The Butler Branch is a historic

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line that operated in

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, USA. It ran between the city of Logansport on the

Wabash River The Wabash River ( French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows fro ...

in north central Indiana and the namesake town of

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

near the

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border in northeastern Indiana. This line was better known as the Eel River Railroad (late 19th century), since it roughly followed that northern Indiana waterway between Logansport and Columbia City; thus it was also known as the "Eel River Route" or "Eel River Line" under subsequent leaseholders and owners. In 1901, it was acquired by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR), and it was operated by various wholly owned subsidiaries of that company as follows: Terre Haute & Indianapolis (TH&I) from 1901 to 1904, Vandalia Railroad from 1905 to 1916, and Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis (PCC&StL) beginning in 1917. During this era, the line obtained the "Butler Branch" designation. From that northeast Indiana town,

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may con ...

allowed PRR trains to continue over the

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

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. In Logansport, the line began at a junction with the PRR's

South Bend Branch The South Bend Branch was a Pennsylvania Railroad line that ran from South Bend, Indiana to Logansport, Indiana. The line was built in 1883 and was then a part of the Vandalia Railroad. The route was about 60 miles long and it passed through man ...

, with access to its

Effner Branch The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana. TP&W has trackage rights between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria, between Log ...

and I&F (Indianapolis & Frankfort) Branch tracks. The line crossed the PRR's Chicago to Pittsburgh Main Line at Columbia City and the Grand Rapids Branch at LaOtto. Between Columbia City and a point due south of Garrett (or just northwest of

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), the alignment of Indiana State Route 205 was built to closely parallel a very straight section of the (now former) tracks of the Eel River Railroad (also known as the Butler Branch line).

History

Early history

The first attempt to construct a railroad along the Eel River was by the Toledo, Logansport and Northern Rail Road in 1856; however this company was unsuccessful. In 1872 the section between

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and

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was opened, On October 18, 1873, the section between Auburn and Butler was completed. The entire line opened in 1874, completed by the Detroit, Eel River and Illinois Railroad. The company was reorganized in 1877 as the Eel River Railroad.

Wabash Railroad controversy

Struggling financially, on August 26, 1879, the

Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

signed a 99-year lease agreement with the railroad. This lease worked out profitably for the Wabash, giving it a direct line from

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to its main line at Logansport, and they used the line as a key connecting link between

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, and the

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. Problems occurred by 1890 with the lease agreement when the Wabash leased the Peru and Detroit Railway running between

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and Chili to ease movements with a connecting line from Chili to Peru, abandoning the line between Chili and Logansport. Bondholders residing in the Logansport area, in outage, began a ten-year legal battle. A court ruled that the Eel River Railroad's charter was forfeited by its lease to a competing company (the Wabash), leading to the bondholders regaining control of the railroad. The Wabash continued to use the line on an interim lease until 1902, when the Wabash completed a line between

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and Butler.

Vandalia Railroad era

With local shareholders back in control, the line was reorganized as the Logansport and Toledo Railway (L&T) and bought by the

in 1901, when operations were transferred to the PRR's Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad. This gave the PRR a route between St. Louis and Toledo, via a connection with the

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833 and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinois, primarily along the ...

at Butler. In 1905, the L&T was merged with other lines (including the TH&I) to form the Vandalia Railroad, a new operating subsidiary of the PRR. The Vandalia gained

over the Wabash from Butler into Toledo's

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

on June 1, 1913, allowing for through freight and passenger service from Toledo to St. Louis and

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. The Vandalia was merged into the

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

on January 1, 1917, and the

began operating the branch directly on January 1, 1921, with a lease of the PCC&StL.

Abandonment

As the Vandalia line, the track gave purely local services, and business declined as did the quality of the rail line. With an

embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...

placed on the line between Auburn and Butler due to poor conditions, abandonment of the line began in 1954 with complete abandonment by 1977.

Cities and towns along the Butler Branch Railroad

''All cities and towns in Indiana'' * Logansport *

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* Adamsboro * Hoover *

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* Chili * Pettsville * Roann * Laketon *

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. Schwalm Hall of

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was built in 1961 when the railroad was still in operation, and was known for being on "the other side of the tracks." * Liberty Mills * CollamerWhile the railroad ran through Collamer, it was not listed as a town in Sulzer. * South Whitley *

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* Vandale * Columbia City *

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* LaOtto *

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Recent developments

Since being completely abandoned in 1977, the ground which laid the railroad has been left mostly untouched, leaving behind a ghostly touch of the past. Most of the larger bridges have been removed, but many of the smaller wooden bridges covering creeks remain. In Logansport, the path of the line has been turned into a asphalt surface trail, called the River Bluff Trail, and a similar effort is in the works between South Whitley and Columbia City, called the Eel River Trail. In March of 2019, Trains Magazine reported that the Logansport & Eel River Railroad was seeking a waiver for a requirement to put a section of out-of-service track back into service. The Federal Railroad Administration filing says the railroad, which currently exists in name only, is seeking the relief as part of a purchase proceeding with the Indiana Transportation Museum, which has already made a down payment on 1.6 miles of track. According to the filing, the Logansport & Eel River Railroad is seeking relief from federal requirements regarding signage and notices at six grade crossings on the line and notices that the rail line in question is once again back in service. The railroad is also seeking an answer regarding whom — the Logansport & Eel River or connecting railroad Toledo, Peoria & Western, a Genesee & Wyoming company — is responsible for replacing a switch which used to connect the short line to the TP&W. Logansport & Eel River is arguing that the switch was removed without permission and TP&W wants $86,500 for a new switch. In the filing, Logansport & Eel River states the railroad is ready to re-install signage once a decision is made about the responsibility for the switch.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{coord, 40, 45, 42.5, N, 86, 21, 8.9, W, region:US-IN, display=title Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in Indiana Transportation in DeKalb County, Indiana Transportation in Allen County, Indiana Transportation in Noble County, Indiana Transportation in Whitley County, Indiana Transportation in Wabash County, Indiana Transportation in Miami County, Indiana Transportation in Cass County, Indiana Railway lines opened in 1874 Railway lines closed in 1977 Rail trails in Indiana Standard gauge railways in the United States 1874 establishments in Indiana