Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Railroad History
New York Central
History of the New York Central | Vintage Promotional Film Series posted April 9, 2020 by Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on YouTube The New York Central Railroad once operated an expansive 26,000-mile railroad system that connected the Great Lakes region to the Eastern United States. The New York Central System reached Fort Wayne via the Fort Wayne and Jackson line and for many years the railroad's famous 20th Century Limited passenger train traversed through Butler, Kendallville, and Waterloo, Indiana. Very little evidence of the New York Central is left in Fort Wayne, but the railroad's Cass Street depot survives to this day as a bike and kayak rental shop. Service on Fort Wayne line ended in 2000 and the connection between Fort Wayne and Waterloo was torn up in the 1970s. The New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad on February 1st, 1968 and became PennCentral until it went bankrupt and became Conrail in April 1976.
For railroad buffs, an incredible photo of an engine named "Fort Wayne" on the Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw Railroad. Engines were named for towns which the lines passed. Other engine names included "Auburn" and "Waterloo". Date of photograph unknown. Photographer unknown. - Courtesy Eckhart Public Library
Former freight depot for the New York Central Railroad located at Fourth and Clinton Streets in Fort Wayne. Built around 1913, the depot lay mostly vacant for the past 30 years under Omnisource, a recycling company.
In 2010, the depot became the focus of a grassroots effort to save it from demolition. The owners, Calhoun Investments, argued that the depot was structurally compromised and they were being mandated by the city to remove it. Preservationists countered it was a historically significant building and not as bad off as the owners made it seem.
In the early morning hours, after months of delay, the depot was razed or as one supporter called it, "Rikin-ized," after the responsible party's family name.
John Urbahns, Fort Wayne Director of Community Development was surprised the depot was demolished, especially since the city never had it inspected. Calhoun Investments later admitted that there was never an order mandated by the city to have it torn down: It just didn't make good business sense to hang on to the old building.
Preservationists are crying foul, and a top city official admits he's surprised. But the owner of a historic downtown landmark is defending Monday's sudden demolition of a 97-year-old train depot, saying its poor condition had rendered it dangerous and of little economic value. Was in an October 12, 2010 story Owners tearing down historic 4th Street depot; City official ‘surprised and unaware' of building's demolition by Kevin Leininger.
The Central Freight Association was located at the corner of 4th and North Clinton in the 1919 Fort Wayne City Directory.
ARCH issues statement regarding demolition of Freight Depot:
First comment:
New York Central Freight Station Is Being Demolished Today in Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, October 11, 2010: ARCH has learned that demolition has begun for the former New York Central Freight Station, at the northwest corner of Fourth Street and Clinton Street. This was an irreplaceable community landmark, and its loss is a blow to downtown revitalization. This building, which had been on ARCH’s Endangered List since 1999, represents a rare type of railroad building, and one that was ideally suited for redevelopment. Freight stations such as the New York Central have been redeveloped as farmers markets, as the center for a themed shopping area, as festival marketplaces and as the center for a system of urban greenways. The New York Central Freight Station could have served such a purpose in Fort Wayne. The Freight Station had been determined to be historically significant and eligible for the National Register by several local, regional and national agencies and organizations. As a building already identified as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, tax credits were available for commercial rehabilitation. When the owner applied for a demolition permit in April, 2010, ARCH issued a press statement asking the owners of the building to reconsider the demolition of this irreplaceable landmark, and offered to provide an independent engineering assessment of the structure to determine its condition. The owner refused ARCH’s offer for the independent assessment, but was willing to discuss possible options for the building with several developers, business owners and local government. Several meetings were held during the summer of 2010, and ARCH was told to be “optimistic” regarding the future of the building. The loss of this building subtracts one more piece of Fort Wayne’s historic legacy, and makes all of us poorer for its loss.
Fort Wayne Pennsylvania Railroad shop - By the turn of the 20th century, its repair shops and locomotive manufacturing facilities became known as the "Altoona of the West." From Pennsylvania Railroads on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia and page 74 in The Pennsylvania Railroad in Indiana by William J. Watt.
Rail Ways by Kevin Kilbane posted Friday, December 10th, 2021 on FortWayne.com Fort Wayne Newspapers
Some fear it's too late to save old train depot Despite its potential, it may soon follow other landmarks into oblivion was a column by Kevin Leininger published May 01, 2010 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
Restorer researches local building’s history
Building’s history unknown, but its future looks bright Rosa Salter Rodriguez published October 17, 2013 on the The Journal Gazette newspaper. Not sure what this article was about?
As interior prep work for the restoration of our New York Central passenger car no. 2568 wraps up, we were elated to...
As interior prep work for the restoration of our New York Central passenger car no. 2568 wraps up, we were elated to receive a $15,000 grant from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust!
Each New York Central car from the Empire State Express fleet will require extensive upgrades and over $100,000 of new heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems, and interior work to fully extend their new lives in excursion service.
We anticipate that this car will enter service later this year as a traditional coach and envision the next project will pay homage to one of the first-class cars that originally operated as part of the railroad's Great Steel Fleet. Learn more about the fleet and support our plans for it here: Great Steel Fleet
New York Central passenger car No. 2568 — which debuted as part of the reimagined Empire State Express first-class train...
New York Central passenger car No. 2568 — which debuted as part of the reimagined Empire State Express first-class train on December 7, 1941 — joined our train set this weekend after a year-long renovation! Eighty-three years ago, the unveiling of the New York Central's new stainless steel, steam-powered passenger train was famously overshadowed by the attack on Pearl Harbor. This week, however, our piece of railroading history shone alongside our New York Central depot's fresh coat of paint and carried its first revenue passengers in several years.
Car No. 2568 retains its high-capacity walk-over seats, and some finishing work will continue into 2025, but we’re thrilled to welcome it to the fleet. This coach is one of several in our Empire State Express collection slated for restoration. We’re already making plans to transform the next car into a first-class coach reminiscent of the vision the New York Central had for this train before everything changed in 1941.
A heartfelt thank you goes to our donors, volunteers, and project managers for shepherding this project to completion. To learn more or support the restoration of the rest of the New York Central’s Great Steel Fleet, click here: Great Steel Fleet.
Before computers and electronic communication, every train had its own little headquarters at the end... the caboose!...
