Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway

Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway
Company type	Railroad
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail Road
Founded	1860
Defunct	1976
Fate	Absorbed into Conrail
Headquarters	Pittsburgh, United States
Area served	Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
Parent	Pennsylvania Railroad (leased from 1869)

The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway played a significant role within the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) network, running westward from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania through Fort Wayne, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois. Today, the segment east of Crestline, Ohio to Pittsburgh is part of the Norfolk Southern-owned Fort Wayne Line, while the stretch from Crestline west to Tolleston in Gary, Indiana is known as the Fort Wayne Secondary, owned by CSX. In 2004, CSX leased this portion to the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad (CFE). The track from Tolleston into Chicago now belongs to Norfolk Southern's Chicago District, with portions of the original route abandoned in favor of parallel lines formerly operated by competitors now integrated into NS.

History

The Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad was chartered in both Ohio and Pennsylvania in 1848 with the goal of constructing a line from Allegheny City (now part of Pittsburgh) westward to Crestline, Ohio, where it would connect with the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. Established on June 15 under president William Robinson Jr., construction commenced in July 1849. The railroad opened in phases between 1851 and 1853, completing a continuous connection between Cleveland and Pittsburgh via the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad.

Construction on the Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge across the Allegheny River began in 1854 to extend service into Pittsburgh and link with the PRR system. The bridge was completed in 1857, accompanied by a temporary downtown station.

The Ohio and Indiana Railroad received charters in Ohio (1850) and Indiana (1851) to continue westward to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Organized in 1850 with funding partially derived from a merger with the Great Western Railroad of Ohio, it opened sections between Crestline and Fort Wayne by late 1854.

The Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad was chartered in Indiana (1852) and Illinois (1853) with plans to reach Chicago. Its initial segment became operational in early 1856.

On July 26, 1856, these three companies merged into the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail Road. By late 1858, extensions reached Chicago, establishing a terminal near what would become Union Station. Portions of track were repurposed from the New Portage Railroad.

From its beginning, the PRR heavily invested in this corridor. After finishing the Fort Wayne Bridge in 1857, trains ran continuously from Philadelphia. In 1858, PFW&C began utilizing Pittsburgh’s first Union Station alongside PRR services.

Financial troubles forced PFW&C into foreclosure in 1861; it reorganized as the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway in 1862.

Strategic expansions followed: leasing the New Castle and Beaver Valley Railroad in 1865; acquiring branches to Youngstown through the Lawrence Railroad in 1869; purchasing the Cleveland, Zanesville and Cincinnati Railroad as its Akron Branch in 1865; and leasing the Massillon and Cleveland Railroad in 1869.

On July 1, 1869, PRR leased PFW&C for direct operation. Control shifted to the Pennsylvania Company in 1871 before management reverted to PRR in 1918.

After PRR merged into Penn Central in 1968, PFW&C filed for bankruptcy in 1973. It was absorbed into Conrail in 1976, which downgraded this line favoring alternate parallel routes.

In 1994, Norfolk Southern acquired an out-of-service segment from Gary to Valparaiso for $1.4 million and later expanded ownership eastward toward Warsaw while securing trackage rights extending to Fort Wayne.

Following Conrail’s division in 1998, control of the line was split at Crestline: CSX assumed ownership westward including former Norfolk Southern sections; Norfolk Southern retained eastern portions along with trackage rights heading west.

At its western terminus near Gary, some original PFW&C tracks were abandoned; remaining segments connect with former Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway lines into Chicago, supporting Norfolk Southern freight operations as well as Amtrak passenger services.

In 2004, RailAmerica’s Chicago Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad leased CSX’s western segment from Crestline to Tolleston. CFE also obtained overhead trackage rights over adjacent lines reaching Blue Island, Illinois. Norfolk Southern continues to hold ownership east of Crestline and west of Whiting.

General references