Calumet (train)

Calumet
Overview
Service type Commuter rail
Status Discontinued
Predecessor Unnamed Conrail service
First service October 29, 1979
Last service May 3, 1991
Former operator(s) Amtrak
Route
Start Chicago
Stops 7
End Valparaiso
Distance travelled 44 miles (71 km)
Average journey time 1 hour 20 minutes
Service frequency Daily (weekdays only)
Train number(s) 322, 323
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Legend
 Dist. Station
 0 mi Chicago
7.0 mi 
11.3 km 
 Englewood
14.6 mi 
23.5 km 
 State Line
 IN/IL border
16.0 mi 
25.7 km 
 Hammond–Whiting
16.8 mi 
27 km 
 Whiting
17.3 mi 
27.8 km 
 Standard
18.9 mi 
30.4 km 
 Mahoning
19.9 mi 
32 km 
 Indiana Harbor
21.5 mi 
34.6 km 
 Buffington
25.0 mi 
40.2 km 
 Gary
27.4 mi 
44.1 km 
 Gary-Broadway
33.1 mi 
53.3 km 
 Hobart
37.0 mi 
59.5 km 
 Wheeler
43.6 mi 
70.2 km 
 Valparaiso

The Calumet, also commonly called the Valpo Local, was a 43.6-mile (70.2 km) passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and Valparaiso, Indiana.[1] Despite Amtrak's mandate to provide only intercity service, the Calumet was a commuter train. Transferred from Conrail in 1979, the full route was shared with Amtrak's Broadway Limited until 1990; the Calumet was discontinued the next year.

History

Penn Central Railroad Passenger Timetable (Form 6) showing the Valparaiso local service on one side, the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter service on the other.

The service first ran August 30, 1869, called the Chicago–Valparaiso Accommodation, though usually colloquially referred to as the "Valpo Local" or "The Dummy",[1] by the Pennsylvania Railroad on its Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, its main line from Pittsburgh west to Chicago. From April 1, 1871, until January 1, 1920, the Pennsylvania Company operated the line.[2] After that it returned to direct operation by the Pennsylvania Railroad until February 1, 1968, when the PRR was merged into Penn Central Transportation. By that point, the route operated as a rush-hour commuter service, with two trains traveling from Valparaiso to Chicago at 5:55 AM and 6:35 AM and two trains returning from Chicago to Valparaiso at 5:00 PM and 5:40 PM [3]

With the May 1, 1971, startup of Amtrak, all Penn Central intercity trains were taken over by Amtrak, but Penn Central continued to run commuter trains in several metropolitan areas, including the Valpo Local.

The bankrupt Penn Central merged into Conrail on April 1, 1976, which continued operations until 1979, at which point Amtrak took over.[4] The route was also served by the daily Broadway Limited to New York City, and on October 1, 1981, the daily Capitol Limited to Washington, DC, began using it. At first the Valpo Local was served by two daily trains, the Calumet and the Indiana Connection; the Indiana Connection was discontinued first.

Due to Conrail's desire to abandon part of the former PRR main line, the Broadway Limited and Capitol Limited were rerouted respectively onto the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and New York Central Railroad lines on November 11, 1990, leaving about half of the Calumet route with no other service.[5] Amtrak announced that it would discontinue the Calumet on December 31.[6] Representative Peter J. Visclosky introduced H.R. 5660 to require Amtrak to continue operations until July 1, 1991 to allow time for the State of Indiana to consider subsidizing the route. The date was changed to May 6 and the mandate was included in S. 3012, an amendment to the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, signed into law November 28, 1990, by George H. W. Bush as Public Law No. 101-641. Indiana decided not to pay the required $1.5 million a year,[7] and the weekday-only Calumet last ran Friday, May 3, 1991.[8]

Commuter service from Chicago into northern Indiana is still provided by the South Shore Line, operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District over its own alignment, whose closest stop is 15 miles from Valparaiso, closer to Lake Michigan. Valparaiso residents can reach it using the Orange Line route, but it only operates Friday–Sunday. They can also take ChicaGo Dash express bus to Chicago during weekday rush hours. The Valparaiso stop is located in Franklin House, near the location of the now-demolished Valpo Local station.

On August 1, 2004, the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad started freight operations over the old route of the Calumet and beyond.

Station stops

The Calumet and Indiana Connection were assigned numbers between 321 and 324, with odd numbers running westbound and even numbers eastbound. Trains made the following station stops (some of which closed prior to Amtrak's takeover of the route):[9]

Illinois
Indiana

References

  1. 1 2 Christopher T. Baer, PRR Chronology - 1869 (PDF)
  2. ↑ Interstate Commerce Commission, Corporate Genealogy - Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago
  3. ↑ Dorin, Patrick C. (1969). Commuter Railroads: A Pictorial Review of the Most Travelled Trains. New York: Bonanza Books. OCLC 14408290.
  4. ↑ Chicago Commuter Equipment from the Recent Past
  5. ↑ Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, Trains June 1991
  6. ↑ Peter J. Visclosky, Keep Commuter Rail on Track (September 18, 1990)
  7. ↑ The Times, $1.5 million annually needed to keep Valpo-Chicago Amtrak, November 22, 1990
  8. ↑ Arrivals and Departures, Trains July 1991
  9. ↑ March 3, 1971 and April 30, 1972 timetables
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