Monon Railroad

Monon Railroad
Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	New Albany and Salem Railroad, Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad
Founded	1847
Founder	James Brooks (president at founding)
Defunct	July 31, 1971
Fate	Merged into Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Headquarters	Chicago, United States
Area served	Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky
Key people	John W. Barriger III (president from 1946)
Products	Freight transportation (no passenger service after 1967)

The Monon Railroad, officially known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 until 1971, was a Class I railroad predominantly operating within Indiana. With its headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois, the railroad was absorbed by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1971. Today, much of its former track alignment is incorporated into CSX Transportation. In 1970, Monon managed 540 miles of mainline track across 792 miles of total trackage, generating 1.32 billion ton-miles in freight revenue without offering passenger services. Notably, it held the distinction of being the longest Class I railroad in the United States without any double-track segments.

Timeline

1847: The New Albany and Salem Railroad (NA&S) is founded with James Brooks appointed as president.
1854: NA&S extends its line from New Albany on the Ohio River to Michigan City on Lake Michigan.
1859: Following financial difficulties, the company is renamed the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad (LNA&C).
April 30, 1865: The LNA&C plays a role in transporting President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train between Lafayette and Michigan City.
1873: The railroad reorganizes as the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railway.
1881: It merges with the Chicago and Indianapolis Air Line Railway, thereby expanding service to Chicago and Indianapolis.
July 1, 1897: The company is restructured as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway.
1946: John W. Barriger III assumes presidency, launching an ambitious program of modernization.
June 29, 1949: The railroad completes its transition from steam to diesel locomotives, becoming one of the earliest Class I railroads to fully dieselize.
January 11, 1956: The nickname "Monon" is officially adopted as the corporate name.
1959–1967: Passenger operations decline steadily; the final regularly scheduled passenger train runs on September 30, 1967.
March 21, 1968: A merger agreement with Louisville and Nashville Railroad is announced to counter competitive pressures after L&N acquires a rival route.
July 31, 1971: The Monon Railroad merges into Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
1972–1979: Amtrak operates the Floridian over former Monon tracks; passenger service in southern Indiana ceases after 1979.
From 1999 onward: Sections of former Monon lines near Indianapolis are transformed into multi-use trails such as the Monon Trail and B-Line Trail.
2024: CSX unveils locomotive ES44AH No. 1897 painted in Monon's traditional gold and black livery to commemorate the railroad’s founding year.

This timeline outlines major corporate developments including leadership under CEO John W. Barriger III, strategic consolidations, shifts from passenger to freight emphasis, and efforts to preserve Monon's heritage through trail conversions and commemorative locomotive paint schemes.

Colleges served

Along its route, the Monon Railroad connected seven prominent colleges and universities: Purdue University (West Lafayette), Wabash College (Crawfordsville), DePauw University (Greencastle), Indiana University (Bloomington), Butler University (Indianapolis), St. Joseph's College (Rensselaer), and West Baden Northwood Institute/College (West Baden Springs). University-related traffic was a vital component of Monon's business model and influenced branding choices—passenger cars were painted red and white reflecting Wabash College and Indiana University colors, while diesel freight locomotives featured black and gold hues representing DePauw University and Purdue University.

Genealogical History

Monon Railroad
- Chicago and South Atlantic Railroad (established 1879)
- Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railroad (formed 1956)
  - Chicago and Wabash Valley Railroad (chartered 1914)
  - Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad (organized 1916)
  - Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad (incorporated 1898)
    - Bedford and Bloomfield Railroad (founded 1886)
    - Chicago and Indianapolis Air Line Railway (created 1883)
    - Indianapolis, Delphi and Chicago Railroad (established 1881)
    - New Albany and Salem Railroad (originated 1873)
      - Crawfordsville and Wabash Railroad (opened 1852)
    - Orleans, Paoli and Jasper Railway (formed 1886)

Monon Route Description

Deriving its name from the Monon, Indiana junction, the railroad’s primary lines connected key commercial hubs such as Chicago, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Michigan City. Passenger trains serving Chicago operated out of Dearborn Station. The network featured branch lines linking the Louisville mainline to Indiana destinations including Victoria and French Lick.

Significantly, the main line traversed city streets in Lafayette, New Albany, and Bedford. To improve safety at grade crossings, the company introduced a distinctive fail-safe signaling system involving a continuously illuminated green light that extinguished when a train approached—alerting motorists to stop when the signal was off.

