Terre Haute

This is part of my history and guide to my adopted home - Terre Haute, Indiana.

Introduction

Terre Haute has an extensive network of railroad tracks running through it. Theree are so many and so many trains using level road crossings that being "railroaded" is a legitimate excuse for being late for practically anything.

Railroads through Terre Haute
Image: Indiana Department of Transportation

There's no truth to the story that I can find, but many Hautians say that John Dillinger once said he would never rob a bank in Terre Haute as being caught by a train was too big a risk.

I can understand why he might have said it. It's no fun waiting when a long train goes over one of the crossings or worse still slows down to a crawl or just stops for no apparent reason. Should I turn round or wait? Which of the nearest crossings doesn't have another part of the train blocking it?

The thing about the trains is that they are all freight, not a single passenger train runs through Terre Haute. Around 30 to 40 freight trains a day run through various parts of Terre Haute. The nearest passenger rail stations to Terre Haute are at Mattoon, Illinois; Crawfordsville, Indiana; Effingham, Illinois; Champaign Urbana, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Rantoul, Illinois; and Lafayette, Indiana. The closest is Mattoon which is over 50 miles away with Lafayette being closer to 80 miles.

It was not always like this as the city once had several mainline railway passenger stations, freight depots, and an Interurban railway. This page looks at the history of the railroads in Terre Haute.

Public Safety Notice

Once the crossing arms come down, don't try and outrun the train. One day you and your car are going to get spread over a couple of hundred feet of track.

The Railroads

By the end of the 19th century there were several railroad companies serving different routes. These companies went through a series of aquisitions and mergers. In the 1970s many were taken over by the government-sponsored Conrail which took over potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt companies in the northeastern United States. In 1987, Conrail was privatised and in 1997, it was split between CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. All the frieght trains running through Terre Haute are now owned by CSX.

Several businessmen were involved in the Terre Haute railroads. These were Josephus Collett, William Dickinson Griswold, William Riley McKeen, Chauncey Rose, and William B. Tuell. Although often competitors, they also collaborated in bringing the railroad to Terre Haute and beyond.

The railroad companies were named after the places they connected and they built roughly 100 miles of track each and were fairly short lived. As the lines got longer, new companies were formed, and the old companies acquired, merged or closed.

The first railroad in Indiana was organized by the the Indiana General Assembly on January 27, 1836. Construction began on the state-owned Madison and Indianapolis Railroad on September 16, 1836. It was completed in September, 1847. After that, railroad building in Indiana began in earnest. By 1880, the state had over 4,041 miles of track. At its peak in 1920, the state had 7,426. Currently the state has about the same as it did in 1880.

By 1904, trains were making 104 passenger stops in Terre Haute and nearly as many for frieght.

Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad Company

Chauncey Rose was a prominent Terre Haute businessman. His interests included banking, coal, hotels, milling, real estate, oil and railroads. He was elected president of the TH&R on May 10, 1848.

The TH&R was chatered on January 26, 1847 with the goal of building a railway from Terre Haute, through Indianapolis to Richmond, Indiana to the east, near the Ohio border. It was not long before the company concentrated on just the Terre Haute to Indianapolis rails and the Indiana Central company built the Indianapolis to Richmond railway which was completed in October, 1853. The Terre Haute to Indianapolis section was started in the fall of 1849 and the 73 mile section had been opened in February 1852.

The company built Terre Haute's first railway station on the north side of Wabash Avenue at the junction with 10th street in December 1951. The station was built on the east side of the tracks and carried the first passengers to Indianapolis on February 14, 1852.

The trip from Terre Haute to Indianapolis took around four hours and the fare was $3.65. It should be remembered that Terre Haute was booming at this time and this journey was the most profitable of Indiana railroads.

Map of Terre Haute and Richmond Rail Road and connecting lines in the 1850s
Image: Library of Congress

In 1865, the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad name was changed to the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad. In 1867, William Riley McKeen became the fourth president of the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad. His predecessors Chauncey Rose, Samuel Crawford, and Edward J. Peck.

On April 26, 1870, an extension was finished from Terre Haute to the Illinois state line that met up with the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute.

Model of six-coupled American locomotive
built for the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad, 1894

Terre Haute and Alton Railroad

In January 1851, the Illinois legislature chartered the Terre Haute and Alton Railroad Company, and construction began in 1852. On March 1, 1856, the main line from Terre Haute, Indiana, to Alton, on the west side of Illinois, was completed. In 1852, the Belleville and Illinoistown branch (from Belleville, Illinois, to East St. Louis, Illinois) was chartered; it was completed in 1854. In February 1854, the Terre Haute and Alton Railroad and the Belleville and Illinoistown Railroad were consolidated under a single charter by a special act of the legislature. It was this railroad company that built Terre Hautes first railway bridge over the Wabash River in 1855. The consolidated line became the Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis Railroad in 1856. In financial distress by 1862, the railroad was sold under foreclosure and was reorganized as the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad.

One notable achievement of the company was to build the first railway bridge over the Wabash River at Terre Haute in 1855. Information is sparse about the bridge. I cannot find where it was or if it was the predecessor of the Big Four bridge over the Wabash.

