TP&W Railroad bridge over Paw Paw Creek at CR 50 South
Brief History
Written by James NorwoodOnce upon a line this was a quite branch line that ran from Logansport to Effner, Indiana at the Illinois State line for a connection with the Toledo, Peoria, and Western Railroad. This line was then known as the Toledo, Logansport, and Burlington Railroad and was later taken over by the Panhandle Railroad which itself later came under control of the Pennsylvania Railroad and later absorbed. A steep grade out of Logansport heading North to Chicago on another line resulted in a new bypass being built before 1920 South from Royal Center which brought the new line into the old Toledo Logansport and Burlington line just West of this bridge at a junction called Trimmer, or Kenneth. The line was double tracked and hosted dozens of trains a day across this bridge. Later in Penn Central days, the line's future was in doubt as the company was losing money and cutting trains until Conrail was formed in 1976 and the lines radiating out of Logansport were basically left for dead. The old line from Trimer/Kenneth Junction on West to Effner was sold to the TP&W and the old bypass and remainder of the old line into Logansport was single tracked. The line from Winamac North to Chicago was also abandoned and pulled up. Later Conrail sold the old Toledo, Logansport, and Burlington line and the section from Trimmer to Winamac to the Winamac Southern Railway, then sold again to the A&R line, which was later bought out by the TP&W itself. They abandoned the remainder of the bypass line to Royal Center and original Chicago to Logan line from Royal Center to Winamac, but continue to use the old Toledo, Logansport, and Burlington line from Effner to Logansport's Yard A near 18th Street. This bridge is right near the entrance to Cass County's "France Park" which features swimming, diving, camping, and many other amenities. It is an old France Stone Company quarry that was once famous for it' cliff diving into the old quarry.
Facts
- Overview
- Steel stringer bridge over Paw Paw Creek that flows into France Park(former France Stone Company quarry, now Cass County Park) on Toledo Peoria and Western Railroad(nee Penn Central, Pennsylvania Railroad and Panhandle Railroad, Chicago Great Eastern
- Location
- Cass County, Indiana
- Status
- Open to traffic on one side. Formerly Doubletracked.
- Future prospects
- Local trail groups would like to utilize abandoned second track through here to connect Logansport's trails with the Panhandle Pathway trail to Winamac.
- History
- This was part of the Pennsylvania Railroads main line from Chicago to Columbus or Cincinnati, as well as their state line division to Effner to connect with the TP&W at the Illinois state line. Second track abandoned in early 1980's.
- Design
- Limestone block abutments. 2 separate spans of same design. Eastbound track(current in use)has old wooden walkway on South side that is currently falling off from decay.
- Dimensions
-
Span length: 18.0 ft.
Total length: 18.0 ft.
Deck width: 8.0 ft.
- Also called
- France Park railroad bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.76092, -86.46332 (decimal degrees)
40°45'39" N, 86°27'48" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/545298/4512355 (zone/easting/northing)
- Elevation
- 635 ft. above sea level
- USGS topographic map
- Lucerne
- Inventory number
- BH 42308 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/in/cass/bh42308/