The Recently Abandoned Bedford-New Albany, IN Line (Past and Future)

One of the more recent railroad abandonments in the United States is the Bedford-New Albany, Indiana line that CSX abandoned in January 2018. Eight years earlier, revenue service was discontinued along the route.

The abandoned right of way is of course on our abandoned and out-of-service railroad lines map.

Image: New Albany City Hall. (WHAS) Just before abandonment in 2018, this is how the right of way looked. The tracks have since been salvaged.

The Monon Railroad, also known as the New Albany & Salem Railroad, constructed the line from Bedford, IN to New Albany, IN, in 1854. 

As part of abandonment or discontinuance requests, environmental reviews, including historical information on the line, are usually required, and the following information comes from the STB's abandonment document environmental review, albeit abridged. Reflecting its reaches, this name was changed to the Louisville New Albany & Chicago railroad in 1859, and reorganized as the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Company in 1897.


Much like the Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific was more commonly known as the Milwaukee Road, the CI&L was much better known as the Monon.

Image: John F Bjorklund. Milwaukee Road train at Borden, IN along the L&N right of way.

The New Albany-Bedford segment would merge once again into the Louisville and Nashville system, which itself was consolidated into the Seaboard Coast Line, and finally the CSX Railroad in 1980.



In 2016, the last train would run between Bedford and New Albany along the route, and in January of 2018, 62.3 of the 72.2 miles of the former Monon was abandoned between the two cities. The abandonment was part of a larger abandonment of the former Monon that started from Bloomington, IN in 1994.

"This is a southbound Milwaukee Road train in Mitchell, IN, using trackage rights on the L&N (former Monon) between Bedford and Louisville. The train is in the process of crossing over the B&O line that runs between Cincinnati and St. Louis—hence the color position signal overhead. Photo: Richard Koenig; February 28th 1976." (Towns and Nature)


With this line newly-abandoned, the cities of Bedford and New Albany are looking for ways to create new recreation opportunities in the form of one or more rail trails along the right of way. Such projects would improve quality of life in the region, and increase tourism, as well as preserve the right of way to potentially be reconverted into active rail service if the need ever arises in the future. It is primarily for these reasons that we are greatly in favor of rail trails, and believe they are a cost-effective and fantastic resource for reusing abandoned rights of way.


For the most recent railroad abandonments, the Surface Transportation Board reading room is often the best place to find the most recent information, not just about abandonments, but other developments in the railroad industry as well.

Thanks as always for reading!

Location: Bedford, IN 47421, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Underwater Water Slide: Fly Over at Durinrell TikiBad

Image
Have you ever wished to experience being transferred from one pool of liquid to another via a pipe? Had you visited the Dutch water park known as Durinrell , also known as Tikibad before 2010, you would have had the chance. Half water slide, half war crime, this was a unique water slide that was filled to the brim with water, leaving riders completely submerged throughout the journey. Image:  XtremeRidesNL Known as the Fly Over was an underwater water slide, which is exactly how it sounds, and transported riders from one pool to another using the water as propulsion. Built in 1994, riders dove underwater to access the slide, using gravity to transport them upwards via the Communicating Vessels Principle . Riders would be completely underwater for about 15-20 seconds. This is how I imagine those 15-20 seconds felt like while riding the slide. The slide was built to drain water in five seconds or less in case a rider got stuck in the slide or had a medical emergency, but the threat tha
Read more

Railroad Vocabulary: A List of Words and Phrases Used in the Industry - Updated February 2024

Image
As somebody who enjoyed watching trains, but was not an employee of the railroad industry ( at least growing up ), when I would interact with railfans and historians, there was often a lot of technical jargon that applied only to the railroad industry thrown back and forth that made it difficult for a newcomer to understand what they were talking about. For example, what is a dinky? It's actually a passenger train. This non-inclusive language seems to keep the loop closed to members of the community, and to uncouple (no pun intended) that technical jargon and help make it easier for people to communicate with people in the industry, I am creating a list of railroad vocabulary that I'm hoping will make the industry more transparent.  BNSF 2361 . Image: Matt Flores While I ultimately believe that such technical jargon has no place outside of perhaps technical communications between employees, I know quite well that I alone am not going to stop people from communicating in a non-i
Read more

The Abandoned Route 66 in McCook, IL

Image
Route 66, the iconic "Main Street of America," weaves through the heart of the United States, connecting communities and embodying the spirit of adventure. However, not all sections of this historic highway have stood the test of time. While much of the former US 66 is drivable in one way or another, especially in Illinois, there are some parts are not.  One of the first such roadblocks for would-be travelers heading from Chicago to Los Angeles via the Mother Road, now known as Joliet Road, comes just outside of Chicago in McCook, IL, where the former highway is closed between 55th St and East Ave, and has been for over two decades. (Link to the location on our Ghost Towns Map ) Image: Google Maps at 55th and Joliet Rd in McCook, IL The land that the quarry would eventually take over was part of Stinson Airport in the early days of Route 66, dating back to before 1930. ( Abandoned Airports map ). 1938 USGS Aerial Imagery The quarrying on the south side of the road would
Read more