Conrail's Fort Wayne line is the ex-PRR mainline from Pittsburgh to Chicago, famously known as the route of the Broadway Limited. This double track mainline was classic Pennsy with position light signals and towers aplenty. Unfortunately, all those classic aspects, along with the competing ex-NYC mainline to the north, led Conrail to start downgrading it in the early 1980's. They routed most of the Chicago traffic off at Alliance, OH and single tracked from Crestline, OH west through its namesake city of Fort Wayne, IN to Chicago in 1985 and '86.  From Pittsburgh to Alliance this line was very busy with traffic from Cleveland joining on its final approach to Conway Yard in Pittsburgh. From Alliance to Crestline, OH this line was still a double track, well used, main with traffic for Indianapolis and St. Louis. From Crestline through Ft. Wayne it was a single track secondary dispatched by Form-D's, seeing only local trains and a few roadrailers. West of Fort Wayne the only Conrail train to use the line was FWEL and ELFW, which only ran to Warsaw before turning north to Elkhart. Norfolk Southern bought the line west of Ft. Wayne from CR in 1994 and used it until the merger as a second track for its Chicago trains trying to avoid congestion on NS' ex-NKP mainline.
You can also view this gallery on an interactive map.
Grant Lowry and his wife were inside Rochester tower on the Ft Wayne line for Grant's wife Sara to lens this westbound train heading onto the Cleveland Line.
View looking east on the former PRR at Lima, OH. By this date in September 1994, Conrail had reduced the double-track to a single main. NS Tower is at left and position light signals guard the CSX (former B&O) crossing. Doug Davidson photo with permission
This westbound local rolls through Emsworth, PA.
Even as power short as Conrail was in those first years, some of the heritage units were in bad shape or too old to fix, hence scenes like this of funeral trains. With a big chunk of the former Erie Lackawanna Marion deadline, this Conrail eastbound passes through Orrville, Ohio on the ex PRR in August of 1976. Penn Central N7A #21749 brings up the rear. Two E8's (820 and 829), 2 RS-3's, 2 S2's (including #520 still in pure "Erie" black), 2 more RS-3's, and 2 more E8's are visible in this view. Some of the E's and RS's would languish at Altoona for a while, but the S2's would pass this way again as they headed for Chicago as trade in material, better known as "scrap"....
As a N&W coal train glides above, a Conrail westbound passes the east end of Orrville yards. Today the Conrail is the NS, the N&W is the Wheeling. Numbers include 2339, 3050, 8168, and 3135.
CRÂ 2362, still in its Penn Central paint, leads Amtrak's #41, the Broadway Limited after one of the Amtrak engines apparently died thru Valporaiso, IN back in April 1977. William Raia photo, Chris Howe collection
DIM-402 has 1 load as it comes down the hill thru Beaver Falls.
A late day photo of a westbound on the ex PRR Ft Wayne Line hitting the Big 4 diamond in Crestline, Ohio. In this April 1979 shot the old passenger depot was still standing, and was that a CR blue phone booth? Today, phone booths are about as rare as U23B's!
I get a wave from the head end man as TV-11A passes through the Canton, Ohio Amtrak station. Note the Amtrak sign off to the left. Amtrak no longer serves Canton.
A westbound Conrail freight with GP40 3224 on the point on the Fort Wayne Line passes the former PRR depot at Whiting, IN, in August 1977. Doug Davidson photo with permission
An eastbound Conrail freight behind GP40 No. 3281 at the Calumet River bridge in September 1981. Doug Davidson photo with permission
CR 3326 and 3325 lead WIFW-30 across the ex Cincinnati Northern diamond at the former site of Estry tower in Van Wert, OH back in November 1997. Jay Williams photo, Chris Howe collection
A Roadrailer train heads west past the former PRR Sewickley station. This train originated in Rutherford, Pa near Harrisburg, no stranger to the 2nd unit, CR 3277, the ex Reading 3673.
Westbound Conrail local freight led by GP40-2 3338 is seen crossing the NS at Mike Tower in Ft. Wayne, IN in June 1988. The signal bridge seen just behind the engines was torn down in the early 90's. This location used to be known as Wabash during the PRR and early PC days. It was renamed Mike by the PC in 1971 or 72. The tower was torn down in late 1988 and the entire interlocking was rebuilt around 1991. The diamond was removed and the mainline(which was single track by then) crossed the NS on a series of cross over switches. NS now controls this interlocking and uses it quite frequently for their Triple Crown trains entering or leaving its nearby facility. Doug Davidson photo with permission
Conrail TV-22 approaches Conway as he passes Rochester Tower, still open at the time of this photograph. The Cleveland Line diverges to the left, crossing the Beaver River. At this point the lead engine is crossing from the Fort Wayne Line to the Youngstown Line.
Conrail 3403 crosses over at Leets while a local trundles past on the eastbound main.
The Conrail OCS passes w/b through Alliance with a 4 car train. The former EL 833 has acquired it's air whistle in this photo.
Conrail SD-80MAC's 4105 and 4106 lead Eastbound Conrail NLPI-1 near CP30.5 on track #1 in Beaver Falls, PA. [on Conrail's Fort Wayne line].
New SD80MACs lead NLPI and UP power leads BUPI. Both trains were holding at Rochester, awaiting space in Conway yard.
4118 leads NLPI by BUPI with the UP 5062. Ironically, it was NLPI that usually had run thru UP power on it.
A sharp pair of MACs hustle westbound autoracks through the curves at Emsworth.
A lengthy train of Clairton coke rolls west on the busy Fort Wayne Line.
PXPI rounds the big curve and passes Rochester Tower before it enters Conway Yard. That lead unit was smoking like an Alco! CR did not generally let their engines get so filthy.Â
An eastbound traverses the former PRR main, adjacent to Alcosan, Pittsburgh's water treatment plant.
An eastbound Conrail transfer behind a pair of GP7s, including 5644, is bound for Colehour Yard on the former PRR, just east of the Calumet River lift bridge at South Chicago, in April 1980. Doug Davidson photo with permission
An eastbound Conrail local freight is clearing Clarke Junction Tower on the former PRR, as it approaches the EJ&E overpass behind GP7 No. 5668, in April 1980. Doug Davidson photo with permission
After the N&W suburban train to Orland Park was equipped with RTA bi-level cars in the summer of 1979, Conrail leased the former N&W coaches for use on its Valparaiso trains. Train No. 454 is seen behind two Conrail Geeps(GP7 5909 and GP38-2 8187) running long hood forward above the ICG at Grand Crossing, in October 1979. The use of the ex-N&W coaches in this sevice lasted just a few months, as Conrail turned the service over to Amtrak in 1980. Doug Davidson photo with permission
The Valpo Dummy, Conrail Train No. 454 behind two GP7s, led by No. 5959 running long hood forward, crosses the Calumet River lift bridge and overtakes a CSL(Chicago Short Line) freight at South Chicago, in July 1976. Doug Davidson photo with permission
A westbound train leans into the big curve just a little west of Wood tower in November 1977. The lead motor is still in Penn Central paint and is followed by a patched EL SD45 and a new CR SD40-2.
The Roadrailer heads West thru Highland Cut.
