Elkhart & Western History
The Elkhart & Western Railroad Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp, is a Class III short-line railroad operating three unconnected lines in northern Indiana. The first, the Elkhart Branch, is in and around the city of Elkhart in Elkhart County, the second, the Argos Branch, radiates from Argos in Marshall County, and the third, the Monon Branch, operating from Monon to Monticello in White County.
Pioneer Railcorp (reporting mark PREX) created the Elkhart & Western Railroad, on May 1, 2001, from a 10-mile (16 km) stretch of the Michigan Southern Railroad. The Elkhart Branch begins at its junction with the Norfolk Southern Railway near the center of Elkhart, then crosses the St. Joseph River which it follows westward, and finally ends 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.
In January 2018, CSX sold 9.58 miles of track running from Monon to Monticello to E&W. Operations began in August serving the only customer on the line: Monticello Farm Service.
Elkhart & Western Locomotives
|
|
| Number
|
Model
|
Year(s) Built
|
History
|
Notes
|
| Argos Division Locomotives
|
| PREX 1600
|
GP16
|
1952
|
Ex-ALAB 1600/CSX 1709/SBD 4609/CRR 914.
|
Assigned to the Argos Branch. To be scrapped soon?
|
| PREX 1606
|
GP16
|
1956
|
Ex-KJRY 1606/CSX 1714/SBD 4614/SCL 4614/SAL 1972.
|
Assigned to the Argos Branch.
|
| PREX 1608
|
GP16
|
1951
|
Ex-DT 1608/CSX 1770/SCL 4724/SCL 845/ACL 225.
|
Arrived 2021. Assigned to the Argos Branch.
|
| Elkhart Division Locomotives
|
| PREX 911
|
GP9
|
1959
|
Ex-MCTA 911/MCTA 315/MNVA 315/MILW 315.
|
Assigned to the Elkhart Branch.
|
| PREX 912
|
GP9
|
1957
|
Ex-WC 1702/FRVR 1702/CNW 4503/CNW 1742.
|
Assigned to the Elkhart Branch.
|
| Monon Division Locomotives
|
| PREX 1601
|
GP16
|
1951
|
Ex-ALAB 1601/CSX 1786/ACL 233.
|
Assigned to the Monon Branch.
|
|
Argos Branch Customers
- Runs from IN-104 in Walkerton to Rochester (serving Plymouth and Argos).
Interchanges
- Interchanges with NS at Argos.
- Interchanges with CFE at Plymouth.
|
|
| Customer
|
Location
|
Company Description
|
Type of Railcar
|
Notes
|
| Opta Minerals
|
Walkerton
|
Industrial Minerals
|
Covered Hoppers
|
|
| Pregis
|
Plymouth
|
Packaging Products
|
Covered Hoppers
|
|
| Rochester Iron & Metal
|
Rochester
|
Scrapyard
|
Gondolas
|
|
| Wilson Fertilizer & Grain
|
Rochester
|
Grain Elevator & Fertilizer Terminal
|
Covered Hoppers/Tank Cars
|
|
| Prairie Mills Products
|
Rochester
|
Grain Based Food Products
|
Covered Hoppers
|
|
|
Elkhart Branch Customers
- Runs from the NS Interchange in Elkhart to Currant Road in Mishawaka.
Interchanges
- Interchanges with NS at Elkhart.
|
|
| Customer
|
Location
|
Company Description
|
Type of Railcar
|
Notes
|
| Ozinga
|
Elkhart
|
Concrete Products
|
Covered Hoppers
|
Coming online in 2021.
|
| Barnhart
|
Elkhart
|
Warehousing & Logistics
|
Boxcars/Centerbeam Flatcars/Covered Hoppers
|
|
| Huttig Building Products
|
Elkhart
|
Building Products
|
Boxcars
|
|
| Buzzi Unicem
|
Elkhart
|
Cement Plant
|
Covered Hoppers
|
|
| Bronx Transload
|
Mishawaka
|
Transload Facility
|
Covered Hoppers
|
|
|
Monon Branch Customers
- Runs from the CSX Interchange in Monon to Monticello.
Interchanges
- Interchanges with CSX at Monon.
|
|
| Customer
|
Location
|
Company Description
|
Type of Railcar
|
Notes
|
| Monticello Farm Services
|
Monticello
|
Agricultural Products & Fertilizer
|
Covered Hoppers/Tank Cars
|
|
|
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