The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American

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 ...

that operated almost entirely within the state of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. The Monon was merged into the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of t ...

in 1971, and much of the former Monon right of way is owned today by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

.Historic Marker in Monon, erected by the Monon Historical Society, 1982 In 1970, it operated of road on of track; that year it reported 1320 million ton-miles of revenue freight and zero passenger-miles. (It also showed zero miles of double track, the longest such Class I railroad in the country.)

Timeline

*1847: The New Albany and Salem Railroad (NA&S) is organized with James Brooks as president. *1854: The NA&S trackage stretches from the Ohio River (at New Albany) to

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that ...

(at Michigan City). *1859: The overextended and struggling NA&S is renamed the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad (LNA&C). *April 30, 1865: The LNA&C becomes one of twenty railroads to haul

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's funeral train, its portion being from Lafayette to

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City- La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined sta ...

. *1873: The LNA&C Railroad is reorganized as the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railway. *1881: The LNA&C consolidates with the Chicago and Indianapolis Air Line Railway, and the trackage of the new division is soon extended to reach into its namesake cities. *July 1, 1897: The LNA&C is reorganized as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway. *1932: The 300 pound (136 kg)

Monon Bell The Monon Bell (pronounced MOE-non) is the trophy awarded to the victor of the annual college football matchup between the Wabash College Little Giants (in Crawfordsville, Indiana) and the DePauw University Tigers (in Greencastle, Indiana) ...

is first presented as the trophy of the annual football game between

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

and

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts c ...

. *1946: John W. Barriger III becomes president of the Monon, bringing aggressive plans for modernization. *June 29, 1949: Final day of steam locomotive service, as the Monon becomes one of the first Class I railroads to fully convert to diesel motive power. *January 11, 1956: The CI&L officially adopts its longtime nickname, Monon, as its corporate title. *1959: The Monon's passenger service between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and Indianapolis is discontinued. By 1965, only the ''

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

'' remained, with its single daily roundtrip from Chicago to Louisville. *September 30, 1967: Final day of regularly scheduled passenger train service on the Monon. *March 21, 1968: Merger with

announced to placate the Monon's fear of lost business due to L&N's acquisition of a competing route, the

Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two ...

. *July 31, 1971: The Monon is merged into the

. *1972-1979:

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

operates the '' Floridian'' Chicago-Miami service over the former Monon Railroad's tracks in Indiana. With the termination of this service in 1979,

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

, and the rest of southern Indiana lose passenger railway service. *1999: Portions of the line around Indianapolis are

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to a bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the

Monon Trail The Monon Trail (known as the Monon Greenway in Carmel) is a rail trail located entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon Railroad was a popular railroad line connecting the cities of Chicago and Indianapolis, with stops at major settlem ...

. *2004:

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

stops using the former Monon Railroad's tracks through

. Over the next decade, Bloomington sections of the tracks are converted to the B-Line Trail (within the city proper) and the Rail-Trail (south of the city). *After 2009, the tracks between Munster and Hammond, Indiana, are removed and the line converted into another section of the Monon Trail.

Colleges served

The Monon served seven colleges and universities along its line: *

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister ci ...

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only char ...

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsyl ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communi ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

* St. Joseph's College in

Rensselaer, Indiana Rensselaer is a city located along the Iroquois River (Indiana-Illinois), Iroquois River in Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Marion Township, Jasper County, Indiana, Jasper County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,859 at the 201 ...

*West Baden Northwood Institute/College in

West Baden Springs, Indiana West Baden Springs is a town in French Lick Township, Orange County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 574 at the 2010 census. It is well known for its West Baden Springs Hotel and for being the birthplace of Larry Bird. Histor ...

. The university traffic was important enough to the Monon that the railroad used the schools' colors on its rolling stock. The red and white of

(and similar to the colors of

) was used on the railroad's passenger equipment, and the black and gold used by both

and

adorned the railroad's diesel freight locomotives and later replaced the red and white on passenger equipment as well.

