1955 1956 1957 Wabash Railroad Books vintage valley Ann Arbor original RARE

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (808) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176277815933 1955 1956 1957 Wabash Railroad Books vintage valley Ann Arbor original RARE. Wabash Valley Railroad Company Record Books, 1955, 1956,& 1957 Vintage Railroad with 100+ pages written out.
The Wabash Railroad (reporting mark WAB) was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of 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. Despite being merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in 1964, the Wabash company continued to exist on paper until the N&W merged into the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in 1982. At the end of 1960 Wabash operated 2,423 miles of road on 4,311 miles of track, not including Ann Arbor and NJI&I; that year it reported 6,407 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 164 million passenger-miles.[citation needed] Contents 1 Origin of name 2 Corporate history 2.1 Merger tree 2.2 Pre-Civil War 2.3 Post-Civil War 2.4 Early 20th century 2.5 Late 20th century 3 Major routes 3.1 Toledo–Hannibal 3.2 Detroit–Chicago 3.3 Chicago–St. Louis 3.4 Council Bluffs, Iowa – Brunswick, Missouri 3.5 Iowa 3.6 Missouri 3.7 Moberly–Des Moines 4 Major Freight Customers 1960 5 Passenger trains 5.1 Wabash Cannonball 6 Heritage unit 7 Rail to trail 8 See also 9 References 10 Notes 11 Bibliography 12 External links Origin of name 1886 system map The source of the Wabash name was the Wabash River, a 475-mile (764 km)-long river in the eastern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery, Ohio across northern Indiana to Illinois where it forms the southern portion of the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary. The name "Wabash" is an anglicization of the French name for the river, "Ouabache." French traders named the river after the native Miami tribe's word for the river. Corporate history Merger tree The Wabash Railroad resulted from numerous mergers or acquisitions as shown by this table:[1] Norfolk Southern Railway (1982) Norfolk and Western Railway (1964) 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) Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway Great Western Railway of Illinois 1865 Sangamon and Morgan Railroad 1853 Northern Cross Railway 1847 Illinois and Southern Iowa Railroad 1865 Quincy and Toledo Railroad 1865 Toledo and Wabash Railway 1865 Wabash and Western Railroad 1958 Toledo and Wabash Railroad 1858 Toledo, Wabash and Western Railroad 1858 Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis Railroad 1856 Toledo and Illinois Railroad 1856 Warsaw and Peoria Railroad 1865 Pre-Civil War System timetable, 1887 The name Wabash Railroad or Wabash Railway may refer to various corporate entities formed over the years using one or the other of these two names. The first railroad to use only Wabash and no other city in its name was the Wabash Railway in January 1877 which was a rename of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway formed on July 1, 1865. The earliest predecessor of the Wabash System was the Northern Cross Railroad, which was the first railroad built in Illinois.[2][page needed] 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 with a total length of 243 miles.[3] 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. That company merged with the Great Western Railway of Illinois, the Illinois and Southern Iowa Railroad, the Quincy and Toledo Railroad and the Warsaw and Peoria Railroad to form the final Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway.[citation needed] Post-Civil War It was this group of railroads that formed the beginning of the Wabash System with the rename in 1877. Later mergers and reorganizations formed the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway on November 7, 1879, and Wabash Railroad on August 1, 1889. Financier John Whitfield Bunn was one of several capitalists who were instrumental in the consolidation of the Wabash System. Early 20th century 1887 system map 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 (PRR) 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. This wooden box car, owned by the Wabash Railroad, was built in the 1920s and assigned to the Studebaker plant in South Bend, Indiana. 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. 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. Late 20th century The Wabash Cannonball at the Danville, IL station on October 28, 1962 In fall of 1960, the PRR agreed to a lease of the Wabash by the Norfolk and Western Railway.[citation needed] The PRR's Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad assumed control of the Wabash's[citation needed] Ann Arbor 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. Because it was only leased, as opposed to merged outright, the Wabash Railroad continued to trade its stock on the New York Stock Exchange. The N&W and the Southern Railway merged in 1982, although the Wabash continued to exist on paper. NS formally merged the Wabash into the N&W in November 1991.