The Indiana Division or Coal Branch of the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad

One of the reasons for mapping abandoned rail lines is for my own reference: and after doing this for over 8 years now, it's extremely interesting to go back towards some of my earlier work that I've completely forgotten about and try to figure out how I was able to find some of these lines. 

Such is the case of the Fountain County Branch of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railway, in which the last 15 miles of track were abandoned all the way in 1879. It was referred to as both the Fountain County Branch as well as the Indiana Division, or the Coal Branch in the preliminary history of the C&E, which can get confusing. However the Coal Branch name comes from the predecessor road of the C&EI, the Chicago Danville & Vincennes, who opened the line in 1873. The C&EI itself would not exist until 1877.

The portion of the Fountain County Branch in its eponymous county. (1876 Map, Indiana Historical Society)

The Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railway (C&EI) was a major railroad company in the Midwestern United States, operating from 1877 to 1976. One of the company's branch lines was the Fountain County Branch, which at its peak mileage connected the towns of Bismarck, IL to Covington, IN and south to Coal Creek, IN. (Route on our abandoned railroad map)

Timetable of the of CD&V Indiana Division, 1875. Coal Creek was a stop that existed south of Covington, but was never more than a mining camp. A southerly extension of the road from Covington to Brazil was planned, but never materialized, and no grading of this line is evident on imagery today.

The Fountain County Branch had several stops along the way, including the towns of Johnsonville and Stringtown, IN. These small towns relied heavily on the railway for transportation of goods and people, and the presence of the railway helped to stimulate economic growth in the region. However, Johnsonville was largely tied to the railroad's fate, and when the line was abandoned, Johnsonville became a ghost town soon after.

Beers Map of Johnsonville, IN. Approximate location on our Ghost Towns map.

Johnsonville was one of the first ghost towns I'd come across, and the fact that it nonetheless had platted streets which do not appear to exist, or have a trace, today fascinated me, as outside of a few homes on large parcels, nothing of this place exists today, other than County Road 875, which would have been the easternmost point of the town.

The line's fate would be sealed when a riot occurred near Stringtown in December 1877 over a murder. The riot would create tension between white and black miners, and ongoing hostilities and labor disputes would continue along the route for the next two years. Citing bankruptcy, the line was abandoned in 1879 after just six years in operation, with the rails torn up shortly thereafter.

Despite the nearly 150 years since abandonment, there are still numerous structures and grading of the line's existence evident in both imagery and on the surface.

As the successor and ultimate closer of the line, the Chicago and Eastern Illinois continued a long existence as a Midwestern Class I Railroad, though in 1976, the C&EI filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by the Missouri Pacific Railroad, with the Coal Branch having been abandoned and dismantled for roughly a century by this point.

Thanks as always for reading!