Genealogy

*Monon Railroad **Chicago and South Atlantic Railroad 1879 **Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railroad 1956 ***Chicago and Wabash Valley Railroad 1914 ***Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad 1916 ***Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad 1898 ****Bedford and Bloomfield Railroad 1886 ****Chicago and Indianapolis Air Line Railway 1883 ****Indianapolis, Delphi and Chicago Railroad 1881 ****New Albany and Salem Railroad 1873 *****Crawfordsville and Wabash Railroad 1852 ****Orleans, Paoli and Jasper Railway 1886

Monon route

1903 Poor's Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway

The railroad got the name ''Monon'' from the convergence of its main routes in

Monon, Indiana Monon is a town in Monon Township, White County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,777 at the 2010 census. Geography Monon is located on U.S. Route 421, about north of Lafayette. According to the 2010 census, Monon has a tot ...

. From Monon, the mainlines reached out to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, Indianapolis, and

. In Chicago the Monon's passenger trains served

Dearborn Station Dearborn Station (also referred to as Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at ...

. Branches connected the Louisville mainline to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and French Lick in Indiana. The Monon's main line ran down the middle of streets in several cities, notably Lafayette, New Albany, and Bedford. It also installed an unusual "home grown" warning signal at many

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

s; these used a green signal light (similar to and adapted from a standard

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

traffic signal Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

) that stayed lit at all times, except when a train was approaching. A sign below or to the side of the signal read, "STOP When Signal Is Out" or "DANGER when light is out cross at your own risk". This design was

fail-safe In engineering, a fail-safe is a design feature or practice that in the event of a specific type of failure, inherently responds in a way that will cause minimal or no harm to other equipment, to the environment or to people. Unlike inherent safe ...

, in that when the signal bulb was burned out, approaching vehicle drivers would assume a train was coming — until they eventually realized there was no train and just a burned-out signal. The Monon had seven sections. Beginning in the north, Section One was from the Indiana line to Lafayette, passing through the Monon switch in Monon. As a primary passenger route, it connected to Section Four running between Lafayette and Bloomington. This route reached the Ohio River over Section Five from Bloomington to New Albany. From this southern route, Sections Six and Seven were spurs to the west. Section Six served the coal fields between Midland and Clay City, connecting to the main line at Wallace Junction, just south of Cloverdale. Section Seven provided passenger service to the resort hotels in West Baden and French Lick, through a connection at Orleans. The other primary line, mainly a freight line, included Section Two from Michigan City on Lake Michigan to Monon and then Section three from Monon to Indianapolis. Although each route had its primary traffic type, freight and passengers were carried over all parts of the line.

Section #1

Chicago to Lafayette:Monon, the Hoosier Line and connections; undated, predates, 1970s The Chicago to Lafayette route is used by

for the ''

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, ...

'' and was used by the ''

Hoosier State Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

'' before that train was discontinued.Amtrak Route Guide, 2008 *

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

–

* Englewood * Hammond, here, the Monon entered Indiana and track ownership belonged to the Monon line. From Chicago to Hammond, the Monon utilized trackage rights via the Chicago and Western Indiana. *

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...

* Dyer * St. John * Cedar Lake * Lowell * Shelby *

Thayer Thayer may refer to: Places ;United States * Thayer, Illinois * Thayer, Indiana * Thayer, Iowa * Thayer, Kansas * Thayer, Michigan * Thayer, Missouri * Thayer, Nebraska * Thayer, West Virginia * Thayer County, Nebraska * Thayer Street, Providence ...

* Roselawn * Fair Oaks * Rensselaer, home of St. Joseph College Monon Line Battle Ground Indiana

* Pleasant Ridge * McCoysburg *

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

* Monon, the central switching yard for all trains, and company namesake * Reynolds * Chalmers * Brookston * Battle Ground * Lafayette, rail station of Purdue University, located across 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 from ...

West Lafayette West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city ...