[4]:93–94 Major routes This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Windsor ON- Buffalo NY/Niagara Falls NY In 1897 the Wabash leases the eastern lines of the former Great Western Railway between Windsor and Buffalo, which was amalgamated with the Grand Trunk in 1882. Charles M. Hays, president of the Grand Trunk and former president of the Wabash, secures a trackage rights agreement to give the Wabash operating rights in Canada. Its Canadian headquarters are located in St. Thomas because it is roughly equidistant between Detroit and Niagara Falls. https://stthomaspubliclibrary.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Wabash.pdf Toledo–Hannibal The Toledo to Hannibal Line was constructed in 1855. The line out of the Illinois River valley from Griggsville to Baylis had the steepest ruling grade on the Wabash, almost 2%, which required helpers in steam era. After World War II, the line was relocated to ease the grade. In 1955, passenger service was discontinued, and by 1989, the line from Maumee to Liberty Center, Ohio was abandoned. The portion from Liberty Center to the western border of Ohio is operated by a shortline railroad. The abandoned section was converted for use as the south fork of the Wabash Cannonball Trail.[5] The Maumee-Montpelier, Ohio section was abandoned by NS in 1990, and makes up the North fork of the Wabash Cannonball Trail. It is the longest rail trail in Ohio. After the breakup of Conrail in 1998, NS connected the small remaining segment from Maumee to its Chicago Main, allowing it to access Maumee via a shorter route. This caused the abandonment of the west side of the Toledo Terminal Railroad. Detroit–Chicago This line covers the 3rd (Montpelier-Detroit) and 4th (Montpelier-Clarke Jct.–B&OCT+SC&S–State Line–C&WI) Districts of the Wabash. The Wabash was part of the Union Belt of Detroit, a joint switching operation started with the Pere Marquette and later the PRR joined. Detroit-Saint Louis passenger trains: Detroit Limited (Pullman) St. Louis Limited (Pullman) (westbound counterpart to the Detroit Limited) Cannon Ball Detroit-Chicago passenger Trains: Detroit Arrow (joint with PRR) Chicago Arrow (joint with PRR) (westbound counterpart to the Detroit Arrow) The Montpelier-Chicago line was started in the early 1890s, allowing the Wabash to give up trackage rights over the Erie (Chicago and Atlantic). Chicago–St. Louis The Blue Bird's "Vista-Dome" dome parlor-observation car in the 1950s. Completed in 1880 from Bement to Chicago, using the Chicago & Western Indiana as a terminal line. The Wabash became a joint owner of the C&WI along with founder Chicago & Eastern Illinois and other railroads. It comprises the 6th, 7th and 8th Districts of the Decatur Division. Trackage between Manhattan and Gibson City was abandoned by NS, for rights on CN (IC). Passenger trains: Blue Bird Banner Blue Wabash Banner Limited Council Bluffs, Iowa – Brunswick, Missouri This line has the highest point on the Wabash at Dumfries, Iowa (1242' above sea level). Most of the line was abandoned by N&W in 1984.[6] The Wabash trackage between Brunswick & Council Bluffs comprised the 18th and 19th Districts, with the dividing point being Stanberry, Missouri. Iowa The Iowa Southern Railroad (ISR) took over 61.5 miles of the Wabash in Iowa to the Missouri state line 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 & Ottumwa Railroad. In May 1991 the CBOA was sold to the Council Bluffs Railway, an OmniTrax subsidiary. Iowa Interstate purchased CBR on July 1, 2006.[7] The 66-mile route is abandoned between Council Bluffs and Blanchard and was converted for use as the Wabash Trace Trail.[8] Missouri A 93-mile portion of the Council Bluffs–St. Louis line in Missouri between Blanchard, Iowa and Lock Springs was sold to the Northern Missouri Railroad and began operations on February 13, 1984. Operations on that line were discontinued in June 1986. The Wabash Railroad ran their passenger trains that came into St. Louis on a 7-mile stretch of track that ran from Grand Ave (through a rail yard near Vandeventer Avenue), through University City (at Delmar Station) to a junction at Redmond Ave. in Ferguson, where the Ferguson station (now an ice cream parlor) was at North Florissant and Carson Ave., and where it met up with the current Norfolk Southern mainline. After passenger service was discontinued, trains on this stretch were reduced to one westbound symbol freight and one local per day. Norfolk Southern, who took over the line after the merger, abandoned the stretch in 1988. The Bi-State Development Agency purchased the line, which is now operated by MetroLink. MetroLink light rail trains run on the portion from north of the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) to Grand Ave, while the north portion is now the Ted Jones Trail, which runs from Florissant Road at UMSL up to Redmond Ave., where the old junction was located.