Elkhart and Western Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Elkhart and Western Railroad is a Class III
short-line railroad operating in and around the city of Elkhart
in Elkhart County, Indiana
, and is a subsidiary
of Pioneer Railcorp
.
Pioneer Railcorp created the Elkhart and Western on May 1, 2001 from a 10 miles (16.1 km) stretch of the Michigan Southern Railroad
. The line begins at its intersection with the Norfolk Southern Railway
near the center of Elkhart, then crosses the St. Joseph River
which it follows westward, and finally terminates on the northeast side of Mishawaka
in neighboring St. Joseph County
.
Freight hauled on the E&W consists mainly of auto frames, lumber
and cement
.
Class III railroad
A Class III railroad, as defined by the Surface Transportation Board, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million . The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries...
short-line railroad operating in and around the city of Elkhart
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
in Elkhart County, Indiana
Elkhart County, Indiana
Elkhart County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. Much of the county is in the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area...
, and is a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of Pioneer Railcorp
Pioneer Railcorp
Pioneer Railcorp is a holding company for a number of American short-line railroads. Other subsidiaries offer locomotive and freight car leasing to its own railroads and to third parties, and also freight car cleaning. Pioneer also has interests in real estate and newsletter publishing.The...
.
Pioneer Railcorp created the Elkhart and Western on May 1, 2001 from a 10 miles (16.1 km) stretch of the Michigan Southern Railroad
Michigan Southern Railroad
Michigan Southern Railroad could refer to:*The Southern Railroad , built by the state of Michigan *The Michigan Southern Railroad , which bought the state line, and became part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway...
. The line begins at its intersection with the Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
near the center of Elkhart, then crosses the St. Joseph River
St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)
The St. Joseph River is a river, approximately long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan...
which it follows westward, and finally terminates on the northeast side of Mishawaka
Mishawaka, Indiana
Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River and a Twin city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 48,252 as of the 2010 Census...
in neighboring St. Joseph County
St. Joseph County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 265,559 people, 100,743 households, and 66,792 families residing in the county. The population density was 581 people per square mile . There were 107,013 housing units at an average density of 234 per square mile...
.
Freight hauled on the E&W consists mainly of auto frames, lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
and cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
.
Power
The EWR got its two units from it owner Pioneer Railcorp. though the units don't have the Pioneer Railcorp reporting marks the units are still PREX owned.| Model | Quantity | Acquired | Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMD GP9 EMD GP9 An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States, and General Motors Diesel in Canada between January, 1954, and August, 1963. US production ended in December, 1959, while an additional thirteen units were built in Canada, including... |
1 | 2001 | 911 | built as MILW 315 (GP9) went to MNVA 315(GP9) before becoming PREX 911 (GP9). as a side-note railfan's have label this unit as EWR 911 (GP9R) which is not it's true reporting mark nor unit classification |
| GP10 GP10 The EMD GP10 is a diesel-electric locomotive that is the result of rebuilding a GP7, GP9 or GP18.The Illinois Central Railroad had three separate rebuild programs to upgrade their old EMD GPs and GPs that they had purchased from equipment dealers such as Precision National Corporation in Mount... |
1 | 2001 | 1000 | built as GN 622 (GP7) went to ICG 8465(GP10) then to IC 8465(GP10) before becoming PREX 1000. as a side-note railfan's have label this unit as EWR 911 (GP9R) which is not it's true reporting mark |