Section #2

Monon to Indianapolis. Section #2 was a freight route between Monon and Indianapolis. The section of the line between Monon and Monticello is still in service. The rest has been completely abandoned and the rails removed. Much of the right-of-way has been returned to neighboring landowners. Where farm fields surround it, evidence of the route has nearly been obliterated as the land has been returned to farming. From 10th Street in Indianapolis, through

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

and up to State Road 47 in Sheridan, the

is now a bike and walking route following the right-of-way. * Guernsey *

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracl ...

, where the Monon High Bridge still stands over Deer Creek Gorge. * Radnor *

Ockley Ockley is a rural village in Surrey. It lies astride the A29, the modern road using the alignment of Stane Street (Chichester). The A29 diverges from the A24 from London about 2.5 miles northeast and takes the alignment of Stane Street a mile n ...

, south of Ockley station, the viaduct over Wildcat Creek still existed until 2013. It was just north of Owasco and was visible from US 421/SR 39. In 2004, it was damaged by heavy run-offs in Wildcat Creek, which moved the legs of the steel piers out of alignment. It was still standing until the summer of 2013 when it was dismantled by CSX. * Rossville * Frankfort * Kirklin * Sheridan * Westfield *

; see

Carmel Monon Depot Carmel Monon Depot, also known as Monon Depot Museum, is a historic train station located at Carmel, Hamilton County, Indiana. It was built in 1883 by the Monon Railroad, and is a one-story, rectangular frame building measuring . It has a gable ...

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headland ...

* Broad Ripple * Boulevard Station * Indianapolis, home of Butler University. The Monon used the

Indianapolis Union Station The Indianapolis Union Station is an intercity train station in the Wholesale District, Indianapolis, Wholesale District of Indianapolis, Indiana. The terminal is served by Amtrak's ''Cardinal (train), Cardinal'' line, passing through Indianapoli ...

in downtown Indianapolis.

Section #3

Michigan City to Monon: This line runs parallel to U.S. 421 as far as Brookston. The Indiana Rail to Trails group is developing a bike route from Michigan City to La Crosse, using the Monon right-of-way, where it still exists. A section south of Michigan City by I-94 has been consumed by a landfill and the bridge over the I-94 and

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as o ...

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, ...

have been removed. * Michigan City * Otis * Westville * Alida *

Haskell Haskell () is a general-purpose, statically-typed, purely functional programming language with type inference and lazy evaluation. Designed for teaching, research and industrial applications, Haskell has pioneered a number of programming lan ...

* Wanatah * South Wanatah * La Crosse * Wilders * San Pierre * Medaryville. North of Medaryville the tracks have been abandoned and removed. The line is still in service from Medaryville to Monon. * Francesville * Monon

Section #4

Lafayette to Bloomington: From Lafayette southward, the Monon follows along

U.S. 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north-south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida. One of its most notable landmarks is ...

to Crawfordsville. At Crawfordsville, the right-of-way moves eastward of the highway several miles, but continues south to Cloverdale, returning closer to U.S. 231 at Greencastle. Amtrak uses this route south to Crawfordsville and then the old

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

/ Conrail tracks into Indianapolis. * Lafayette, home to

* South Raub * Romney * Linden now hosts a museum of the Monon Line in the old station. * Crawfordsville home of

* Ladoga * Roachdale * Bainbridge Old Piers on White River Gosport Indiana Monon RR

* Greencastle, home of

* Limedale * Putnamville * Cloverdale The tracks from Lafayette end here. * Wallace Jct provided access to the coal fields of Midland, Howesville and Clay City along Section Six of the Monon line. * Quincy *

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...

