Monon Railroad - Timeline

Timeline

• 1847: The New Albany and Salem Railroad is organized with James Brooks as president.
• 1854: The NA&S trackage stretches from the Ohio River (at New Albany) to the Great Lakes (at Michigan City).
• 1859: The overextended and struggling NA&S is renamed the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railroad.
• April 30, 1865: The LNA&C becomes one of twenty railroads to haul Abraham Lincoln's funeral train, from Lafayette, Indiana to Michigan City, Indiana.
• 1873: The LNA&C Railroad is reorganized as the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago Railway.
• 1881: The LNA&C consolidates with the Chicago and Indianapolis Air Line Railway, and the trackage of the new division is soon extended to reach into its namesake cities.
• July 1, 1897: The LNA&C is reorganized as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway.
• 1932: The 300 pound (136 kg) Monon Bell is first presented as the trophy of the annual football matchup between DePauw University and Wabash College.
• 1946: John W. Barriger III becomes President of the Monon, bringing aggressive plans for modernization.
• June 29, 1949: Final day of steam locomotive service, as the Monon becomes one of the first Class I railroads to fully convert to diesel motive power.
• January 11, 1956: The CI&L officially adopts its longtime nickname, Monon, as corporate title.
• 1959: The Monon's passenger service between Chicago, Illinois and Indianapolis, Indiana is discontinued. By 1965, only the Thoroughbred remained, with its single daily roundtrip from Chicago to Louisville.
• September 30, 1967: Final day of regularly scheduled passenger train service on the Monon.
• July 31, 1971: The Monon is merged into the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
• 1999: Portions of the line around Indianapolis were converted to a bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the Monon Trail.