Operationally, the Monon was segmented into seven divisions: Section One extended from the Indiana border to Lafayette via Monon; Section Four connected Lafayette with Bloomington; Section Five ran from Bloomington to New Albany on the Ohio River. Sections Six and Seven served as spurs catering to coal mining areas near Midland and Clay City, as well as resort hotels in West Baden and French Lick accessed through Orleans. Another key freight corridor consisted of Section Two running from Michigan City to Monon, followed by Section Three leading to Indianapolis. Both freight and passenger services utilized these entire segments.

Mid-20th Century Passenger Services

Thoroughbred, designated train 5 southbound / train 6 northbound, provided daily service between Chicago, Illinois (Dearborn Station) and Louisville, Kentucky (Union Station), passing through Monon, Indiana and Lafayette, Indiana.
Bluegrass, trains nos. 3/4, operated overnight with sleeping car accommodations on the Thoroughbred route.
Tippecanoe, trains nos. 11/12, ran daily from Chicago to Indianapolis (Union Station) via Monon and Frankfort, Indiana.
Hoosier, trains nos. 15/16, followed the same path as the Tippecanoe.
Trains nos. 49/48 and 57/56 offered daily service between Michigan City, Indiana and Monon.

Current Status of the Line

Segments of the original route remain under operation by CSX Transportation. However, considerable portions have been abandoned recently—specifically from Monon southeastward to Indianapolis; northward from Monon to Michigan City; and between Cloverdale and Bedford, largely due to a washout incident. The branch serving French Lick has been repurposed as a railroad museum.

The stretch between Bedford and Mitchell was owned by CSX but lacked active train operations. Service continued until 2009 via the Indiana Rail Road (INRD), which in 2006 acquired the former Latta Subdivision from the Canadian Pacific Railway, connecting with Monon at Bedford. INRD utilized trackage rights—initially arranged by The Milwaukee Road and later transferred to The Soo Line Railroad, a Canadian Pacific subsidiary—to operate from Bedford to Louisville along the old Monon line. Service ended in 2009 when INRD discontinued operations and removed track between Bedford and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division, prompting CSX to designate the Bedford-Mitchell segment as out of service.

CSX previously ran trains on the Louisville-Mitchell section between Louisville and St. Louis, Missouri, but ceased regular operations by 2009, rerouting traffic over trackage rights granted on the nearby Louisville and Indiana Railroad.

Amtrak’s Cardinal currently travels over former Monon tracks three times weekly between Crawfordsville and near Chicago, stopping at Lafayette, Rensselaer, and Dyer.

In 2000, the Lafayette segment was realigned along the Wabash River adjacent to a relocated Norfolk Southern Railway line; prior to this change it ran down Fifth Street where a hotel functioned as its passenger station into Amtrak’s era.

The northern section of the Monon Line beyond its junction with the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in Hammond and Munster has been abandoned. Plans are underway to redevelop this corridor as part of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District’s West Lake Corridor, initially extending service southward to Munster/Dyer Main Street with long-range goals reaching Lowell and Valparaiso, Indiana.

Museums

The Indiana Railway Museum located in French Lick offers train rides heading south to Cuzco, Indiana, departing from the historic Monon depot situated in French Lick.

Established in 2005, the Monon Connection can be found along U.S. 421 just north of Monon.

Managed by the Linden-Madison Township Historical Society, the Linden Railroad Museum is housed within a former Monon station. The original depot was constructed in 1852, while the existing structure was moved to its current site in 1881 following the arrival of the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad through Linden.

In Salem, the John Hay Center includes the Depot Railroad Station Museum, which pays tribute to the Monon Railroad. Since 2012, it has also served as the home for the Monon Railroad Historical/Technical Society.

The Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, Kentucky showcases Monon's Diesel Engine No. 32, an Electro-Motive Division (EMD) BL2 locomotive preserved in its original black and gold paint scheme.

The French Lick West Baden Museum secured a significant collection of Monon Railroad artifacts in 2021, with exhibits displayed from late 2022 through mid-2023.

One remaining Monon steam engine, a Mikado type numbered #504, was sold during the early 1940s to the Soo Line Railroad as #1024 and is currently exhibited at the depot in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

External links