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| Ken Durkel posted Regarding the Pumpkinvine Railroad post by Mike Snow, here is a picture I purchased from M.D. McCarter many years ago taken at Shipshewana. Craig Jon Berndt: This Pumpkin Vine was referred to by that name in timetables and other printed items. It ran from Goshen thru Middlebury and Shipshewana to Findley, Michigan, seven miles northeast of Sturgis. It was built by the Canada & St. Louis Railway in 1888 and acquired in 1889 by the Sturgis, Goshen & St. Louis Railway, a subsidiary of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, later the New York Central Railroad. NYC abandoned the track north of Shipshewana in 1960. Penn Central operated the Goshen-Shipshewana track until 1976, and recommended that it be abandoned. Although it was not included in the assets PC conveyed to Conrail in 1976, CR operated it pending abandonment or sale by PC. The Indiana Interstate Railway leased the Goshen-Shipshewana track and began operating it in 1979. Customers included a factory and lumber yard in Middlebury, and a fertilizer plant, lumber yard and grain elevator in Shipshewana. The Lakeshore Railroad Historical Foundation operated an excursion train between Middlebury and Shipshewana during summer and possibly fall 1980. It was powered by ex-Buffalo Creek & Gauley 2-8-0 #13, lettered as Lakeshore Central System #1977. Indiana Interstate stopped operating the track prior to November 30, 1980, and it was taken up in 1981-1982. |
It is now a bicycle shop.
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| Street View, Jun 2023 |
They have cleaned up the backside of the depot since 2023. There is a large Amish population in and around Shipshewana, and they ride bicycles a lot. I would see bicycles, as well as horse and buggies, on US-20, which I use instead of the toll road.
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| Photo, Sep 2024 |
I found Mike's post:
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| St. Joseph County Historical Society of Michigan posted This branch line, nicknamed the Pumpkinvine Railroad by locals in Indiana, was the realized part of a larger dream to build a railroad from Bay City through Battle Creek and Sturgis, Michigan, Goshen, Indiana and on to Danville, Illinois, then possibly further west to St. Louis, Missouri. Only the portion from Battle Creek to Goshen was actually built and operated. Goshen, IN to Sturgis, MI was originally The Sturgis, Goshen and St. Louis Railway Company, a purchased property of Canada & St. Louis Railway Company. The line was leased to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company, in perpetuity, on February 1, 1890. Sturgis, MI to Findley, MI was originally The Battle Creek and Sturgis Railway Company, incorporated November 14, 1889. They succeeded the Sturgis and Battle Creek Railway Company. The portion of the line of this company between Sturgis, Michigan and Findley Michigan, 7.19 miles, was leased to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company, in perpetuity, on February 1, 1890, the balance of the line being leased, at the same time, to the Michigan Central Railroad Company. Not surprisingly, these railroads had much in common, including investors, directors, and management. The LS&MS was consolidated into the New York Central Railroad in 1914; the NYC was merged into the Penn Central Railroad in 1968. The line was Abandoned in three sections: • Findley to Sturgis, Michigan, possibly before 1960 • Shipshewana, Indiana to Sturgis, Michigan in 1960 • Goshen to Shipshewana, Indiana in 1980; tracks removed in 1982 It apparently was never part of the Conrail system. The line from Goshen to Shipshewana is easy to trace in satellite photos as many parts have been converted to a rail-trail for hiking and biking. The line from Shipshewana to Sturgis is a bit more challenging as visual clues are fewer and further between, and much of the right-of-way has reverted to adjacent farms in the last 50 years. The alignment shown on the map thru Sturgis, MI is an educated guess. Here there was an interlocked crossing of another LS&MS line (later NYC, then Penn Central, Conrail, now Norfolk Southern), and the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway (part of the Pennsylvania System, later Penn Central, Conrail, and now abandoned). Randy Bosma: The text of this post was copied verbatim from https://www.abandonedrails.com/goshen-to-findley without attribution to that website or the author of the text mentioned on that website. Eric A Zerkle: Sturgis to Battle Creek abandoned in 1933. Mike Snow shared Always fascinated with the Pumpkin Vine, did it ever have much traffic? Robert L. Burns: Not much. Maybe a daily passenger train and a daily freight. Neal Thomas: I remember a steam tourist train operated on the line from Middlebury to Shipshewana in 1881 and maybe early 1982. |
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| 1961/63 Shipshewana Quad @ 24,000 |
Matthew Jackson posted three photos with the comment: "(May 2024) Shipsewana, Indiana Depot still standing and under new ownership as a bike shop with a former Pennsylvania Railroad caboose on the old platform."
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| This photo has been moved to "Springfield, IL: Amtrak/GM&O/ALton Depot." |
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| This photo has been moved to "Springfield, IL: Amtrak/GM&O/ALton Depot." |
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| This photo has been moved to "Springfield, IL: Amtrak/GM&O/ALton Depot." |
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