Train no. 472

NG503016

Train no. 472

Steam M&E train

A portion of the "skyline" of downtown Indianapolis, dominated by the Merchants Bank building with its overbearing TV antenna, shows here beyond the dog-eared countenance of engine 3113. The latter is heading no. 472 on the complex of Indianapolis Union trackage at Last Street, just east of Union Station (whose shed is barely visible in the background, to the left of the train). The low roofed building to the left and forward of the station is "A" tower, from which the interlocking at the east end of the depot is controlled (the switches at the west end are all hand-operated). The track descending steeply on the extreme left is the lead to the B&O freight house, and next to it on the right is the lead to the NYC freight house. Immediately east of this location, there is a three-way split, with the "B-line" curving slightly to the north, the Pennsylvania and the B&O heading due east, and the Indiana Division to Cincinnati swinging sharply to the south. The NKP and Monon use the "B-line" right-of-way as far as Massachusetts Avenue interlocking, 1.9 miles from the depot (this is a stretch of paired track; the NKP owns the westbound main between Massachusetts Avenue and the I.U. connection). The 3113 above, a favorite of engine crews for some time because of her riding and steaming qualities, was scrapped after a truck got in her path near Middletown, Ohio, while she was handling no. 303.

Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor

2-1/4x3-1/4 neg

Spring, 1955

To buy a copy of this photograph; click here NG503016

438

L-4a

#3113

Lima

B-Line, Indianapolis, IN

See NG503016a