Hoosier Central Railroad

Sub forum for Paper Railroads
User avatar
Y@
Ass. Janitor
Posts: 5588
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:37 pm

Hoosier Central Railroad

Unread post by Y@ »

The Hoosier Central (reporting marks HOCR) is a privately owned shortline operating roughly 60 miles of track in southeast Indiana. The railroad is made up of 33 miles of a former Monon branchline running between Gerard and Verona, Indiana, the northern and southern ends of the railroad, as well as 28 miles of former Bowling Green Southern trackage between Moor Hill and Greenley, Indiana, the western and eastern ends of the railroad. Below are detailed descriptions of the two branchlines.

The former Monon trackage, known as "the Monon" to most crews and locals, covers 33 miles and connects with the WI&I. North of Gerard, the tracks have been removed, but due to the presence of several online customers, the segment south of Gerard was kept after the Monon was merged into the L&N system in 1971. This trackage was operated under the Verona & Northern name from 1972 to 1989 before being briefly abandoned until the startup of the Hoosier Central in 1990. The line runs south from Gerard through the towns of Red Lake, Keene, Burton (main HOCR base), Ellerbridge, Creston (interchange point with the WI&I), and finally Verona. South of Verona the line is severed. A total of 9 customers are served on this 33 mile segment of track, the largest being the 3M plant in Verona. This is the only customer south of the WI&I crossing in Creston and is a major source of revenue for the Hoosier Central. The plant is switched at least six days a week and often requires an extra job to work on Sunday. At Creston, the former Monon crosses the Western Illinois & Iowa's Louisville to Evansville mainline. A local from Louisville works the interchange here regularly on weekdays and some Saturdays as well. North of Creston, the two HOCR branchlines cross and connect, and the former Monon yard here is the main base of operations for the railroad. All crews report here before either getting on their train or being cabbed to one of the ends of the railroad. There is a two stall enginehouse with a pit on either track where any regular maintenance on road power takes place.

The former BGS trackage, known as "the Southern" to most crews and locals, covers 28 miles and connects with CSX. The line was put up for sale in 1989 and purchased by the HOCR shortly after their startup in 1990. From the west end of track at Moor Hill, the line continues east through the towns of Glenburn, East Rowland, Burton (main HOCR base), Coventry, Little Tree and finally Greenley where interchange is done with CSX. The line used to continue into Louisville, but now ends at the CSX interchange. A total of 6 customers are served on this 28 mile segment of track, the largest being the Ashland Minerals plant near Coventry. The plant is switched every weekday.

Below is a complete list of online customers.

3M Company - Verona
Ashland Minerals - Coventry
Certified Machine Works - Greenley
Creston Metals - Creston
Oldecastle Precast - Gerard
Indiana Farmers Co-Op - Burton
Johnson & Johnson - Gerard
Moor Hill Co-Op - Moor Hill
Southern Indiana Iron - Greenley
Stihl Incorporated - Gerard
Ohio Valley Grain - Moor Hill
Omni Source Scrap - Burton
Rambard Foundry - Gerard
United Distribution - Coventry
Wal-Mart Distribution Center - East Rowland

Since 1990, the Hoosier Central has acquired a group of secondhand EMD's and all of them have been painted into the green and yellow scheme chosen by the original group of owners at the startup. Below is a complete engine roster.

EMD GP7 - #115 (Former DTSL #42)
EMD GP9 - #153 (Former DT&I #985)
EMD GP9 - #154 (Former MP #4340)
EMD GP16 - #161 (Former SBD #4718)
EMD GP16 - #166 (Former SBD #4723)
EMD GP18 - #188 (Former N&W #2703, exx NKP #703)
EMD GP20 - #200 (Former SP #7235)
EMD GP20 - #220 (Former ATSF #1128)
EMD GP30 - #300 (Former GM&O #518, retains AAR type-B trucks)
EMD GP30 - #304 (Former DRGW 3027)

More to come.
Bottom text.

User avatar
Y@
Ass. Janitor
Posts: 5588
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:37 pm

Re: Hoosier Central Railroad

Unread post by Y@ »

A little more detail on railroad ops.

Six days a week, the HOCR has three regular crews on duty, two day crews and one evening crew. The two day crews each go on duty at 06:00 every morning, with the evening crew going on duty at 16:00 every afternoon. All crews report to the offices in Burton before taking one of the company cars to their train. Sets of two or three engines are used on each job most of the time. If not already in Burton, crews will cab to one of the following three towns to get their train; Gerard, Verona, or Moor Hill. One day crew will normally work on the north end of the Monon, while the other works the entire former BGS branch. The evening crew will work from Burton south nearly every day.

As of the Independence Day weekend shutdown, the ten HOCR units were located in the following places.

HOCR 115: Assigned to the south end evening job in Verona.
HOCR 153: Assigned to the west end day job in Moor Hill.
HOCR 154: Assigned to the south end evening job in Verona.
HOCR 161: Assigned to the north end day job in Gerard.
HOCR 166: Out of service waiting for engine work in Burton.
HOCR 188: Assigned to the west end day job in Moor Hill.
HOCR 200: Assigned to the north end day job in Gerard.
HOCR 220: Unassigned in Burton.
HOCR 300: Assigned to the north end day job in Gerard.
HOCR 304: Assigned to an extra ballast train in Burton.
Bottom text.

Post Reply