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Conrail Western Region in Color Volume 1 1976-1990 Douglas Leffler Morning Sun B
Conrail Western Region in Color Volume 1 1976-1990 by Douglas Leffler Morning Sun Books
128 pages Some reflections from our lights on the lst photo --the damage is not as obvious as the photo shows.
Copyright 2015
HARD Cover with dust jacket
Table of Contents:
Introduction 3
The Four Divisions
Comprising Conrail's Western Region 4
PART ONE
The Early Years: 1976-1979
Trackside on the Cleveland Division 6
Trackside on the Toledo Division 12
Toledo Division's Branch Lines in Michigan 20
Following Conrail's Local Train from Toledo to Lenawee Junction 20
Following Conrail's Local Train from Clinton to Lenawee Junction 26
Southern Michigan Railroad Society32
Following Conrail's Adrian Switch Job from Adrian toMorenci 35
The Lenawee County Railroad Co. (LCRC) 42
The Toledo Division's Quincy Branch 43
The Hillsdale County Railroad Co. (HCRC)43
TheAirLine 49
Trackside on the Chicago Division 58
Trackside on the Ft. Wayne Division 65
Trackside on the Ft. Wayne Division's GR&I Branch 78
PART TWO
Conrail Keeps It Moving on the Western Region: 1980-1990
Trackside on the Michigan Branch 80
Trackside on Conrail's Elkhart-Toledo Main Line 85
Trackside around Toledo 102
Vickers Crossing 114
Trackside Eastward on the Toledo and Cleveland Divisions 118
On April 1, 1976, the newly-formed Conrail began operations systemwide, geographically-assigned regions, within which were multiple operating divisions. Conrail's Western Region, the subject of this book, consisted of several Penn Central lines originally part of PC's former Western Region, minus those lines not conveyed to Conrail. Three of the four divisions within Conrail's Western Region (the Cleveland Division, Toledo Division, and Chicago Division) comprised the western portion of the former New York Central RR New York to Chicago main line. Conrail determined early on this main line would remain a principal route to convey through freight traffic as well as Amtrak's LAKE SHORE LIMITED passenger train between New York and Chicago. The fourth division in the Western Region, the Ft. Wayne Division, consisted of western portions of Chicago to Pittsburgh and Chicago o Columbus main lines of the former Pennsylvania Railroad. The Chicago to Pittsburgh line carried a substantial amount of through freight and Amtrak's BROADWAY LIMITED. Initially, the Chicago to Pittsburgh line picked up several former Erie-Lackawanna trains following the April 1, 1976 conveyance, although as time went on, several of the time-sensitive United Parcel Service and other TrailVan trains were moved up to the former NYC main on the Cleveland, Toledo, and Chicago divisions. All four divisions within the Western Region included several branch lines and secondary lines, which either were designated or initially subsidized for inclusion into the Conrail system. From an historical perspective, the Toledo Division was of particular interest, since it operated one of the oldest sections of railroad built west of the Alleghenies. Originally called the "Old Road" by old-time railroaders and historians, a portion of track that Conrail operated between Toledo and Adrian, Michigan was constructed in 1837. One of the more interesting branch lines on the Ft. Wayne Division, which survived into the Conrail era, was a section of the old Grand Rapids& Indiana R. R. (which later became part of PRR) that ran from Ft. Wayne, Indiana up to Kendallville, Indiana. Another interesting line on the Ft. Wayne Division was the Michigan Branch, which ran from Goshen to Marion, Indiana. At both Goshen and Warsaw, Indiana, the line left its own right-of-way and plunged into the street like an interurban for several blocks, which made for interesting photography. According to Conrail General Order# 106, dated July 1, 1981, Conrail combined the Northern Region, which consisted of the Michigan, Detroit, and Canada Divisions, with the Western Region. However, the addition of the Northern Region into the Western Region is beyond the scope of this book. This volume will only cover portions of the originally-formed Western Region at the time of conveyance on April 1, 1976.
Photographs are by the author, unless otherwise noted.
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