Putnam County

[George Lortz]

I did some serious BOGging (Boots On the Ground - I love that term) in Putnam County on Tuesday, April 17th and took over 160 shots.  I focused mainly on the NYC (NS) overpass, the Walnut Creek bridge, the US-40 bridge and the I-70 bridge, but I have many other shots of scenes around Greencastle.  The weather was perfect (dry and partly cloudy) for photography and there were no crops planted yet, so long-range viewing was at its best.

I plan to attach some of the photos in this Board category, but I'll send all the shots to Ron for the Photo Archives.

Here are the first several photos.  The location is the NYC (NS) overpass which is northeast of Greencastle.

Attachment DSC_0085 is the overpass and interchange track (facing southwest).
Attachment DSC_0095 is a CSX local heading southwest to Limedale to drop off cement hoppers (facing northeast).
Attachment DSC_0106 is a shot of the CSX local passing under the overpass and an NS freight overhead heading east to Indianapolis (facing northeast).
Attachment DSC_0120 is a shot of the wall under the overpass and the build date (I think).

More to come later.

George L.

[Tom Kepshire]

Nice! Very nice. You have made me very jealous. Keep them coming. Are there any potential Where Am I shots that I could use on the web site? If so, send them to my Comcast address.

[Robert Gibson]

The New York Central must have had a massive building campaign in the early 1900's.  There are a lot of bridges and overpasses around the state built about 1906.

[Ron Marquardt]

For those interested in looking, a lot of the footprint of the original main line can still be found on Google Earth.  Interesting photos George.  By the way, as information that track is a connecting track, not an interchange track.  / Ron

[George Lortz]

More photos taken in Putnam County on 4/17/12.  The su[not allowed]ect is the Walnut Creek bridge and I took 40 photos of it (I think I got a shot of every rivet).  The bridge can be easily accessed from CR 200 North, especially at this time of year.

DSC_0132 is a shot of the bridge looking southwest.
DSC_0134 is the roadbed of the bridge looking southwest
DSC_0140 is a shot of the bridge looking northeast
DSC_0145 is a shot of the current bridge pilings.  Note the older pilings.

There is much evidence of the older bridge including pilings and metalwork.  The Monon Society Photo Archives has many photos of the rebuilding of the bridge after a flood washed it out, but we don't have any photos of the washout right after it happened.

If anyone has some washout photos, please post them.

George L.

[Tom Kepshire]

Here are three shots that I have. These are from the Cookie Eberhard CD Collection. Unknown original photographer. There are many more available on the CD's. Available through Company Stores.

The first picture is of the original bridge that was to be replaced.
The other two are of the bridge gang working on the replacement.

[Ron Marquardt]

I have plotted both NYC routes, and the Monon route, now all CSX, on Google Earth so those not familiar with the area can relate to the Greencastle trackage arrangement.  The original NYC route is plotted in Red, the newer NYC route (bypass) is plotted in Yellow, and the Monon is plotted in Orange.  As information, the entire NYC relocation was about 11 miles long.  / Ron

[George Lortz]

Thanks for the maps, Ron.

The old NYC RoW where it crosses N. Madison St. in Greencastle is clearly visible.  However, even though it's within the city limits, there are many trees and undergrowth that prevent seeing much more than that.

I think we are probably correct that it was the NYC, not the Monon, that had service tracks into the old limestone quarry (now owned by DePauw).  However, the Monon had access to those service tracks because of the NYC interchange that was located near the Monon depot.

George L.
 

[George Lortz]

I had a big surprise while BOGging in Putnam County on 4/17/12.  Attached you will find three shots taken in Putnamville facing south.  The first is a shot of MP 183, which still stands.  The second is the surprise - two semaphore masts still located at MP 183.2!  The third is a shot of the US-40 bridge.

MP 183 is approximately where the Putnamville depot stood.  You can still find remnants of the depot foundation and the retaining wall behind which the depot sat is still intact.  There was a spur from the Monon mainline into the Indiana Correctional Institute that provided coal for the facility.  It is almost obliterated, but you can spot what might be the roadbed north of where the depot stood.

The entire roadbed is elevated at this site and Putnamville itself is well below the roadbed level.  It must have been interesting to sit on your back porch and look up to see the trains.

George L.