[9] Norfolk & Western abandoned the track between Lock Springs and Chillicothe in 1983, and salvaged this portion of the line in 1985. Thirty-seven miles of track between Chillicothe and Brunswick was sold to the Green Hills Rural Development, Inc., a Missouri economic development group organized as a non-profit corporation, in 1985. The line was leased, by order of the ICC, 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 (WGR). The WGR's lease was terminated on December 1, 1993 due to severe flood damage on the line, and the line reverted to CBRM. In 2003, during a dispute caused by inter-community rivalries and jealousies over industrial development along the line, the owner, Green Hills Rural Development, Inc. "sold" the railroad to the City of Chillicothe, MO, (all real estate, rails, tools, rolling stock and locomotives) for $32,500. Thereafter, the line was immediately appraised for $1.53 million, not including rolling stock or other tools or equipment and inventory of the short line railroad. On December 8, 2006, the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune reported that the city of Chillicothe sold the majority, about 30 miles (48 km), of the railroad to Seattle-based Montoff Transportation, LLC for $976,000. The part of the railroad that was sold had been embargoed since 2004. The city still owns the railroad to the city's industrial park and to a location just east of Chillicothe, where future development is planned. Today, the part of the railroad south of Norville has been abandoned and dismantled, and the city has pocketed a large sum of cash. On January 29, 2008, The Chillicothe City Press reported that the city council had voted to buy back the right of way previously sold to Montoff Transportation, paying $10 to acquire the 100' wide by 29-mile long corridor. The stated intention was to gradually develop a trail. The report further stated that, though Montoff had the right as part of salvaging the rails to remove the bridges along the right of way, the cost to do so had been excessive. Instead, the deteriorated decks, which were sufficient for light duty use such as a trail, were being left. Moberly–Des Moines The Moberly to Des Moines line consisted of the 15th & 16th Districts of the Moberly Division, with the dividing point between the two districts being Moulton, Iowa. The line had a good traffic base up until the early 1970s, when traffic began to fall off precipitously. Freight traffic included coal mined in Iowa (prior to 1960), agricultural goods, farm machinery, and paper products. A change of personnel in customer service at Des Moines brought about a resurgence in business in the late 1970s and into the 1980s – so much so that NS largely re-built the line with newer, heavier steel and continuous welded rail in the mid-1980s. The Moberly to Des Moines line had few local industries shipping on it in the 1980s in either northern Missouri or southern Iowa, however, and served primarily as a "bridge" to get the NS to the Des Moines market. During the early 1990s, NS began to look for ways to save on track outlays and maintenance, and a deal was hammered out with the Burlington Northern (BN) to share access to Des Moines over the old Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (CBQ) "K Line" which paralleled the Mississippi River from Hannibal, Mo. north to Burlington, Iowa. From there, haulage rights were secured to Des Moines over the BN mainline to Albia, then northward to Des Moines on the old Albia joint trackage. A portion of the line north of Moulton was saved in order to provide access to the national rail system by the Appanoose County Community Railroad (APNC). The last carded NS train on the Moberly-Des Moines line ran in 1994. The Moberly to Moulton segment in Iowa was used extensively in 1993 during the Midwestern Floods of that year, as many observers noted that it was one of the few north–south through routes that were "above sea level" during the flooding. Unfortunately, this was not a factor that could have been used to save the line. Today the line's right-of-way has not been preserved, and as of 1997 the line was completely dismantled and is quickly being consumed by other land uses. Major Freight Customers 1960 Wabash box car assigned to the Studebaker plant in South Bend, Indiana. Ford - Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Toledo, Kansas City, Buffalo Pillsbury Company - Springfield, Illinois A. E. Staley - Decatur, Illinois A. P. Green Firebrick - Mexico, Missouri Archer Daniel Midland Company - Decatur, Illinois Detroit Union Produce Terminal Lauhoff Grain Company - Danville, Illinois International Salt - Detroit, Michigan Central Stone - Huntington, Missouri Granite City Steel - Granite City, Illinois Acme Fast Freight - Detroit, Kansas City[10][failed verification] Passenger trains Observation car of the St. Louis-Colorado