BOGing the B&B in 1971

[Ron Marquardt]

Ron Marquardt, Dick Fontaine, and Dave Ritenour BOGing (boots on the ground) the B&B in 1971.  We headed west from Bedford, but Plummer's Creek was flooded and it finally got so deep in was coming in under the door of my 1963 Chevy.  We turned around, and bypassed all the high water, finally arriving at Elliston where we photographed the depot with multiple flashes after 9:00 PM.  A great day with great friends.  / Ron

[Rick Dreistadt]

Was this taken right before you tried to heist the sign?
Rick

[Ron Marquardt]

No, we didn't try that, but I think several years later someone else did.  They finally got it back, and I think it has been reinstalled, but I haven't been down there to see it.  / Ron

[John Butler]

Have you ever seen such a pose with a historical marker?  It almost makes history look cool   

[Tom Pinnick]

The historical marker is currently located in downtown Springville at the park. (Well, at least it was there last year) The park is somewhat south of the original ROW.

[Mike Lehman]

Great pic. That sign has seen better days from what I remember of the last time I saw it. And those fellows were all younger looking, too.

The water can get high back in there around Koleen. Must have been interesting running on it after a good rain or during the spring thaw. Water from the White River backs up along in there pretty well where it nears the road that it follows north into Bloomfield, too.

[Tom Kepshire]

Hey, I found that same sign in 2007. Joe Land took the photo.

[Tom Pinnick]

Today I was browsing the INDOT contracts upcoming in April. Just east of Koleen they will be contracting environmental mitigation in advance of the I-69 section that will be let in August. From what I could determine, this will erase any trace of the B&B in that area. I will do further research and post some more later.

[Ron Marquardt]

For those of you still interested in seeing the B&B as it was, please think about ordering our new updated version of Joe Land's excellent B&B CD.  We now have the Val Maps in both four mile and one mile sections to better see the details, and the complete B&B overlayed on Google Earth to see where the B&B ran in relationship to today's roads.  That's Joe Land's B&B CD, Ver 2, 82 pages.  Get it from your Stores Dept. beginning next week.  / Ron

[Pete Pedigo]

Joe, Congratulatons on the completion of this task.  I know the B&B is of special interest to you and you have put a great deal of time into this project.   Thank you very much for making it available to the stores department for sales.  That fact that this was the last narrow gauge railroad in the State of Indiana should make this CD appear to abroader audience than just our MRHTS members.

I can't wait to see it.

Pete

[Joe Land]

Thank you, but I must clarify a detail. Depots, stations, and named places are overlaid on Google Earth images, not the entire branch.

[Don Kuhlman]

Nice pictures - very cool!

[Tom Pinnick]

I went by the mitigation site (in fact I ran the entire route from the tunnel to Hwy. 231 this afternoon. Things are beginning to happen west of Ashcraft Chapel. At the mitigation site, the ROW is indiscernible ( I couldn't see anything) from the county road. I imagine that it had been previously blitzed into a corn field. It is becoming increasingly difficult to trace the ROW using Google Maps. I have attached a map from the INDOT showing the detail.

[Tom Pinnick]

We can add a third site on the B&B R-O-W that will be impacted by I-69.    This one is east of Mineral City on Plummer Creek. It is part of the Environmental Mitigation work required by law. I have been told that the state must restore wetlands on a 4 to 1 ratio (4 times whatever they destroy). This is in addition to the section east of Koleen and the bridge and fill over the road west of Ashcraft Chapel. On the map, I have approximated the B&B with the red line.

[Tom Pinnick]

INDOT will let (accept bids) on the section of I-69 that will cross the BSOB just west of Ashcraft Chapel. The good news is that there will be almost 70 feet of clearance - ground to bridge - if we decide to reinstall the railroad. You can always dream......