MICHIGAN CITY IN
RAILFAN GUIDE
I have always loved visiting Michigan City ever since my best friend John and I stopped there on the way back from EMD's 50th anniversary in 1972. Back then, the South Shore's Little Joe's were roaming the street on 10th and 11th Sts. Not much has changed in the way of the infrastructure, as simple overhead wire is still in use. The yellow on the map below indicates where the South Shore and commuter trains run through town in the middle of the street. Not too many places like that left. I believe they still run in the street in Erie PA.... there's a town in California where they do (name escapes me ), and Ashland VA doesn't count because it's not in the street, it runs between the two sides of the street, each side being one way (if you know of more, let me know and let's get a list going!).
Correction, since the sale of Conrail to CSX in Erie, the trains no loner run down the street, they now run parallel to the street... Thanks to Jim M of Lakeville MN for the tip... He also adds that there is one block of street running in Warsaw IN on the NS Marion Branch, just north of the crossing with the old Pennsy.... Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled programming :-)....
CSX, Amtrak, the South Shore, and the commuter road, NICTD (Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District) all have a presence here - not too shabby for a small town. In addition, the shops for the later two are located here. The power plant also has a couple of old engines to shove the coal cars around.
As always, if you have something to add or correct, it's toddgp30@verizon.com.
NICTD Route map.
Two views of the Amtrak Station, and info from their
website.
Two views of the swing bridge just east of the Amtrak
Station.
WB Amtrak signals guarding the swing bridge.
And a little further east of the swing bridge signals are
the interlocking signals where the Amtrak line goes down to a single track.
The majority of the South Shore and NICTD shops.
The Carroll Avenue NICTD station, along with a diamond and additional shops.
This where the South Shore crosses over from 10th to 11th St.... The line
also crosses the Amtrak line here.
NICTD's 11th St station is this "invisible" stop in the
middle of the street, with the parking lot on the north side. The info
for this stop tells you to get here early, as the 37 spots fill up quick.
The entrance/exit on the east end of 11th Street.
This is the western end of the street running. It
looks like a visiting UP and SP pair of Dash-9's in the small yard above.
Close-up of the interlocking signals just off the end of
10th St.
From days gone by, a leftover (I think) Michigan Central coal tipple on the Amtrak line.
NEW 07/09/2009
Last Modified
23-May-2010