Limited. The Wabash had a fleet of passenger trains, including several streamliners & domeliners: Blue Bird (train), inaugurated in 1938 Banner Blue Cannon Ball City of Kansas City, built by ACF City of St. Louis (in partnership with UP) City of Decatur Des Moines Limited Detroit Arrow (in partnership with PRR) Detroit Limited Kansas City Express Midnight Limited Omaha Limited Pacific Coast Special Red Bird St. Louis-Colorado Limited (in partnership with UP) St. Louis Limited St. Louis Special Southland (in partnership with PRR and L&N) Wabash Cannon Ball The first passenger trains to be dieselised used EMD E7 locomotives, and later ALCO PAs and EMD E8s. Wabash Cannonball The name of this legendary train became famous with the 1904 revision of an 1882 song about the "Great Rock Island Route." Yet the name was never borne by a real train until the Wabash Railroad christened its Detroit-St. Louis day train as the Wabash Cannon Ball in 1949.[11] The train survived until the creation of Amtrak in 1971, when it was discontinued. On October 26 and 27, 2013, Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society's Nickel Plate Road 765, in conjunction with the Norfolk Southern Railway's "21st Century Steam" program, pulled a 225-mile round-trip excursion, retracing the Cannon Ball's former route between Fort Wayne and Lafayette, Indiana. Heritage unit As a part of Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary in 2012, the company painted 20 new locomotives into predecessor schemes. NS #1070, an EMD SD70ACe locomotive, was painted into the Wabash "Blue Bird" paint scheme. Rail to trail Several portions of the old Wabash Railroad right-of-way have been converted to recreational use, including the Wabash Cannonball Trail in northwest Ohio, the Wabash Trail and Waupon \ The Ann Arbor Railroad (reporting mark AA) was an American railroad that operated between Toledo, Ohio, and Elberta and Frankfort, Michigan (about 294 route miles) with train ferry operations across Lake Michigan. In 1967 it reported 572 million net ton-miles of revenue freight, including 107 million in "lake transfer service"; that total does not include the 39-mile subsidiary Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad. Contents 1 History 2 Train ferries 2.1 Fleet 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links History The railroad company was chartered September 21, 1895, as successor to the Toledo, Ann Arbor and North Michigan Railway.[1] In 1905, it was acquired by the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railway (DTI) and Eugene Zimmerman assumed presidency of both lines. DTI went bankrupt three years later. Zimmerman remained president until 1909 when he lost control of the line to Joseph Ramsey, Jr. and Newman Erb. Ramsey assumed the presidency, serving until 1913 when Erb became president and ran the line for the next eleven years. Erb also served as president of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway 1912 to 1916.[2] The company ended its last passenger train, a once a day train in each direction train from the AA's Toledo station to its Elberta boat landing, on July 19, 1950. Major stops on the route besides the end points included Ann Arbor, Durand, Owosso and Cadillac. The passenger side was hampered by the limited number of noteworthy cities en route and the fact that all but the Durand Union Station were in cities in which trains for connecting points were at different stations from the AA station, thus necessitating use of surface transportation for transfer between train stations.[3][4][5] For many years the Ann Arbor was owned by the Wabash Railroad, but Wabash gave up control in 1963 as part of its absorption into the Norfolk and Western. The DT&I, by then itself owned by the giant Pennsylvania Railroad, again gained control in 1963. The combined DT&I and AA were operated as independent subsidiaries of the PRR but suffered from the parent company's ill-fated 1968 merger with the New York Central. Upon the resulting Penn Central's 1970 bankruptcy, the DT&I and its Ann Arbor subsidiary were sold off to private investors. The Ann Arbor Railroad owned a subsidiary, the Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad (M&LS), from somewhere shortly after that line's origin in 1909 until it was abandoned in 1968. After itself going bankrupt in 1973 the Ann Arbor ceased operations as a railroad on April 1, 1976, when the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) temporarily took over. Since Conrail only wished to operate the south end of the AA, the state of Michigan acquired the entire line, and operations were transferred to the Michigan Interstate Railway, a division of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), on October 1, 1977. The state eventually privatized this entity, selling it off in pieces to several different short-line railroad companies. On October 7, 1988, a new Ann Arbor Railroad began operating the portion south of Ann