Nickle Plate

1881 - February 3 - The Seney Syndicate, headed by banker George I. Seney, met at Seney's New York City bank and organized the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company on February 3, 1881. The original proposal for the NYC&StL was a 340-mile (550 km) railroad west from Cleveland, Ohio, to Chicago, Illinois, with a 325-mile (523 km) branch to St. Louis, Missouri.

On April 13, 1881, the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company bought the Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago Railway, a railroad that had been surveyed from the west side of Cleveland, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, running parallel to William Vanderbilt's Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway.

During a newspaper war to attract the NYC&St.L, the Norwalk, Ohio, Chronicle Newspaper referred to it as a "... double-track, nickel-plated railroad." The railroad adopted the nickname and it became better known as the Nickel Plate Road.

It was decided that building would start along the surveyed route between Cleveland and Buffalo rather than build the branch to St. Louis. Five hundred days later, the Nickel Plate's 513-mile (826 km) single-track mainline from Buffalo to Chicago was complete.

The Nickel Plate ran its first trains over the entire system on October 16, 1882.

On October 25, 1882, (a few days after the first trains ran) the Seney Syndicate sold the Nickel Plate to Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt transferred it to his Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. However, Vanderbilt had a problem: he could not run the business into the ground or it would fall into receivership and someone else would buy it. He could not close the Nickel Plate either because it cost a fortune to buy. So, the Nickel Plate Road did business, but just enough to keep it solvent. By the advent of the 1920s, the Nickel Plate was an obscure line that earned its keep through the transfer of freight from other rail connections. In late 1915, the Attorney General of the United States advised the New York Central that its control of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and the Nickel Plate was in violation of the Federal antitrust laws. On February 1, 1916, Alfred Smith called his friends, the Van Sweringens, and offered them the Nickel Plate. They bought it for $8.5 million on April 13, 1916. In return for operating concessions and access to certain stations, they put up only a little over $500,000 but they controlled 75% of Nickel Plate's voting stock.

On December 29, 1937, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway gained control of the Nickel Plate

After the war, in 1947, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway ended its control of the Nickel Plate when it sold off its remaining shares.

1964 - Oct 16 the Nickel Plate Road and several other midwestern carriers were merged into the larger Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). The goal of the N&W expansion was to form a more competitive and successful system serving 14 states and the Canadian province of Ontario on more than 7,000 miles (11,000 km) of railroad

1982 - the profitable N&W was combined with the also profitable Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern (NS)

1882: Stations planned at Hibbard, Rutland, Burr Oak

1882 - Watering Place on the Nickel Plated Road

1883 - Sep 18 - Our Southern Oulet... The Indianapolis Journal says:... "A connection with the Nickle-plate, three miles north of Marmont, will be made by October 5,...

1883 - Oct 6 - The Vandaiia railroad company commenced laying iron at Marmount a day or two ago, and within a short time the tract will be completed from Maxinkuckee lake to the Nickle Plate railroad, a distance of about three miles,- Logansport Pharos Tribune

1883 - Oct 29 - The willingness with which the Nickle Plate people allowed tha Vandalia company to cross its track at a point above Maxinkuckee is a matter of favorable comment The last few years it has been the disgraceful features of railway management that no line was constructed without the Interference of the older roads, either by vexatious legal obstacles or by bold infractions of the peace, more especially it likely to be a competitor. - Logansport Pharos Tribune

1884 March 21 - The station at the point where the T. & L. division of the Vandalia crosses the Nickle-plate road,has been named Hibbard, to honor to the general freight agent of the Vandalia - Logansport Journal

1916	1957
1960

1890 - Sep 5 - Lake Maxinkuckee bids fair to become a much more important pleasure resort next year than heretofore. Wealthy citizens, of Chicago have, proposed to Nickle-Plate that if it will build a four-mile branch from its main line to the lake they will erect some fine summer residences there, and as the Nickel-Plate can build the four miles at small cost, comparatively speaking, doubtless the arrangement will be made. -- Bremen Enquirer

1895 - Jan 23 - An effort is being made to induce the Nickel-Plate to build a branch road to Lake Maxinkuckee, a meeting for that purpose being held yesterday at Mrs. Lord's bome at Marmont -- Logansport Pharos Tribune.

