated.  It then descends to the west  and feeds into the main line.

The cost of the WL corridor is said to be $852 million.  Given the length of the viaduct and the elaborate new station, I'm thinking its adtual cost will be more, perhaps much more.  An awful lot of passengers will have to use the West Lake's three statons to justify that amount.  .
 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/24 20:04 by calumet.

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I'm thinking I would need a whole lot more information to understand exactly what was done here. It looks like a great new facilty, but very nebulous to someone not from the area. I am not even a little surprised by the inflated costs after the incredible amount of studies of studies required even before construction began. I did see many posts about the South Shore relocating it's mainline but don't recall anything about this particular facility.
Thanks for the post.
Gonut

Here is a screenshot from openrailwaymap.org
NICTD is the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District and they run the South Shore Line and now the new extension. I have color coded the map marking the rail lines involved.
1. Lime green is the new north/south extension called the NICTD West Lake Corridor. This is the abandoned Monon line now lined with new steel.
2. Dark green is the current east/west NICTD South Shore line. I think it begins in South Bend.
3. Yellow is the CSX Elsdon Sub,
4. Blue is the CSX Monon Sub.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/24 04:02 by CSX2605.

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Thanks for the photos of the new station. I'll have to swing by on my next trip to "the Region."

Here is a link to Google Maps that shows the old station on the right and the flyover to the new station that follows the old Monon ROW. The view is looking west. The side panel may have some photos of interest but can be closed.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/D2VJwzpbGaG41nvt5

I've also uploaded a photo of Gostlin and Sheffield from the days when the local streetcar system (Hammond, Whiting, and East Chicago) was still running. Their streetcar barn was on Gostlin, partially obscured behind that building on the left, and the spur leads to a small storage yard. The area has changed a great deal with the construction of the new station. 

If you rotate the view 180 degrees and zoom, you can see the old station on Hohman Avenue. The new station is on Sheffield. 

I am old enough to remember South Shore street running down Chicago Avenue in East Chicago. I think my first "solo" trip on the South Shore was in the late '50s, when mom and dad thought I was old enough for that adventure.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/24 07:25 by colehour.

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The station opened October 18th. The pictures are a few weeks old (the emergency call boxes on the platform were unwrapped the first week of November).

The costs have stayed close to budget. One additional expense is a pedestrian underpass downtown by the courthouse where a fourth new station will be added after the new corridor opens.

BTW: The name of the new corridor is the "Monon Corridor". The signs at the new Hammond Gateway station and other stations south show that name. The existing main line will be called the "Lakeshore Corridor" and signs are being posted to reflect that change. Both corridors will also be called the "South Shore Line". NICTD is not discarding that name.