CLASSIC EMD POWER LIVES ON


Second Chance in Indiana


BY MARK HARTING/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR


HAVING ALWAYS BEEN A FAN of non-tur- bocharged EMD’s the classic SD-9s on the Algers, Winslow & Western, were always on my to-do list. This short line connected some southern Indiana coal mines to the Norfolk Southern main line at Oakland City. Despite every at- tempt,


those veteran SD’s always


seemed just out of reach from my home in Pennsylvania. In 2005, I transferred from the Delaware & Hudson lines to


the Canadian Pacific’s new Elkhart op- eration. Working for a division which was chronically short of crews kept me from observing the final months of the AW&W’s independent operations. At the same time, the Respondek Railroad Corporation was expanding its operations in Indiana. The newly created Indiana Eastern Railroad had leased the former Chesapeake & Ohio line from Fernald, Ohio, to Richmond,


Ind., from CSX Transportation. The re- tired AW&W SD-9s found a new home.


A Brief History


The trackage the Indiana Eastern op- erates was originally part of the Chica- go, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad, which was completed in 1904. The line was acquired at foreclosure in 1910 and operated as the Chesapeake & Ohio of Indiana. Fast-forward to 1978, when


OPPOSITE: Classic signals from both the Baltimore & Ohio and Chesapeake & Ohio protect the interchange between the Indiana Eastern and CSX in Cottage Grove, Ind. The IERR train is taking head room towards the former B&O Indianapolis Sub as it works the interchange on this sunny day. ABOVE: A friendly conductor gives railfan Dan Hadley the game plan for the day at Kitchel, Ind. After tying down coal loads, the SD9 will pick up two empty fertilizer cars.


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