Calumet (train)

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Calumet
Chicago
Valparaiso
Stops7
Distance travelled44 miles (71 km)
Average journey time1 hour 20 minutes
Service frequencyDaily (weekdays only)
Train number(s)321, 324 (Indiana Connection)
322, 323 (Calumet)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Legend
0 mi
 Chicago
Burlington Northern
to Aurora
Heritage Corridor
to Joliet
Norfolk Southern Line
to Orland Park
Rock Island District
 
to
Randolph Street
Metra Electric & South Shore
to
Blue Island, University Park
and South Bend
Illinois
Indiana
16.0 mi
25.7 km
 Hammond–Whiting
16.8 mi
27 km
 Whiting
19.9 mi
32 km
 Indiana Harbor
 
to
Randolph Street
South Shore
to South Bend
 
25.0 mi
40.2 km
 Gary–5th Ave
27.4 mi
44.1 km
 Gary–Broadway
33.1 mi
53.3 km
 Hobart
37.0 mi
59.5 km
 Wheeler
43.6 mi
70.2 km
 Valparaiso
This diagram:

The Calumet, also commonly called the Valpo Local, was a 43.6-mile (70.2 km)

Broadway Limited
until 1990; the Calumet was discontinued the next year.

History

Valparaiso local train entering Chicago in 1964
October 1972 Penn Central timetable showing the Valparaiso local service

The service first ran August 30, 1869, by the

Penn Central Transportation. By that point, the route operated as a rush-hour commuter service,[3]
with two trains traveling from Valparaiso to Chicago at 5:55 AM and 6:35 AM and two trains returning from Chicago to Valparaiso at 5:00 PM and 5:40 PM.

With the May 1, 1971, startup of

intercity trains were taken over by Amtrak
, but Penn Central continued to run commuter trains in several metropolitan areas, including the Valpo Local.

The

Washington, DC
, began using it. At first the Valpo Local was served by two daily trains, the Calumet and the Indiana Connection; the Indiana Connection was discontinued first.

Due to Conrail's desire to abandon part of the former PRR main line, the Broadway Limited and Capitol Limited were rerouted respectively onto the former

subsidizing the route.[8] The date was changed to May 6 and the mandate was included in an amendment to the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, signed into law November 28, 1990, by U.S. President George H. W. Bush.[9] Indiana decided not to pay the required $1.5 million per year[10] (equivalent to $3.36 million in 2023) and the weekday-only Calumet last ran Friday, May 3, 1991.[4][11]

Commuter service from Chicago into northern Indiana is still provided by the

Dune Park station, is 15 miles (24 km) from Valparaiso, closer to Lake Michigan. The ChicaGo Dash express bus to Chicago, which operates during weekday rush hours, has for its Valparaiso terminal a parking lot adjacent the former rail station.[12][13]

On August 1, 2004, the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad started freight operations over the old route of the Calumet and beyond.[14]

A study was conducted in 2017 to assess the return of service to Valparaiso, with the new service potentially running as far as Fort Wayne and northwest Ohio.[15]

Station stops

The Calumet and Indiana Connection were assigned numbers between 321 and 324, with odd numbers running westbound and even numbers eastbound. Trains made the following station stops (some of which closed prior to Amtrak's takeover of the route):[16]

State Municipality Station Notes
Illinois Chicago Chicago
Englewood Closed 1973–74
South Chicago
 Closed 1950–55
State Line Closed 1972–73
Indiana Hammond Hammond–Whiting Opened 1982
Whiting Whiting
Standard Closed 1972–73
East Chicago Mahoning Closed 1975
Indiana Harbor
Gary Buffington Closed 1972–73
Gary Located at 5th Ave. and Chase St.
Broadway
Hobart Hobart
Wheeler Wheeler
Valparaiso Valparaiso[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Baer, Christopher T. "PRR Chronology - 1869" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 4, 2012.
  2. ^ "Corporate Genealogy - Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago". Interstate Commerce Commission. Archived from the original on January 11, 2002.
  3. OCLC 14408290
    .
  4. ^ a b "Amtrak Ends Calumet Service". The Star Press. Muncie, Indiana. May 4, 1991. p. 2. Retrieved January 12, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "Chicago Commuter Equipment from the Recent Past".[unreliable source?]
  6. ^ Schafer, Mike (June 1991). "Amtrak's atlas". Trains.
  7. ^ Visclosky, Peter J. (September 18, 1990). "Keep Commuter Rail on Track".[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c101:H.R.5660.IH: H.R. 5660][permanent dead link]
  9. ^ S. 3012 Archived July 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "$1.5 million annually needed to keep Valpo-Chicago Amtrak". The Times of Northwest Indiana. November 22, 1990.
  11. ^ "Arrivals and Departures". Trains. July 1991.
  12. ^ "VALPOtransit". Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Franklin House: About Us". Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  14. ^ "Chicago Fort Wayne & Eastern". Doug's Railroad Place. Archived from the original on September 23, 2007.[unreliable source?]
  15. ^ Zorn, Tim (December 23, 2016). "Study to look at reviving rail passenger service to Chicago with stops in Valparaiso, Gary". Post-Tribune/Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  16. ^ March 3, 1971 and April 30, 1972 timetables

External links

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