South Bend, IN: NS/NYC Oliver's Yard & Roundhouse and CN/GTW Olivers (Ford Street) Yard

NS Yard Office: (Satellite, extant)

NYC Roundhouse: (Satellite, land has been reused)

GTW Yard Office: (Satellite, lost)

NS/NYC Railyard

The NYC Kankakee Belt Railroad (KBR)  joined the NYC LS&MS a mile east of here at the CP487/Bend/HF Junction Tower. Also, a branch of the NYC Michigan Central came south from Niles, MI, and joined this yard at the east end. So this yard terminated traffic for the KBR and MC. The yard and surviving industrial tracks are now owned by NS.

I wonder if the current yard office used to be a depot for commuters to the Oliver Chilled Plow Co.

Street View, Jun 2025

The yard still exists between Oliver and Ford Streets. It used to extend west of Oliver, but that is mostly trees now.

1958/59 South Bend West Quad @ 24,000 via Dennis DeBruler

CN/GTW Railyard

The GTW tracks ran through this corridor just north of the NYC tracks.

monon
"Grand Trunk's Olivers Yard Office, August 19, 1981. This building was at the Olivers Yard. It was more commonly referred to as the Ford Street Yard Office."

Both

The topo map above does not show a yard for GTW, so I got an aerial photo. Ford Street is in the upper-right corner. (The NJI&I roundhouse is at the bottom of this photo just west of Olive Street.)

Dec 1, 1951 @ 28,400; AR1PK0000040037

Because the lighting was dark in the upper-right corner of the above photo, I got a closeup from another photo. Given the building in the left background of Jeff's photo above, I think the GTW yard office was the rectangle adjacent to Ford Street. It also appears that NYC had at least one roundhouse for this yard. And GTW may have one between Kosciuszko Street and Harris Street.

Dec 1, 1951 @ 28,400; AR1PK0000040039

Looking at the aerial photo, it appears that today's railyard is connected to CN instead of NS. It appears that NS has just one track left by its yard office. I caught a tamper on that track.

Street View, Jun 2025

I hate it when the more you learn, the more you get confused. This shows that NS has just one track, but CN still has some sidings. I did read that NS serves what was originally the New Energy Ethanol Plant and other industries from this yard office. It looks like MoW crews also use it given the tamper and all of the ties piled beside the track in this view.

Street View, Jun 2025

I found a little NS yard down among the industries.

Satellite