The Terre Haute and Alton Railroad shared the station built by the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad in Terre Haute. They became dissatified with the station and bought the Station House Hotel owned by Wiliam P. Bennett in 1861. The land was located at the northwest corner of 10th and Chestnut Streets and the new station was named Union Station.

Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad

The E&TH was created from the Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad Company which was created in 1853 by Josephus Collett, and which had William D. Griswold as president, in 1877. It created a railway from Evansville to Vincennes to Terre Haute and on to Rockville and Crawfordsville. The route was built in three stages; first from Evansville to Vincennes; the second stage was from Vincennes to Terre Haute which was completed in 1854; and the third from Terre Haute north to Rockville and Crawfordsville which was completed in 1872.

The railroad company built tracks to server Danville, Illinois and to the south of Terre Haute to serve the coal fields of southern Vigo and Sullivan counties.

The E&TH built Terre Haute's second station and that was on the south side of Wabash Avenue in 1854. The first train used it on December 24, 1854. It later used the Union Station at the junction of 10th and Chestnut Streets.

Between 1877 and 1911, these railroads were all absorbed into the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company. This company built a depot at the junction of 16th and Hulman Streets. It was destroyed in the tornadoes and floods of March 1913, and not rebuilt.

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis - The Big Four

The Cincinnati and Terre Haute Railroad was created in 1871, but was nearly bankrupt by 1877. Josephus Collett, William Riley McKeen, and William B. Tuell bought the company and renamed it the Terre Haute and Southeastern Railroad. Tuell eventually bought out Collett and McKeen and built a station at 10 North 1st Street.

The Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway railway was created in 1848 and had yards and workshops in Terre Haute. These included a large roundhouse loacted on the northwest corner of 3rd and Tippecanoe Streets. In the 1870s, The railroad announced it was closing the workhops and moving them to Mattoon, Illinois. Ths would make 300 workers in Terre Haute unemployed. A lessen the blow a little, the company built a new one-room station at 6th and Tippecanoe Streets. Being made of yellow brick, it was soon dubbed "The Little Old Yellow Box."

The CCC&St.L railroad was formed on June 30, 1889, by the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway, the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway and the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway. The following year, the company gained control of the former Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railway (through the foreclosed Ohio, Indiana and Western Railway and through an operating agreement with the Peoria and Eastern Railway).

As far as I can determine, none of the earlier companies ran trains to Terre Haute.

In 1906, the Big Four was acquired by the New York Central Railroad, which operated it as a separate entity until around 1930. The Big Four's lines were later incorporated into Penn Central in 1968 with the merger of New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Penn Central declared bankruptcy in 1970, and in 1976 many of Big Four's lines were included in the government-sponsored Conrail. Conrail was privatized in 1987 and in 1997 was jointly acquired by CSX and Norfolk Southern.

Pennsylvania Railroad Terre Haute East Yard
This yard was just west of where the Fruitridge / Blackly Road overpass is now.

Vandalia Railroad

The Pennsylvania railroad used the Terre Haute and Indianapolis tracks and approached William McKeen to build and operate a new St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute railroad. On April 26, 1870, an extension was finished from Terre Haute to the Illinois state line by the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad that met up with the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute railroad.

Vandalia Railroad was formed on January 1, 1905, by the combination of the Terre Haute & Logansport, Terre Haute & Peoria, Indiana & Lake Michigan, and the Indiana & Vincennes railroads, and the Union Station at 10th and Chestnut Streets was expanded.

The Union Station on 9th and Spruce was opened on April 15, 1993. On April 18, the Terre Haute & Indianapolis and associated railroads became the property of the Pennsylavania Railroad and in 1905 all of them became part of the Pennsylavania Railroad owned Vandalia Railroad.

The Vandalia yard in the 1920s
Image: Martin Collection, Indiana Historical Society, Indiana Memory

Vandalia Round House and Shop Vacilities

Illinois Midland Railroad

Southern Indiana Railway

The Southern Indiana Railway was created in 1897 by John R. Walsh. It arrived in Terre Haute in 1900 and used the Union Station. It built a goods depot at 12th and Crawford Streets.

In 1910 it became part of the Chicago, Terre Haute & Southeastern Railroad which then became part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad in 1948.

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Competition between the various railroad companies was intense. So much so that tracks from them were often run more or less parallel to each other. For example the Indianapolis and St. Louis and the Terre Haute and Indianapolis railroads both had tracks running btween Terre Haute and Indianapolis and the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute and the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute railroads both had tracks running between Terre Haute and St. Louis.

The diagram below may help to visualize how the railroad companies were organized before they were almagamated:

Click on the image to enlarge

The Last Passenger Trains

Today, all the trains that run through Terre Haute are for freight, not a single passenger train runs through the city. This means we have the doubtful distinction of being on Wikipedia's "List of major cities in the United States lacking inter-city rail service". The nearest passenger rail stations to Terre Haute are at Mattoon, Illinois; Crawfordsville, Indiana; Effingham, Illinois; Champaign Urbana, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Rantoul, Illinois; and Lafayette, Indiana. The closest is Mattoon which is over 50 miles away with Lafayette being closer to 80 miles.

By 1880, Indiana state had over 4,041 miles of track. At its peak in 1920, the state had 7,426. Currently the state has about the same as it did in 1880.

The New York Central Railroad used the Big Four Depot. Its last train was the St. Louis-New York City Southwestern Limited in 1967. The last train serving Terre Haute, Amtrak's Kansas City, Missouri-New York City train, National Limited, stopped running in 1979.

The Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ('Milwaukee Road') and the Pennsylvania Railroad used Union Station. Prior to the 1971 establishment of Amtrak, the Penn Central (a combined company after the merger of the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad), ran these St. Louis-New York City trains through Terre Haute: Penn Texas and the Spirit of St. Louis.

Until 1965, the C&EI ran the Dixie Flyer from Chicago through Terre Haute, to Evansville, Nashville, Atlanta, and on to Jacksonville, Florida. Until 1968 the C&EI ran the Georgian from Chicago through Terre Haute, on the same route to Atlanta. Up to the same time, the C&EI ran through Terre Haute the New Orleans-bound Humming Bird.

What Caused the Loss of Passenger Trains?

President Dwight Eisenhower enacted the Interstate Highway System in 1956 (also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act). The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 created the National Passenger Railroad Corporation (Amtrak as we know it today). The advent of the automobile, creation of the Interstate Highway System, and a boom in air travel all diverted passengers away from rail.

The Stations

So where were the stations for all these passenger trains?

1939 United States Geological Survey map of the railroads, stations and yards in Terre Haute
Click image for original map on USGS site

The first station in Terre Haute was built by the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad Company in December 1851. It was on the north side of Wabash Avenue at the junction with 10th street. The station was built on the east side of the tracks and carried the first passengers to Indianapolis on February 14, 1852. Just nine years later, in 1861, it was used for freight only.

Images: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Logan Library, Vigo County Historical Society, Indiana Memory

Wabash Avenue and 10th Avenue in 2025. Presumably this empty lot was the site of the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad Company station

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The Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad Company built Terre Haute's second station and that was on the south side of Wabash Avenue in 1854. The first train used it on December 24, 1854.

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The Terre Haute and Alton Railroad originally used the station built by the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad. They soon got unhappy with the arrangement and in 1861, bought the Station House Hotel owned by Wiliam P. Bennett in 1861. The land was located at the northwest corner of 10th and Chestnut Streets and this new station was named Union Station (not the same as the one built at the junction of 9th and Spruce Streets in 1893).

The Vandalia Railroad later grew by absorbing the Terre Haute & Logansport, Terre Haute & Peoria, and the Indiana & Lake Michigan railroads, and the Union Station at 10th and Chestnut Streets was expanded.

The site of the Union Station at Chestnut and 10th Streets in 2025

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The Indianapolis and St. Louis railroad built a new station at the north junction of 6th and Tippecanoe Streets, which opened in the 1870s, along with a freight depot two blocks west, which is to the left of the following photo.

The Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway railway was created in 1848 and had yards and workshops in Terre Haute. These included a large roundhouse loacted on the northwest corner of 3rd and Tippecanoe Streets. In 1899, the railroad announced it was closing the workhops and moving them to Mattoon, Illinois. Ths would make 300 workers in Terre Haute unemployed. A lessen the blow a little, the company built a new one-room station at 6th and Tippecanoe Streets. Being made of yellow brick, it was soon dubbed "The Little Old Yellow Box."

The city was not happy with what the I&SL had done and declared that the size and appearance of the station was an insult to the community. However, several business soon moved to near the station and it was kept for 25 years.

The site of the station at 6th and Tippecanoe Streets in 2025

In 1899, the station was replaced by a new one on 7th Street, just south of the tracks.

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The Terre Haute and Southeastern Railroad built a station at 10 North First Street for its passenger services in 1877.

The site of the station at 10 North First Street in 2025

The railway track ran north / south where the line of trees in the road median are. The tracks were removed and the median built between 2013 and 2017.

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In 1893, a new Union Station was built at the junction of 9th and Spruce Streets. It was designed by Samuel Hannaford of Cincinnati in 1919 and opened on April 15, 1893. The station contained the railroad's divisional offices and had a dining room patronized by hundreds of people daily. Surrounding its first-floor rotunda — used as a lounging area and covered by cathedral glass illuminated from above by incandescent lights — were ticket offices, the manager's office, a barber shop, a beauty salon and dining facilities. An elegant chandelier was suspended from the ceiling glass. The elaborate kitchen in the basement was linked to the dining room by dumbwaiters. Railroad offices were distributed throughout the second floor. Dispatchers utilized the third floor.

The dining facilites were owned by Mr. Ohmer of Decatur and he said it was the finest that he owned. The cooking range was thought to be the largest in Terre Haute at the time.

The workers at the station wore blue uniforms with brass buttons and caps. People such as clerks and janitors wore just the blue caps.

The United Service Organizations (USO) was formed in response to the need for providing Canteen services for the troops in 1941. The USO had a canteen for troops in Union Station.

The station tower was originally built with a cone, but this was later removed because it kept being damaged in storms.

By the late 1940s, the station had fallen into some disrepair and was demolished in the June 1960 with the help of explosives.

The site of the station at 9th and Spruce Streets in 2025

There's nothing left of the station now and it is the site of Indiana State University's Recreation East track and facility.

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In 1899, the station at the junction of 6th and Tippecanoe Streets was closed and a new one built at 7th and Tippecanoe Streets. It opened on July 27, 1899. This was the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway - "The Big Four" - station. It was demolished in December 1986.

The site of the station at 7th and Tippecanoe Streets in 2025

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The Southern Indiana Railway was created in 1897 by John R. Walsh. It arrived in Terre Haute in 1900 and used the Union Station. It built a goods depot at 12th and Crawford Streets.

The site of the goods depot at 12th and Crawford Streets in 2025

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Between 1877 and 1911, several railroads were absorbed into the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company. This company built a depot at the junction of 16th and Hulman Streets. It was destroyed in the tornadoes and floods of March 1913, and not rebuilt.

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There was a Railway Express Agency, railroad parcel parcel delivery service office on 8th Street between Chestnut and Eagle Streets. When the main Union Station on 9th and Spruce Streets was demolished in June 1960 this office became a passenger station. It is now the site of Indiana State University's African American Culture Center.

I think this is the Railway Express Agency office in 1983 when it was being used as Indiana State University's African American Culture Center

The site of the Railway Express Agency office at 8th and Chestnut Streets in 2025

1939 Viquesney map of the railroads, stations and yards in Terre Haute
Click image for enlarged image

A note on the above map:

Interlocking Towers

When two or more tracks met they needed some way of controlling and redirecting the trains that used them. The railroad tower, some railroads called them cabins, housed an interlocking machine that was controlled by an towerman, operator or leverman. The operator would pull various levers, which would in turn would align switches and signals through a series of trackside pipes. These levers were often referred to as "armstrong" levers because you had to have a strong arm in order to operate the machine as the pipes could be up to a mile in length!

The design of the interlocking mechanism allowed the operator to manipulate various levers without permitting conflicting routes and thus preventing accidents. Each interlocking machine was custom designed and built for the specific section of track it was meant to control.

An interesting feature of railroad towers was how they were constructed. The interlocking machine would be installed at the site first, then the frame of the tower would be built around the machine. Interlocking towers were built as two-story structures because of the size and complexity of the interlocking machine. The inner workings of the machine were located on the first floor while the operator was on the second floor.

Over the years nearly all have been replaced by computer controlled switches.

Haley Tower

Haley Tower was built in 1898 by the Evansville and Terre Haute Railway and named after the family that owned the land it was built on. It controlled the crossing point of the C&EI (Chicago & Eastern Illinois), CCC&St.L (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis - Big Four), and Vandalia (Pennsyvania) railways. In 1926, the General Railway Signal Company installed a new interlocking machine with 40 levers. In early 1999, CSX took over Conrail's tracks in the western Indiana area. Work started in September 1999 as crews started replacing the signals and crossovers. It was removed from service on October 22, 1999. On January 14, 2000, the Haley Tower Historical & Technical Society, Inc. had the tower moved 50 feet to their property.

Spring Hill Tower

Spring Hill Tower was built in 1899 by the Southern Indiana Railway. The tower controlled the crossing of the C&EI (Chicago & Eastern Illinois), and E&I (Evansville and Indianapolis) railways. It caught fire in 1911 and was rebuilt in 1912. It was the last lever tower on the CP when it closed in January 1999. In 2001, the Haley Tower Historical & Technical Society, Inc. moved it to the Wabash Valley Railroaders Museum.

The Haley and Spring Hill Towers are now on the Wabash Valley Railroad Museum site controlled some of the railroad lines in Terre Haute.

These things have an interest for me. One of my uncles was a switchman at Bristol Temple Meads in the UK and when I was a boy visited him sometimes at work. I thought he was one of the strongest men in the world because I could barely pull the unlocking handle so the main switch handle could move.

Big Four Bridge

One notable achievement of the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad Company was to build the first railway bridge over the Wabash River at Terre Haute in 1855. Information is sparse about the bridge. I cannot find where it was or if it was the predecessor of the Big Four bridge over the Wabash.

There were several accidents involvingthe bridge. On October 28, 1892, the center span collapse and on February 23, 1900, the wast span of the bridge collapsed.

The Big Four railway bridge over the Wabash River
Images: Vigo County Historical Society - Indiana Memory

Railway Accidents

Given the number of trains around and through Terre Haute, I'm a little surprised that there were so few major accidents. Most of the accidents I've found have been between trains and vehicles or predestrians but there have been a couple of terrific accidents where trains have collided with each other or been derailed.

Apart from engineering failures, many of the accidents were caused by train collisions. Once trains were on their way, there was no way to track them or what they were doing.

I've lived in Terre Haute since 2001, and I keep hearing stories that somewhere in the Wabash River near the city, there's a train and even that at low water the remains of it can be seen.

In October 2001, Mike McCormick recounted the stories of the 1892 and 1900 accidents at the Big Four bridge. At the end of the article he wrote, "For many decades, at least one abandoned locomotive was still visible in the water."

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The Big Four bridge over the Wabash River has been the scene of several accidents. The Industrial History page has some vivid images of the 1892 and 1900 collapses of the Big Four bridge.

On October 28, 1892, Wesley Allison, a resident of Mattoon, Illinois, was operating an eastbound freight express from St. Louis, hauling cattle and perishable freight. It had been scheduled to arrive in Terre Haute at 1:41 am. but was running about five hours behind.

The westbound train had arrived at the Terre Haute freight depot at North Fourth Street about 6:30 a.m. To allow a passenger train to pull onto a siding near the North Seventh Street depot, engineer Jim Flynn edged his vacant train onto the bridge.

Advised that Allison's train No. 42 was expected soon, Flynn dispatched a flagman to the west side of the bridge. Allison's train came around the bend at about 40 miles per hour at around 7:00am. The flag was waved, but Allison responded by blowing the whistle. Inexplicably, the brakes did not, or were not, engaged.

Quickly realizing it would be impossible for Allison to stop, Flynn tried to back up before jumping from the locomotive and crawling onto a stone pier. He reached safety seconds before the collision. The terrified flagman exited the bridge at its west end.

At the moment of impact the engine on the eastbound stock train leaped at least two stories into the air, knocking Flynn's locomotive backward three car lengths. The sound of the collision was succeeded by the deafening crash of the collapsing bridge, moans and bellows from injured and fearful cattle, hissing steam, smoke and flying debris. The center span of the bridge collapsed during the collision.

Except for Allison, personnel on both trains escaped serious injury. Before evacuating his locomotive as it penetrated the bridge, fireman C. P. South urged Allison to jump, too. Conductor J. P. Sturgeon and one brakeman vaulted from the back of the caboose. Two other caboose members safely remained on board.

Four cars from each train tumbled into the river. A car from each dangled at the break. Four cattle cars were full and several head were crushed or so severely injured that they had to be destroyed. One carload survived, swimming to the river bank.

A refrigerator car full of poultry burst and barrels of chicken floated down river.

Severely injured, engineer Allison disappeared into the murky water soon after his locomotive submerged. Despite prolonged searches by Terre Haute diver John Benz and other rescue personnel, his body was not recovered until April 22, 1893.

A steam hoist brought in to clear debris did not work well until the timber was set afire. Nevertheless, partial rail service was restored on November 1.

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On February 23, 1900, fireman Dan Ruddell and engineer Harry Adams, both Indianapolis residents, were in charge of a train that derailed just as it started to cross the bridge due to buckled tracks. The train was en route to Terre Haute from Mattoon, Illinois, loaded with baled cotton, lumber, grain, paper, stove ovens, and general merchandise. Ruddell exclaimed, "My God, look out!" seconds before the derailment.

"We were only going about 10 miles an hour," Adams said later. "But it was too fast to stop under the circumstances."

After being pinned under the wreckage against the boilerhead and severely burned, Ruddell died in St. Anthony's Hospital about 8 pm Friday night. Brakeman George Whiteman's legs were crushed but Adams suffered only minor scrapes. Brakeman Newton Reid maintained sufficient composure to lock the brakes after the disaster, preventing the last 13 cars and two cabooses from cascading into the river.

A trio of tramps escaped from a box car unscathed. Two Terre Haute Boiler Works employees, William Lewis and Isaac Moore, leaped into the river to assist the crew. Telegraph wires attached to the bridge were severed, interrupting communications. A fire erupted in the debris a few hours after the crash, and another one two days later further impeded salvage operations.

At 2:35pm, the west span of the bridge collapsed due to the flow of ice under the bridge and the weight of the 49 carriages making up the wrecked train.

Nearly 600 Big Four employees from Chicago, Indianapolis, Peoria, Cairo and several Michigan cities braved the elements to restore the bridge. Local accommodations for visiting workmen were scarce. Four barges were fabricated to salvage damaged cars.

Grocer Jacob W. Mand, Dr. Jabez Castro, Alex McAfee and J.W. Bridges confiscated drifting cotton bales from the river and claimed a lien for their recovery. The competing Vandalia Railroad graciously allowed the Big Four to use its east-west tracks. Some nonperishable goods were transported on passenger trains. A temporary bridge was ready for rail traffic within two weeks.

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On April 29, 1903 at 7:15pm, three men were killed and 14 injured when the westbound Vandalia Flyer crashed into a switch train at the East Yards, about a mile-and-a-half east of Terre Haute's Union Depot.

The passenger train, under the supervision of engineer Pat Dailey of Terre Haute, consisted of a day coach, a diner and seven Pullman sleepers filled with a delegation heading for St. Louis to attend the World's Fair dedication ceremonies.

Traveling at 60 mph, the locomotive collided head-on with a stationary yard switch engine occupied by engineer Herbert Myers. Both engines were demolished. Dailey, Myers and Vandalia Flyer fireman Frank Meyer saved their lives by leaping from the trains seconds before impact.

The fatalities were baggageman Nicholas E. Lutz of Indianapolis and passengers Alexander McMullen and Robert McMullen of Columbus, Ohio. All were seated in the day coach, which was propelled over the locomotive and splintered into parts.

An inquest conducted by Coroner Frank Tabor and deputy Joseph Frisz concluded that no criminal negligence existed. However, it placed primary blame on the switch engine crew for moving its unit to the main track.

On May 6, a week after the Vandalia accident, Southern Indiana Railroad engineer William E. Montgomery of 809 Oak St. was pinned for five hours when his freight engine derailed and overturned near the Spring Hill switchyard south of the city. Montgomery's leg was crushed.

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Sandford is a small community 10 miles northwest of Terre Haute. On January 21, 1907, a train exploded killing 23 and injuring 30. Terre Haute's True Republican newspaper wrote:

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On January 8, 1913, engine no. 6 and its train were waiting to leve the Union Station yard on 9th and Spruce Streets at 1:45pm. It had arrived at the station 31 minutes late and so was left in the train shed rather than being moved again. Engine no. 5 and its train were running late but not due to arrive at the station until 12:55pm. Being just over an hour late, and there being no speed limit between towns for passenger trains, it was given permission to make its best speed to try and catch up with the timetable, which meant it could go around 80mph until it entered the city.

Engine no. 5 slowed down to 20mph on entering Terre Haute and slowed again to 8mph when it entered the station. Usually, the track through the train shed it was on would be empty but engine no. 6 was still there making steam and smoke so obscuring engine no. 6's view of it. Engine no. 5 was only going at around 8mph when it crashed into the back of engine no. 6's train but trains are heavy and it forced the train forward 125 ft and telescoped the last carriage. What that means is that the last carriage of the train was forced up and through the carriage in front of it.

The accident caused the death of three passengers and two employees, and the injury of seven passengers, four employees, and one dining-car waiter. The accident report found the drivers of both trains at fault. The driver of engine no. 6 for not protecting his train by having a flagman at the rear of it and the driver of engine no. 5 for entering the train shed without being able to see what was in it, in effect not having proper control of his train.

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In March 1913, a massive storm system settled over half of the United States. A wet winter had already saturated the soil in the areas that were going to be flooded in March. On Maundy Thursday, March 20, 1913, the area of high pressure over Ontario started to move east and temperatures throughout the midwest plunged to below freezing. The change in temperature was sudden and unexpected, some places reported a more than 40 degree drop in 4 hours - from 60F to 20F. In the already water saturated ground was frozen solid. Along with the drop in temperature came very high winds, hurricane force winds in excess of 70mph were reported from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan all the way down to Mississippi to Alabama. The storm bought extensive flooding and tornadoes to the affected areas.

The Wabash River rose 32ft over its normal level and the railway bridge over it was lucky to survive.

Terre Haute Flood

Train Wreck

The above postcard was posted in Terre Haute on April 15th, 1913. I do not know if the wreck was caused by the tornado and flood of March 1913. There is a hand written note on the reverse of the card saying that the wreck occured just east of West Terre Haute station on County Route 73.

The following photo were taken of a train wreck in Terre Haute, exactly where or when I do not know.

Train Wreck in Terre Haute
This could be the September 14, 1944 accident
Image: Vigo County Community Collection, Vigo County Public Library, Indiana Memory

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On August 5, 1927, engine no. 8702, its tender, and the first two carriages were derailed in Terre Haute which caused the death of one man and injury to three others.

On railroads, a frog is the point where two tracks cross each other. A guard rail is a piece of track placed opposite the frog to keep the wheels on the tracks, ie to stop a derailment.

Frog and guard rail arrangement at a railroad junction
Image: Wikipedia

On the morning of August 5, the guard rail at one of the junctions was replaced, the work was finished at 11:30am. That afternoon, engine 8702 crossed the junction and jumped the guard rail, derailing it. The accident report said the replacement guard rail was faulty during manufacture.

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Even today, vehicle accidents with trains are fairly common but an horrific one occurred on March 27, 1941 when a gasoline truck with 3,892 gallons of fuel got hit by a train when it crossed the railroad on US Highway 150 in West Terre Haute. According to the accident report, the driver of the truck did not stop at the crossing, did not see the crossing guard and neither saw or heard the train which was just 50 feet away when he started to cross the track. When hit by the train the truck exploded and injured both the train's engineman and the fireman. Although the train braked hard, hard enough to leave flat spots on the wheels, it still took 3,490 feet for it to stop.

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On Thursday, September 14, 1944 at 2:20am, 29 people died in the head-on collision between the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad's luxurious Chicago-Miami Express, the Dixie Flyer, and a northbound mail train about 5 miles north of Terre Haute, just north of Hawthorne Avenue, in thick fog. The two trains were supposed to have passed each other at Atherton, about 10 miles north of Terre Haute, but the Dixie Flyer missed the passing point to turn onto a siding because of the fog.

The Dixie Flyer consisted of the engine, five coaches, seven Pullman sleepers, and two baggage cars. It carried around 600 passengers including 75 Army Air Forces pilots, gunners and radiomen, from the 12th and 15th Army Air Force on their way to Miami, Florida and Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Many of these had just returned from the war in Europe.

The accident was terrific. The first car of the mail train was telescoped into the engine. The baggage car of the Dixie Flyer crashed through one of the Pullman coaches crushing it "like a matchbox." The two baggage cars and three tourist cars of the Dixie Flyer were derailed, as were the first two cars of the mail train.

The first three cars of the passenger train contained army personnel. Some of the them were on furlough and others were en route to Miami for reassignment. All 26 airmen that died were riding in the first car, which was ripped open when the passenger train, speeding through the heavy fog, rammed into the mail train.

The other three that died were crewmen of the Dixie Flyer. These were engineer Frank O. Blair from Farmerssurg, fireman Louis Rousch from Evansville, and porter James C. Turner from Chicago. Frank Blair jumped from the train just before the collision, he landed safely but died at 10am from burns received when the train's boiler burst.

Sixty-five others were reported injured, among them were Charles H. Rohlfer an engineer on the Dixie Flyer who suffered 1st and 2nd degree burns to his left arm and legs.

The Interurban

The Terminal Arcade was built in 1911 on the site of J. S. Evans & Sons bicycle shop. Owned by the Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company the arcade is situated at 820 Wabash Avenue. The Arcade was used as the Interurban Terminal until the service ended in January 1940. After this it was used as the Union Bus Station from 1949 to 1972. The building was then occupied by the The Terminal Restaurant in the mid-80's to 1991, and then reopened as the Terminal Sports & Sprits where it served as a popular sports and college bar for 20 years, closing in 2015. It later reopened and remains in 2025, as a bar, simply named The Terminal.

The Beaux-Arts Arcade is made of terra cotta and brick. It has identical facades on its north and south sides, constructed of limestone and with granite bases. Various designs carved upon the building include lions, garlands, and fruits. The building itself was designed by Daniel H. Burnham of Chicago; the facades were the work of Fred Edler and J. W. Quayle.

The Terminal Arcade
This postcard is dated 1915

To the left of the Arcade in the postcard image above is the Wellington Lunch Room, to the right is Mike's Place.

The Paris-Terre Haute Line was an interurban railway line in Indiana and Illinois and the first operating in Terre Haute. Parts of the service began in 1902 and the final connection of its two terminal cities of Terre Haute, Indiana, and Paris, Illinois, was completed in 1907. It operated until 1932.

The Terre Haute Electric Company founded by William Riley McKeen, Demas Deming, John G. McNutt, John E. Lamb and John Beasley, was incorporated June 23, 1899, to acquire at foreclosure sale the assets of the former Terre Haute Street Railway Company, the enterprise that provided urban trolleys, by mule and electricity, beginning in 1866.

Under the guidance of Russell P. Harrison (President Benjamin Harrison's son), Terre Haute Street Railway Co. had reorganized in 1894 as the Terre Haute Electric Street Railway Company. An Interurban service was offered from Terre Haute to Brazil on September 2, 1900.

Operating under the franchise accorded to the Terre Haute Electric Company, Stone & Webster syndicate of Boston built an interurban line from Terre Haute to West Terre Haute in less than 24 hours on December 1, 1902, after the City Council gave its approval. The cause of the the haste was to forestall a rival group from the use of the streets for a different Terre Haute to Paris, Illinois, line.

Terre Haute Electric was reorganized in June 1903 with $3 million capital as Terre Haute Electric Traction Company to fashion lines radiating from the city. Gardner F. Wells, Ray G. Jenckes, Buena V. Marshall, Bertis McCormick, Samuel C. McKeen, Finlay McNutt and Allen Donham were initial directors. That year, Wells procured a franchise to build a line to Dana, Farm Ridge and Clinton.

On May 18, 1904, the company name was changed to Terre Haute Traction & Light Company. Meanwhile, Terre Haute capitalist William P. ljams acquired the $800,000 interurban franchise between Terre Haute and Sullivan.

The line was extended to St. Mary's by 1905, and two power plants were built in Terre Haute, one at 9th and Cherry Streets one on Water Street. The interurban rails were raised on viaducts over the existing Big Four and Vandalia railway tracks. On January 7, 1907, the Terre Haute & Western Railway company was incorporated in Illinois to build from Sandford, Indiana, to Paris, Illinois, a distance of 10.5 miles (16.9 km). The Terre Haute to Sanford section was built by the Terre Haute Traction & Light Company in the same year and began service in October. The line was actually operated by the Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company, which leased the Terre Haute Traction & Light Company.

Until the end of World War I, electric transit flourished. THI&E ralls covered 454.7 miles during the era. Interurban cars were named after local schools and local people. Such as:

Car no. No. 110 - John I. Hays
112 - Indlana State Normal or Indiana State Teachers College
114 - Garfield High School
116 - St. Mary-of-the-Woods
118 - Chauncey Rose School
120 - Gerstmeyer Technical High School
121 - William R. McKeen
122 - Wiley High School
123 - Marietta Grover
124 - William Penn

Each stop adopted a name and number. However, as more roads were paved, automobiles eroded the interurban's popularity. Attempts at merger failed and soon after the stock market crashed, THI&E went into receivership.

Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Cars 44 and 39 in 1930

Chicago tycoon Samuel Insull came to the rescue. Insull's Midwest United Corp.oration purchased THI&E's assets at a foreclosure sale on June 23. 1930, for $2.5 million. The company was made a part of Insull's Indiana Railroad, the nation's largest Interurban with 956 track miles. Unprofitable lines and services were abandoned but money woes endured. A six-week strike in 1937 brought Indiana Rallroad to its knees.

The urban electric trolley service in Terre Haute ceased on October 31. 1939. Interurban passenger service in the Terre Haute and surrounding areas terminated on January 11, 1940. The Indiana Railroad emerged from receivership in June 1941, persevering for a while as a bus company and maintaining a freight line between the Milwaukee Rallroad in Terre Haute and the Binkley mine in Clay County.

Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Car
Image: Ralph W. Stark Heritage Center Lebanon Public Library, Indiana Memory

Sources and Resources

Railway companies:

A&TH - Attica and Terre Haute Railroad
CCC&St.L - Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis - The Big Four
C&EI - Chicago and Eastern Illinois
CM&StP - Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul
CTH&SE - Chicago, Terre Haute and Southeastern
E&C - Evansville and Crawfordsville
E&I - Evansville and Indianapolis
E&TH - Evansville and Terre Haute
ETH&C - Evansville, Terre Haute and Chicago
IM - Illinois Midland
I&LM - Indiana and Lake Michigan
I&StL - Indianapolis and St. Louis
Paris&TH - Paris and Terre Haute
SI - Southern Indiana
StLA&TH - St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute
StLV&TH - St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute
TH&A - Terre Haute and Alton
TH&C - Terre Haute and Cincinnati
TH&I - Terre Haute and Indianapolis
TH&L - Terre Haute and Logansport
TH&P - Terre Haute and Peoria
TH&SE - Terre Haute and Southeastern
THA&StL - Terre Haute, Alton and St. Louis
TH&R - Terre Haute and Richmond
Vandalia (Pennsyvania)

1944 - Sep 14, passenger train & mail train collide head-on in heavy fog - Deadly American Disasters
A brief History of Vandalia Railroad - Lake Maxinkuckee Its Intrigue History & Genealogy
Big Four Memories - Railroads of Madison County by Roger P. Hensley. A marvelous history of the Big Four Railroad, including many photos from Terre Haute
Big Four over Wabash River at Terre Haute, IN - Industrial History. This page has some vivid images of the 1900 collapse of the Big Four bridge
Big Four Train Blown to Bits - True Republican, January 23, 1907
Classic Railroad Stations In Terre Haute - Google My Maps
Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad - Wikipedia
Haley Tower - Railfan Guides
Haley Tower - RR Signal Pix
Haley Tower Historical & Technical Society
Historical perspectives: 'Little old yellow box' - Indiana Memory
Historical perspectives: Railroad accidents dominated local newspaper headlines - Indiana Memory
Historical perspectives: Train wreck kills 29 - Indiana Memory
Historical perspective: Vigo County's interurban epic more than drab statistics - Indiana Memory
Indiana Railroad (1930-1941) - Trains and Railroads
Indiana Railroads: State Map, History, Abandoned Lines - American Rails
Indiana Vs. Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad - Indiana Transportation History
List of Indiana railroads - Wikipedia
Milwaukee Road Railraod - Terre Haute division - A Facebook group with lots of good information
Paris-Terre Haute Line - Wikipedia
Push and Pull of the Hoosier Partisans and Cleveland Clique - Untold Indiana
Railroad Maps, Indiana Department of Transportation
Railroad Stations, Towers, Tunnels, Bridges - Railfan Guides
Recalling the days of the Big Four - Indiana Memory
S. Sgt. W. E. West, 1923 - 1944 - Watertown Historical Society
St Louis Alton and Terre Haute Railroad - Untold Indiana
Spring Hill Tower - RR Signal Pix
Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad - Untold Indiana
Terre Haute and Richmond Rail Road - Untold Indiana
Terre Haute Indiana - TrainWeb - A nice collection of the Big Four station pictures
Terre Haute known as railroad hub - Indiana Memory
Terre Haute Union Street - Wikipedia
Terre Haute, IN: Union Station (Pennsy/Vandalia+C&EI) - Towns and Nature
Terre Haute, Indiana - Wikipedia
Terre Haute, Indianapolis and Eastern Traction Company - Wikipedia
Terre Haute's electric trolley service began Jan. 6, 1892 - Indiana Memory
The Interurban Transportation system - Indiana Memory
U.S. At War: Back Home in Indiana - Time magazine
Vandalia Railroad (1905-1917) - Wikipedia
Wabash Valley Railroad Museum
Walking tour - Wabash Valley Railroad Museum