– South of Gosport, the Monon crosses the White River. * Stinesville is the northern edge of quarry country. From here, south through Bedford and Mitchell, quarries of fine

Indiana Limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone ...

exist. * Adams * Ellettsville, tracks end here from Bloomington * Bloomington, home of

Section #5

Bloomington to New Albany * Bloomington, home of Indiana University. Tracks from south of the junction with INRD have been removed and converted into a trail within the Bloomington city limits. * Clear Creek * Harrodsburg * Guthrie * Murdock *

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Tracks resume here. * Mitchell * Orleans is where the junction to Section Seven used to be. It headed southwest towards West Baden and French Lick Culbertson Mansion 1

* Leipsic * Campbellsburg * Hitchcock * Salem * Farabee * Pekin * Borden * New Albany

Section #6

Wallace Jct. to Midland (coal fields): With the exception of a short stretch from Midland Junction to Vicksburg, this section has been completely abandoned and the tracks have been removed. * Wallace Jct *

Cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...

* Patricksburg * Clay City * Howesville * Midland, east entrance to the Indiana coal fields. The active mines are between Linton, Jasonville, and

Sullivan Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science f ...

.Google Maps, Victoria, Indiana * Vicksburg *

has disappeared as a community.

Section #7

This section has been completely abandoned. Tracks remain only in French Lick and are used as an

excursion An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportation ...

route. French Lick to Cuzco. A portion of the original track in French Lick and West Baden (between the West Baden Hotel and the Indiana Railway Museum) has been altered and expanded for a trolley service serving various locations of the French Lick Resort and the museum. * Orleans * Paoli *

West Baden West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

* French Lick

Mid-20th century passenger trains

* ''

'', train 5 southbound / train 6 northbound, daily from

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

(

) to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

(

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 ...

), via

and

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, Indiana, West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home t ...

. * ''Bluegrass'', nos. 3/4, night train, with

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. The first such cars s ...

service for the above Thoroughbred route. * ''Tippecanoe'', nos. 11/12, daily from Chicago to Indianapolis'

, via Monon and

Frankfort, Indiana Frankfort is a city in Clinton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 16,422 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clinton County. History Brothers John, William and Nicholas Pence, previously of Warren County, Ohio, settl ...

. * ''

Hoosier Hoosier is the official demonym for the people of the U.S. state of Indiana. The origin of the term remains a matter of debate, but "Hoosier" was in general use by the 1840s, having been popularized by Richmond resident John Finley's 1833 poem " ...

'', nos. 15/16, same route as the ''Tippecanoe.'' * Nos. 49/48, 57/56, daily

to Monon, Indiana service.

The line today

The remains of the line are operated by

. Large segments have been abandoned in recent years: most of the line from Monon southeast to Indianapolis, the line north from Monon to Michigan City, and the line segment between Cloverdale and

(this segment was abandoned due largely to a washout). A portion of the French Lick branch is now home to a railroad museum, with part of the line wired for

trolley Trolley may refer to: Vehicles and components * Tram, or trolley or streetcar, a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks * Trolleybus, or trolley, an electric bus drawing power from overhead wires using trolley poles ** Trolleytruck, a trolleyb ...

service. Between Bedford and Mitchell, CSX owns the line but does not operate any of its own trains. Until 2010, the only service came from trains of the

Indiana Rail Road The Indiana Rail Road is a United States Class II railroad, originally operating over former Illinois Central Railroad trackage from Newton, Illinois, to Indianapolis, Indiana, a distance of . This line, now known as the Indiana Rail Road's Indi ...

, which in 2006 purchased the former Latta Subdivision of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

that connected with the former Monon at Bedford. INRD operated over the old Monon from Bedford to Louisville through

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 c ...

negotiated by the Latta Sub's original owner, The

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...

, when the L&N took over the Monon. Those trackage rights went from the Milwaukee Road to its buyer, The

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and S ...

