Frankfort

[Rick Berg]

Does anyone know where the water tower was at Frankfort and was there a coal chute also? I cannot find a picture or anything.

[Tom Kepshire]

Not an expert on Frankfort, but I know there was a big Nickel Plate coaling tower west of the NKP/ Monon diamonds. I do not remember if the Monon had their own at Frankfort.

[George Lortz]

This postcard of a Frankfort, IN railroad right-of-way appeared on eBay.  Is this the Monon right-of-way?  The postcard is dated in the early 1900s.

George L.

[Pete Pedigo]

no, that was interurban to Lebanon and Indy

Pete

[Tom Kepshire]

That is what I was going to say Pete. It looked like an interurban line.

[Ken Weller]

Here is the best drawing I could find showing water tank(s) and pipe lines at Frankfort, in 1915.

[George Lortz]

Ken,

It looks like the railway crossing the Monon on the right of the drawing (north) is the IH&L, but I'm not sure.  Was that a predecessor of the Nickel Plate or was that some other railroad?  Wonder where the interurban fit into this picture?

I can find no reference to an IH&L Railway, so I must be reading the drawing wrong.

George L.

[Ron Marquardt]

George, I believe that's the TH&L (Terre Haute & Logansport) railroad, a branch of the Pennsylvania that once ran either into or through Logansport.  / Ron

[George Lortz]

Ron,

That was my other guess, but I tried both TH&L and IH&L railway in Google, which is usually dependable.  There is no Internet record for either.

Is the TH&L the interurban that Pete was referring to or was there another interurban through Frankfort also?

George L.

[Ron Marquardt]

No, from what I read the TH&L was a branch line of the Pennsylvania RR.  It shows up when you read some of the PRR history.  I think that branch eventually ran all the way up to South Bend.  I have a map somewhere.  If I can find it I'll post it.  / Ron

[Gene Remaly]

Frankfort depot was on city water and had a couple of water columns. I don't think there was ever a coaling tower there.

[Stew Winstandley]

Attached is a PDF of a map of the 1905 Vandalia Routes showing the TH&L between Terre Haute and South Bend.  The Pennsylvania's controlling interest amounted to $11 million of the Vandalia's $14 million in outstanding stock. The TH&L's 72 mile line from Terre Haute to Frankfort was scrapped when Conrail was created in 1976.  Between Frankfort and Logansport, after 1979, only the portion operated by the Winamac Southern remained in service.  This is from William Watt's The Pennsylvania Railroad in Indiana, a publication of IU Press.

Stew

[Robert Wheeler]

1 of 3
Attached is a scan of the Frankfort City Map from the archives. It is undated but the presence of the Monon logo indicates it was made  (or updated) after 1956.

[Robert Wheeler]

2 of 3
Attached is a scan of the Frankfort Schematic  Map from the 2001 Tour Guidebook. (Note this is before the maps were color coded.)

[Robert Wheeler]

3 of 3
Attached is a scan of the Mc Bride(s) Schematic  Map from the 2001 Tour Guidebook. (Note this is before the maps were color coded.)

This is where the TH&IE (Electric) crossed just south of the Cllinton County Fairgrounds and runs parallel to SR39 routed over SR 38 (on R/W of SR 38). Earlier I posted a 1910 CI&L Drawing of McBride.