Historical Images of Porter County

P.F.W. & C.R.W. Depot
Wheeler, Indiana

Date: Circa 1910
Source Type: Postcard
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Sigler and Jones
Postmark: None
Collection: Clarence and Helen (Reimer) Brown
Remark: This image shows the depot for the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway in Wheeler, Indiana. The depot ceased operation on August 15, 1931, due to lack of freight and passenger traffic. The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major segment of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. On July 26, 1856, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail Road was formed as a consolidation of the Fort Wayne and Chicago, Ohio and Indiana, and Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads. Railroad construction passed through Wheeler in 1858. Railroad officials were going to change the route from Valparaiso and Wheeler to LaPorte, but were persuaded by a grouped of Valparaiso citizens, and in particular T. A. E. Campbell who platted the village of Wheeler, to keep the original route plans through Valparaiso and Wheeler in place. On July 1, 1859, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail Road defaulted on its debt and was sold at foreclosure on October 24, 1861. The line was then reorganized as the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway on February 26, 1862. On July 1, 1869, the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway and directly operated on the line until April 1, 1871, when the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was transferred to the newly-formed Pennsylvania Company. On February 1, 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad was merged into Penn Central; the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway running through Wheeler, however, remained separate and filed for bankruptcy on July 14, 1973, after the Penn Central filed for bankruptcy in 1970. One April 1, 1976, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway running through Wheeler became part of Conrail. On June 2, 1994, Norfolk Southern Railway purchased 18 miles of track from Gary to Valparaiso, which included the track through Wheeler, for $1.4 million; this 18 miles of track had been out of service since 1991. When Conrail was broken up on August 22, 1998, track running through Wheeler came under the ownership of CSX Transportation.

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