Erie Western

Company History: In the run up to the creation of Conrail in 1976, planners were free to leave duplicate routes out of the new system at which point local officials could make their own arrangements if they wished to preserve service. The Erie Lackawanna mainline west of Kenton, Ohio and running all the way to Chicago was left off the Conrail system. Conrail continued to run local service on the route with financial help from the state of Indiana until a local operator could be found.

In 1977, the Erie Western launched operations from the Indiana-Ohio state line west to Hammond, Indiana not too far from Chicago. They also got a branch linking Decatur and Portland, Indiana. Trackage rights on the Chicago & Western Indiana got Erie Western trains from Hammond to Chicago. Total mileage was 185.

The Erie Western had enough traffic to keep 7 locomotives busy. That’s not a good sign since a healthy traffic level for a 185 mile line should require more than twice that many. Three former Long Island Rail Road hi hood C420’s (which never made it out of LIRR blue and yellow paint) were joined by four RS-3’s which were all painted in Erie Western white with blue and green stripes. All units were setup with the long hood as the front.

Erie Western also acquired a number of freight cars many of which were also white with blue and green stripes. These included 3-bay covered hoppers, 89’ flush deck flats for TOFC service and some 50’ boxcars.

Alas, the Conrail planners were right and the Erie Western ran out of money and shutdown in the summer of 1979. Another carrier, the Chicago & Indiana tried to run the line but shut down just 6 months later. Most of the route has been abandoned

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.