Arbor; the Great Lakes Central Railroad now serves the remaining portions of the line. Some sections have been abandoned: from Yuma to Elberta and Frankfort (approximately 45 miles), about 10 miles in Shiawassee County, Michigan (in three discontinuous sections), and the trackage around the now-demolished Cherry Street Station in Toledo. Train ferries The Ann Arbor's Lake Michigan train ferry fleet at Elberta started in November 1892 when the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern Michigan Railway acquired its first two boats, Ann Arbor 1 and Ann Arbor 2. At its height, the AA served four ports on the west of Lake Michigan:[6] Kewaunee, Wisconsin, from 1892 connecting with Kewaunee, Green Bay and Western Railroad, Menominee, Michigan, from 1894 connecting with Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, Chicago and North Western Railway, and Wisconsin and Michigan Railroad Gladstone, Michigan in Michigan Upper Peninsula, from 1895 connecting with the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. Later moved to Manistique, Michigan, connecting with Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway via AA subsidiary Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad Manitowoc, Wisconsin, from 1896 connecting with Chicago and North Western Railway, and Wisconsin Central Railway Fleet Altogether, eight boats were built for service with the AA and one was leased from the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company.[6] SS Ann Arbor No. 1 – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Craig Ship Building, Toledo, Ohio, in 1892. Capacity 24 cars on four tracks. SS Ann Arbor No. 2 – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Craig Ship Building, Toledo, Ohio, in 1892. Capacity 24 cars on four tracks. SS Ann Arbor No. 3 – built by Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1898. SS Ann Arbor No. 4 – built by Globe Iron Works, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1906. SS Ann Arbor No. 5 – designed by Frank E. Kirby and built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1910. SS Ann Arbor No. 6 – built by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, Michigan, in 1917 and rebuilt in 1959 as the MV Arthur K. Atkinson. SS Ann Arbor No. 7 – built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in 1925 and rebuilt in 1965 as the MV Viking. SS Wabash – built by Toledo Shipbuilding Company in 1927, and rebuilt in 1962 as the SS City of Green Bay. SS City of Milwaukee, a Grand Trunk Western vessel was leased in 1978. See also Railways portal History of railroads in Michigan 8 November 1838: The first railroad locomotive of the future Wabash Railroad is placed on track at Meredosia, Illinois. The railroad is called the Northern Cross and is operated for nearly 10 years by the state of Illinois. 1847: The original railroad is bought by Nicholas H. Ridgely for $21,000.00. The locomotives of the newly-named Sangamon & Morgan Railroad have fallen into disrepair and are replaced by oxen and horse-power for almost a year before new locomotives are purchased. 1853: The Lake Erie, Wabash, & St. Louis Railroad Company is formed to help connect Toledo, Ohio with the state of Illinois. This is the first use of the name Wabash, which is taken from the Wabash River flowing through Illinois and Indiana. 1865: A new corporation is formed under the name Toledo, Wabash & Western Railway Company. It operates a direct, through line of railway starting at Toledo, Ohio, and terminating at Quincy, Illinois, and Keokuk, Iowa, a total of about 520 miles. The company thrives and expands to 678 miles of operating track. It is known as the “Wabash System.” 10 November 1879: Jay Gould, American railroad developer and speculator, attempts to use the Wabash roads to help create a transcontinental railroad. The Wabash Railway, the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Northern are merged into one continuous line linking Toledo with Kansas City. The Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific Railroad Co. is incorporated and forms a central link in the Gould System. 1884: The Wabash Banner Route flag emblem is registered at the United States Patent Office. The “Follow the Flag” slogan becomes famous, as it represents the well loved railroad that operates “through the heart of America.” An early Northern Cross (later Wabash) locomotive. 1884: Gould’s Wabash is at its peak. There are 3,549 route miles operating as a result of Gould’s expansions and leases. 1885: The railroad is over expanded and overcapitalized. The Wabash is unable to meet fixed charges and Gould’s corporation crashes. Leases are cancelled and the Wabash is forced to reorganize. 1889: A Purchasing Commission is formed, consisting mainly of individual investors and Wabash shippers that want to see the Wabash lines operated profitably. 1 August 1889: The Wabash System is consolidated into the Wabash Railroad Company. John W. Bunn participates as a principal founder, consolidator, and organizer of the railroad. 