; a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In May 2010, INRD ended service and removed trackage from the former Monon junction in Bedford to the

Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane Division) is the principal tenant command located at Naval Support Activity Crane (NSA Crane). NSA Crane is a United States Navy installation located approximately southwest of Bloomingt ...

west of Bedford. Consequently, CSX placed the ex-Monon line from Bedford south to Mitchell out of service. CSX operates trains between Louisville and

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

, over the Louisville-Mitchell segment; these trains have to make an unusual reverse movement to go from the Monon to the former

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

line to St. Louis, owing to an unfavorable track arrangement at the crossing of the lines in Mitchell. As of 2010, CSX has stopped making regular movements over the line, with trains being shifted to the nearby

Louisville and Indiana Railroad The Louisville and Indiana Railroad is a Class III railroad that operates freight service between Indianapolis, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, with a major yard and maintenance shop in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is owned by Anacostia Rail ...

via a

agreement. White Hoagland Ditch CSXT (Clight)

's ''

'' train traverses the former Monon thrice weekly from Crawfordsville to the Indiana state line near Chicago. Station stops along the former Monon include Lafayette, Rensselaer, and Dyer. The line through Lafayette was relocated in 2000 to an alignment along the Wabash River, parallel to the similarly relocated

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (3 ...

line. Previously, the Monon Line ran down the middle of Fifth Street, with a hotel serving as its passenger station well into the Amtrak era. The Monon Line has been abandoned in Hammond and

north of the junction with the

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holdin ...

, but the corridor is planned to be rebuilt as the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District West Lake Corridor. Initially running as far south as Munster/Dyer Main Street, long term plans would see services extend as far as Lowell and

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. History The site of present-day Valparaiso was included in the purchase of land from the ...

Museums

The Indiana Railway Museum in French Lick operates trains south from French Lick to Cuzco, Indiana, out of the former Monon (Union) depot in French Lick, Indiana. The Monon Connection, which opened in 2005. is on U.S. 421 north of Monon. Monon Museum Linden Indiana Station

Located in a disused Monon railroad station, the Linden Railroad Museum is owned and operated by the Linden-Madison Township Historical Society. In 1852, the Michigan City, Salem and New Albany Railroad cut through Montgomery County. The old stage road between Crawfordsville and Linden was given to the railroad as an inducement to get it to build through Linden. 1852 also saw the building of the first Linden depot, on a site behind the present day post office. The building was moved to the current location in 1881 when the

Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad The Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, often abbreviated TStL&W and commonly known as the Clover Leaf, was a railroad company that operated in northwestern Ohio, north central Indiana, and south central Illinois during the late 19th and early ...

was built through Linden, crossing the Monon at this location. The John Hay Center in Salem has the Depot Railroad Station Museum, honoring the Monon. It has also been the home of the Monon Railroad Historical/Technical Society since summer 2012. The

Kentucky Railway Museum The Kentucky Railway Museum, now located in New Haven, Kentucky, United States, is a non-profit railroad museum dedicated to educating the public regarding the history and heritage of Kentucky's railroads and the people who built them. Originall ...

New Haven, Kentucky New Haven is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 855 at the 2010 census. Geography New Haven is located adjacent to the Nelson- Larue county line at the intersection of US Route 31E and Kentucky ...

, displays Monon's Diesel Engine No. 32, an Electro-Motive Division (EMD) BL2 model, in its original black and gold paint scheme. The French Lick West Baden Museum in French Lick acquired a major Monon Railroad Artifact collection in 2021 that is on display from November 2022 through mid-2023.

References

16. Rhymed Americana by William O. Thomson, 1967. Poem "The Monon Route."

External links

Monon Railroad Historical-Technical SocietyMonon Railroad Company collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library
{{Former Class I Predecessors of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Former Class I railroads in the United States Defunct companies based in Chicago Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Defunct Kentucky railroads Railroads in the Chicago metropolitan area Transportation in Louisville, Kentucky Transportation in Indianapolis Michigan City, Indiana Railway companies established in 1956 Railway companies disestablished in 1971 Predecessors of CSX Transportation American companies established in 1956

Timeline

Colleges served

Genealogy

Monon route

Section #1

Section #2

Section #3

Section #4

Section #5

Section #6

Section #7

Mid-20th century passenger trains

The line today

Museums

See also

References

Further reading

External links