Walkerton, IN: KN Tower: CSX/B&O vs. NS/NKP vs. Aban/NYC

 (Satellite)  

20140904,07 4350, looking Northeast

While driving east on US-6, in Walkerton, IN, I spotted a building to the North that looked like a railroad junction tower. (To the right is a picture I took later.) So I turned left toward some tracks at the next side street I encountered. I pulled into a parking lot and took a picture near the Michigan Street crossing to note that the crossing signal in this town doesn't have any lights, the condition of the track, and the building of interest in the background.

I saved a satellite image in case CSX ever removes this tower.

Satellite

Since the track is jointed, I include this "down the track" photo to demonstrated that jointed track can be kept straight with proper maintenance. You can see the tower in the background. The ties look old, but the ballast is clean and the weeds have been sprayed. There are some loose spikes.

When I got back to the tower and parked, I noted that there were four high-rail trucks. Some were marked as CSX. So is the tower now a sectional maintenance office or is CSX just doing some work in the area? I found a photo caption that indicates the building is no longer used.

The two tracks in the foreground are the CSX/B&O mainline to Chicago. The track behind the tower is the Elkhart & Western (E&W)/ NS/N&W/Nickel Plate/Lake Erie & Western. Forming a triangle, the Abandoned/Conrail?/Penn Central/NYC/Chicago, Indiana & Southern (Kankakee Belt)/Indiana, Illinois & Iowa (3I) used to pass the tower on the left (west) side.

Looking Southeast

Looking East

Hoosier Valley, looking Northwest

A caption for this photo is how I learned the location of the now abandoned NYC route:

On March 22, 1958, B&O 4-8-2 720 is eastbound with a passenger train at Walkerton, Indiana. The train is crossing the New York Central and is about to cross the Nickel Plate. The tower and freight house stand in a triangle between the three railroads. The freight house is gone but, the tower is still standing. The top floor burned in the 1960s and the tower was rebuilt with only two floors. Photo by Sandy Goodrick.

Peter Zimmermann posted

Walkerton Indiana:

"KN" tower controlled the crossing of the B&O main line to Chicago with the NKP[old Lake Erie & Western] line to Michigan City IN with the New York Central's "3I" line from South Bend Indiana to Zearing Illinois. 

The tower's top floor sometime after this photo was taken was struck by lightning and the 2nd floor had to be rebuilt into the operators floor. The B&O is now CSX's Garrett sub main line, the NKP is now a satellite operation of the Elkhart & Western Railway, while the NYC line was abandoned through here by Conrail in 1982.

The tower is now closed [but still stands in 2018],though I haven't seen exactly when that was done, but some years ago. Today the interlocking is controlled by CSX's "RM" train dispatcher in Jacksonville Florida.

Hoosier Valley, looking Northeast
"June 20th, 1957 finds a southbound Nickel Plate freight is crossing the B&O at KN tower in Walkerton, Indiana. Nickel Plate GP7s numbers 401 and 404 were built in 1951 and are from the first group of road Nickel Plate purchased. The crossing near the camera is the NYC’s Kankakee Belt. The tower is still standing (not in use) and the Elkhart & Western now crosses the CSX here. The NYC is gone, as is the freight house at the extreme left. Photo is from Bob Albert collection."

A photo of the B&O and NYC depots that was here has been moved to the depot notes.

Satellite

Around US-6, buildings have been built on the old NYC RoW. But north and south of the junction, you can still see some tree lines where the tracks ran. I added some red lines to a satellite image to highlight where the RoW used to be.

I took some pictures to record the condition of the tracks. Note that the E&W is evidently storing cars on its mainline to the Northwest because you can see a tank car in the distance. This is a common source of income for shortlines.

Looking Northwest down E&W

Looking East down CSX/B&O

Looking Southeast down E&W

The B&O track is the first stretch of track I have seen that has NO loose spikes. I've seen loose spikes even in UP and BNSF tracks. This changes my opinion of how well CSX maintains its tracks.

I noticed the hump down by the diamond in the middle picture, so I zoomed in to confirm that it is an OWLS crossing. Someone was willing to leave the public crossing to get a better view of the diamonds.

Some pictures of the abandoned Kankakee Belt route in Indiana includes some pictures of Walkerton. Tim Ashley (historynut11) has a picture of the east side (looking West).

(Facebooked 20151016)

Update:

Ken Durkel posted
Elkhart & Western R203 North holds south of the diamond in Walkerton, Indiana as a westbound passes over the E&W and past the long closed KN Tower on the Garrett Sub and the one time B&O - NKP crossing.
October 25, 2017.

Ken Durkel posted
Elkhart & Western R203 North accepts the signal and heads over the CSX Garrett Sub and past KN Tower in Walkerton, Indiana on the ex Nickel Plate Road I-MC Line.
October 25, 2017.

Raymond Breyer posted
Mike Snow That is mp 131 on the IMC The crossing is with the B&O at Walkerton. The pole for the poleline with the 2 crossarms above the boxcar still stands today. 3rd floor of the tower was removed. Here is my veiw from the same spot but im'standing on the right side of the track.
https://www.flickr.com/.../photolist-iBg6ty-26fMddV...
George Greene Look closely I think this is a "Wreck Train". I see a Big Hook behind the locomotive and there appears to be trucks in the car ahead of the caboose.

Seth Lakin commented on Raymond's post
Here's a 1969 Interlocking diagram for Walkerton, The B&O had already been single tracked. Since Peru was C&O's division point as well as the IMC's, A phone call to the C&O for their wreck train instead of getting the one from Frankfort to clean up a mess between Walkerton and Michigan City sounds like what's going on.

John Eagan Flickr 2014 Photo

CSX 916 heads west through Walkerton, IN on 7/24/14, and passes the former interlocking tower (minus the windowed third story) that once controlled this crossing of the NKP and NYC lines that crossed here. The NYC line, also known as the fabled Streator Connection, has been gone for decades (yet the s/b home signal still remains north of the tower!) and the NKP line hardly matters to the CSX, since it is now a One Way Low Speed crossing, and the NS has leased it to shortline Elkhart & Western.

Arturo Gross Flickr 2018 Photo (source)
Craig Cloud Walkerton tower had a 3rd story, when 🔥 damaged top floor became 2 story after that.