1897: The Wabash leases the eastern lines of the former Great Western Railway between Windsor and Buffalo, which was amalgamated with the Grand Trunk in 1882. Charles M. Hays, president of the Grand Trunk and former president of the Wabash, secures a trackage rights agreement to give the Wabash operating rights in Canada. Its Canadian headquarters are located in St. Thomas because it is roughly equidistant between Detroit and Niagara Falls. 1903: George Jay Gould, Jay Gould’s eldest son, attempts to revive his father’s dream of a transcontinental railway. He begins building the Wabash-Pittsburgh Terminal, which is opened on April 13, 1904. As before, the Wabash forms the midwestern link between Pittsburgh and Kansas City. Construction costs are huge and the project will eventually force the company into receivership for the second time. 1905: The Wabash is the first railroad to recognize and designate the city of St. Louis as a billing station for freight to and from points east of the Mississippi River, eliminating bridge tolls on freight formerly billed to East St. Louis. This practice had slowed industrial and business development in St. Louis. The St. Louis Republic declares: “The Wabash Railroad has put St. Louis on the map.” 24 August 1906: The Wabash is blamed for the crash involving a C.P.R. train that left two men dead. Murray Stephens, engineer of the Wabash train, is arrested for manslaughter almost a year later, as he left the country after the accident and did not return until spring 1907. 26 December 1911: The Wabash enters receivership. 24 August 1906: The Wabash is blamed for a crash just outside the St. Thomas city limits involving a C.P.R. train that left two men dead. Murray Stephens, engineer of the Wabash train, is arrested for manslaughter almost a year later, as he left the country after the accident and did not return until the spring of 1907. 26 December 1911: The Wabash enters receivership. April 1912: Charles Hayes’ railroad career ends with his tragic death in the sinking of the Titanic. However, the agreement made between the Wabash and the Grand Trunk in 1897 remains in effect, even with future successor lines. The Wabash station in St. Thomas. 21 July 1915: The Wabash Railroad Company is sold at foreclosure. With only a minor change of name, the Wabash Railway Company is incorporated on October 22, 1915. The company is improving and has expanded again during the time of the First World War. 1920s: The Wabash and the Delaware & Hudson make a financial alliance in order to jointly purchase the Leigh Valley. In 1928, the Pennsylvania Railroad takes active interest in the alliance and buys in to protect itself. The D&H withdraws from further participation and the Pennsylvania takes over full financial control of the Wabash. However, the new management shows few outward signs of influence. 1925: The Wabash acquires control of the Ann Arbor Railroad, though the Ann Arbor keeps its corporate identity. 1933: The Wabash is the first large railroad forced into receivership as a result of the Great Depression. A postcard depicting the sinking of the Titanic. A folksong called the “Wabash Cannonball” becomes extremely famous in the early 20th century. It is about a fictional Wabash passenger train, because the only Wabash Cannonball is an engine named after the song. December 1941: The longest receivership in Wabash history comes to a close with the approval of a reorganization plan. All properties and assets are sold for $31,000,000.00 and on January 1, 1942, the Wabash Railroad Company takes over operations. 1946: The first diesel road units are placed in Wabash passenger service. February 1950: The streamliner is introduced between Chicago and St. Louis, featuring the Wabash Blue Bird, a favourite passenger train on the railway. April 1953: Wabash’s Canadian Division is fully dieselized, and by the end of 1953, so is the majority of its American Division. 1960: The Norfolk & Western and the Nickel Plate Road (NKP) agree to merge, with the successor company to be the Norfolk & Western. The Pennsylvania is looking for a merger with the New York Central and encourages inclusion of the Wabash in the N&W-NKP merger. The proposal is put before the Interstate Commerce Commission on March 17, 1960. 16 October 1964: The Wabash is leased to the Norfolk & Western Railway and ends operations under the Wabash name. Much of the track continues to operate today under the Norfolk Southern Railway. The Wabash had a special reputation for providing the best experience when traveling by rail. Many people who knew the railway while it was still in operation attest to the fact that it was always smooth and efficient. The road was in good shape and the service was excellent. It is remembered fondly by all those who were familiar with it. Lounge car in the Blue Bird. St. Thomas Public Li
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