September 2005                                                      The Megaphone                                                                  Page 4

When the Railroad Came To Quincy

  When assigning timelines and the railroads involved with the first railroad built through our hometown, accounts often differ. Published accounts from around the turn of the century, Elwood's Album of Memories published during the Centennial of 1952, and two recent publications don't agree with each other nor with the histories of the railroads involved. What follows has been developed from several printed publications and resources found on the Internet. 

  The most interesting aspect is that the first railroad came to a town then named Quincy. It all started with the . . .  

[1848] New Castle & Richmond RR 

                             -- Name changed Feb. 26, 1853, to . . .

[1853] Cincinnati, Logansport & Chicago Ry.

                             -- Merged with Cincinnati & Chicago RR (No. 1), Oct. 10, 1854, to form . . .

[1854] Cincinnati & Chicago RR (No. 2)

Newspaper of July 6, 1937 (Elwood Library): Madison County Woman Recalls July 3-4, 1856, Thrilled Elwood. Mrs. Lodema Frazier, 96, saw first Pennsylvania Trains on Two Days - Also Indians, Deers. The train continued north to Windfall where the tracks terminated, headed south the following day. Mrs. Frazier was 14 at the time.

 Note: Building from Cincinnati, the Cincinnati & Chicago RR reached New Castle, via Richmond, in 1853, and by 1857  was extended to Logansport. Thus, the Cincinnati & Chicago RR was the first railroad to be built through town. The town was known as Quincy and/or Duck Creek.

 

 

                   -- Sold under foreclosure. Part of road reorganized July 11, 1860, as . . .

[1860] Cincinnati & Chicago Air Line RR

                             -- Merged w/ Chicago & Great Eastern Ry (No. 3) May 15, 1865, to form . . . 

[1865] Chicago & Great Eastern Ry (No. 4)

                             -- Emerged Feb. 12, 1868, as . . . 

[1868] Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central Ry

                             -- Sold at foreclosure and reorganized Apr. 3, 1884, to form . . .

[1868] Chicago, St. Louis & Pittsburgh RR

                                 -- Merged Aug. 29, 1890, w/ Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Ry to form . . .

 [1869] Quincy became Elwood on June 15, 1869.

[1890] Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Ry

                                 -- Merged w/ Vandalia RR, Chicago, Indiana & Eastern Ry, Anderson Belt Ry, and Pittsburg,

                                    Wheeling & Kentucky RR Jan. 1, 1917, to form . . .

[1917] Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis RR

                             -- Operated by PRR Jan. 1, 1921

[1921] Pennsylvania Railroad

                             -- Merged w/New York Central RR Feb. 1, 1968 to form . . . 

[1968] Penn Central

                                  -- Merged into Conrail April 1, 1976; Conrail abandoned portions of the line

                                      including the tracks through Elwood.

[1976] Former PRR rail line through Elwood abandoned.

[1983] Former PRR depot razed.

Marvin Crim '57