The South Bend Branch was a Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 line that ran from South Bend, Indiana to Logansport, Indiana. The line was built in 1883 and was then a part of the Vandalia Railroad

Vandalia Railroad (1905-1917)

The Vandalia Railroad was a railroad from Logansport, Indiana, to South Bend, Indiana. It quickly became a property of the Pennsylvania Railroad , which later became part of Penn Central and then Conrail. The railroad was mostly a freight-carrying route with a hub at Logansport Yard...

. The route was about 60 miles long and it passed through many towns.

Stations

Industries served

The route was a very important link for Studebaker

Studebaker

Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...

 Auto since it ended at their factories in South Bend, Indiana. The line also had several grain elevator

Grain elevator

A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...

s, which several are still in business. One of the reasons it was built was for people going to Lake Maxinkuckee

Lake Maxinkuckee

Lake Maxinkuckee, covering , is the second largest natural lake in the U.S. state of Indiana . It is located near the town of Culver, Indiana, in southwestern Marshall County. Lake Maxinkuckee has a maximum depth of 88 feet and an average depth of 24 feet . Local residents and visitors practice...

in Culver, Indiana when it was a resort town.

Abandonment

After Studebaker closed in 1960, rail traffic started declining and the last daily freights were gone by 1969. The first part of the line to go was between Nutwood and Culver, which was abandoned in 1973 and removed in 1974. The second piece to go was from Culver to Logansport which was abandoned in 1974 and removed in 1976. For a while in Plymouth, Indiana, they used the line for the old industrial park, but this rail was gone by 1990. Track still remains in South Bend, where it continues to be used by a couple of local businesses. However, that is all that remains of the old South Bend Branch.

External links

• Photos and commentary at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum