05/27/2026
The first “Far West Spring Meeting” in Huntington IN on May 22nd and 23rd went very well! There were almost 40 attendees including presenters in the Huntington Historical Society meeting room.
The presentations were great with fulfilling subjects about what used to exist between Marion Ohio, to near Chicago. Unfortunately, most of the EL is long gone, and Norfolk Southern wishes that it was still a through route.
A big thanks to members Paul and Holly Marken for organizing and maintaining the event, and to the presenters.
Here is part of the write-up that Paul has composed for an upcoming Extra Board in the Diamond magazine:
Our meeting began with an open house of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society shop in New Haven. Attendees were able to see where Nickel Plate 765 is maintained and housed in the winter. There were also several other pieces of equipment stored on the property that were available for close inspection, including 3 restored cabooses, and New York Central’s Great Steel Fleet awaiting restoration.
Saturday’s presentations began with Craig Berndt, local railroad historian and author of several books on ‘ghost railroads’ in Northern Indiana. Craig’s presentation was on the Chicago and Atlantic Rail Way. The Chicago and Atlantic built the railroad between Marion, OH and Hammond, IN at the state line. The first 8.9 miles between Huntington and Markle, IN were constructed as 36” narrow gauge in 1878-1879. There was one narrow gauge 4-4-0 locomotive operating on this section. Between 1881 and 1883 the line was built as standard gauge between Marion, OH and the Indiana-Illinois state line. Craig shared many maps and early photographs of the line between Marion and Chicago.
Next up was Wally Mattes. Walley is a tower and junction expert who shared un updated version of his slides on the EL junctions between Marion, OH and Huntington, IN. Wally has a great collection of photos of towers, switch machines, controls, and signals. He also educated the group on the history of each tower, how it was upgraded over the years, and nuances of their operations.
After Wally, Sara Kirby, ex-NASA rocket scientist who now works at the Huntington Library, gave a short overview of the Erie/Erie Lackawanna artifacts displayed at the Library a few blocks away, including the blue prints of the rail yard in Huntington.
Participants were given a choice of box lunches and had the opportunity to explore Huntington, including eating their lunch at a city park on the site of the EL railroad yard, visiting the EL bridge that is now a walking path, visiting the library’s history room or exploring the many Erie/EL railroad artifacts preserved at the historical society. The historical society also has an HO scale layout depicting the EL yard in Huntington.
After lunch, Wally Mattes again returned to the stage to show us all the junctions between Huntington and Hammond, IN. Wally’s information is very thorough and informative and was of great interest to those gathered.
Our presentations concluded with long-time member Rich Behrendt sharing photos of the Erie Lackawanna from Kent to Marion. Rich always has great photos and does a wonderful job of presenting.