1939 - Jan 4 - NICKEL PLATE TRAIN WRECK; SEVERAL SPECTATORS INJURED FROM EXPLOSION

The tranquility of what promised to be a very quiet New Year's Eve for the community was broken Saturday evening about 5:45 when a freight train wreck occurred on the main line of the Nickel Plate railroad about a mile east of town at the end of the passing track.

The train, in charge of Conductor Eisle and Engineer Stauffer, was on the passing track for a fast freight to pass them when one of those things which apparently happens for no reason at all occurred, throwing the engine, tender, rider caboose and seven n cars of an 85-car train off the track.

The fireman and engineer stayed with the engine and escaped without injury. Brakeman Darnelly sustained a sprained back and slight injuries. Other injuries sustained, because of the wreckwere to local people when the explosion of the gasoline tank car occurred.

Of the seven cars involved, one destroyed contained lumber; another was 1 aded with white sand; the gasoline tank car, capacity unavailable but containing at least 10,000 gallons; the other four were empty box cars and gondolas, one of which burned.

The explosion of the tank car occurred about an hour after the wreck and by that time quite a crowd of people had gathered closely around the wreck. When the combustion of fumes came, a great ball of fire arose in the air far above the tree tops and was wafted across the fields by the wind.

The light from the huge fire ball was so strong that it illuminated Lake Maxinkuckee sufficiently that a newsboy crossing the ice on his bicycle saw his shadow.

Gasoline was sprayed over the bystanders who had not heeded the warning of the workmen or who had not retired far enough away from the scene and several received bad burns to hands, face and clothing. Among those most seriously burned who received treatment from local phys?cians were Arthur Sherland, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Ruffing, J. R. Berry, Mrs. Harley Spray and a Mr. and Mrs. Carson and son of near Plymouth.

Wrecking crews from Fort Wayne and Stoney Island were soon on hand and train schedules were disrupted only a few hours.

The ten rails of track torn up were soon replaced by the workmen who worked all night and all day Sunday with little or no relief and the wreckage was removed as speedily as possible.

When the cars overturned they piled up on one another, the engine nosed off in the earth tearing a great hole in the ground and laid so far away from the track that it gave the crand crew considerable trouble to get it back on the track and was the last of the wrekage to be removed. Both the engine and tender will be put back in service after undergoing the necessary overhauling and repairing.

Damages have been estimated at from $20,000 to $80,000 but a conservative estimate of from $35,000 to $40,000 will probably cover the loss.

The morning after the crash occurred neighbors living near reported a shower of rivets from the gasoline tank car in their yards; others a mile or more distant told of gasoline being thrown on their cars from the explosion.

While it was a bad wreck and an expensive one, it was truly fortunate that no lives were lost and no one seriously injured. - Wed., Argos Reflector

1895: Nickel Plate Railroad considers building branch line, Burr Oak to Culver

1896 - Oct 8 - We learn from the Marmont Herald that the Nickel Plate road will build a spur to Maxinkuckee -- Argos Reflector

1897: Nickel Plate operates eight passenger trains daily. In 1898 their trains featured Wagner Sleeping Cars and Diner.

1899 - There is talk of the Nickel-Plate road extending its line in here next year, and now and then a rumor that the Erie will also come it. The first would have to build a span about four miles. They would strike the lake on opposite sides. - Harry DeVitte - Sep 9 1899, Indianapolis News

1908 - Feb 3 - Large quantities of ice are being put up at Lake Maxinkuckee in anticipation of the construction of a Nickel Plate spur to the lake-- Fort Wayne News And Sentinel

1918: November 17th, - Nickel Plate passenger train and freight train in head-on collision at Burr Oak. Rescue efforts hampered by 10-ft. snow drifts.

Some of the Local employees of the Nickle Plate:
Harry D. Winkler

Harry C. Wise

Ralph Cleveland Wickizer