Wabash Railroad

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Wabash Railroad
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Reporting marks WAB
Locale Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Ontario
Dates of operation 1879 – October 16, 1964
Track gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters St. Louis, MO
System timetable, 1887
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System timetable, 1887
1886 system map
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1886 system map

The Wabash Railroad (AAR reporting marks WAB) was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit, Michigan, Buffalo, New York, St. Louis, Missouri, and Toledo, Ohio. The Wabash's major freight traffic advantage was the direct line from Kansas City to Detroit, without going through St. Louis or Chicago.

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[edit] History

The Toledo and Illinois Railroad was chartered April 20, 1853 in Ohio to build from Toledo on Lake Erie west to the Indiana state line. The Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis Railroad was chartered in Indiana on August 19 to continue the line west through Wabash into Illinois towards St. Louis, Missouri, and the two companies merged August 4, 1856 to form the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railroad.

The company soon went bankrupt and was sold at foreclosure. The Toledo and Wabash Railroad was chartered October 7, 1858 and acquired the Ohio portion October 8. The Wabash and Western Railroad was chartered on September 27 and acquired the Indiana portion on October 5. On December 15, the two companies merged as the Toledo and Wabash Railway.

Later mergers and reorganizations formed the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway on July 1, 1865, Wabash Railway in January 1877, Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway on November 7, 1879, and Wabash Railroad on August 1, 1889.

In 1904, the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway was formed and acquired control of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, giving the Wabash access to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the final step in an attempt to break the near-monopoly of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad for traffic to the east. However, the Wabash had overextended itself, and the WPT went bankrupt in 1908; it would later become part of the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway. The Wabash Railroad itself was sold at foreclosure July 21, 1915 and reorganized October 22 as the Wabash Railway.

The Pennsylvania Railroad acquired loose control of the Wabash in 1927 by buying stock through its Pennsylvania Company. In 1929 the Interstate Commerce Commission charged the PRR with violating the Clayton Antitrust Act. The ruling was appealed, and in 1933 the Circuit Court ruled that the control was for investment only and did not violate the act.

1887 system map
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1887 system map

The Wabash Railway again entered receivership on December 1, 1931. The Wabash Railroad, controlled by the PRR, was organized in July, 1941 and bought the Wabash Railway on December 1.

In fall of 1960, the PRR agreed to a lease of the Wabash by the Norfolk and Western Railway. The PRR's Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad assumed control of the Wabash on December 31, 1962. On October 16, 1964 the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway, and the N&W leased the Wabash and Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway. On March 31, 1970 the Pennsylvania Company exchanged its last Wabash shares for N&W common stock; that stock was later divested as a condition of the 1968 merger into Penn Central Transportation. The profitable N&W was itself combined with the Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982. The Wabash Railroad Company continued to exist as a legal entity until it was absorbed into the Norfolk Southern Corporation in late 1991.

[edit] Genealogy

  • Norfolk Southern Railway (1982)
    • Norfolk and Western Railway (1960)
      • Wabash Railroad (1941)
        • Wabash Railway (1931)
          • Wabash Railroad (1889)
            • Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway (1904 - 1908) later Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
              • Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
            • Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway (1879)
              • Council Bluffs and St. Louis Railway (1877)

[edit] Council Bluffs - St. Louis line

The track between Council Bluffs, Iowa and St. Louis was constructed in 1877 by the Council Bluffs and St. Louis Railway. In 1879 that railway became part of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway. Today, most of the line is abandoned (222.4 miles from MP188.56 TO MP410.96) under ICC Decision AB-10 (SUB-NO. 27) by the Norfolk and Western from Kelley, Missouri to Council Bluffs, Iowa and effective January 13, 1984.

[edit] Iowa portion of line

The Iowa Southern Railroad (ISR) took over 61.5 miles of the Wabash rail line in Iowa to the Missouri stateline between Council Bluffs and Blanchard, Iowa. On August 22, 1988 the line was cut back to serve only Council Bluffs. In August 1990 the remaining Iowa Southern line in Council Bluffs was sold to the Council Bluffs and Ottumwa Railroad (CBOA). In May 1991 the CBOA was sold to the Council Bluffs Railway (CBR), an OmniTrax subsidiary. Today the 66 mile route is abandoned between Council Bluffs and Blanchard and is has been converted into a trail known as the Wabash Trace Trail[1].

[edit] Missouri portion of line

A 93-mile portion of Wasbash's Council Bluffs - St. Louis line in Missouri between Blanchard, Iowa (other sources show Burlington Junction, Missouri) and Lock Springs was sold to the Northern Missouri Railroad (NMOR) and began operations on February 13, 1984. Operations on that line were discontinued in June 1986.

Norfolk & Western abandoned the track between Lock Springs and Chillicothe.

Thirty-nine miles of track between Chillicothe and Brunswick was sold to the Chillicothe Southern Railroad. The line was sold to the Chillicothe-Brunswick Rail Maintenance Authority (CBRM) on July 24 1987. On April 1, 1990 the line was leased to the Wabash and Grand River Railway. The Wabash & Grand River Railway's lease was terminated on December 1, 1993 due to severe flood damage on the line and the line reverted back to the Chillicothe-Brunswick Rail Maintenance Authority. Today the track from Chillicothe to Sumner remains in place but the track from Sumner to Brunswick has been abandoned.

[edit] External links

[edit] References


Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America
United States: AMTK, BNSF, CSXT, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, UP - Canada: CN, CP, VIA - Mexico: FXE, TFM, KCSM
See also: List of USA/Canada/Mexico Class I Railroads, List of USA/Canadian Class II Railroads, Class III railroad, Class 2 Railraods in Canada,
Short-line railroad, List of United States railroads, List of Canadian railroads, list of Mexican railroads
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