The city also has a long history of being a travel hub
for the region. In 1858 the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne, and Chicago Railroad
reached Valparaiso and connected the city directly to Chicago. By 1910 an
interurban railway had connected the city to Gary IN. Today, while thecity no longer
has a passenger train station, it is still very much a part of the "Crossroads
of America" due to its proximity to I-94, I-80, I-90, and I-65.
Until 1991 Valparaiso was the terminal of
Amtrak'sCalumet
commuter service. The links will take you to Wikipedia pages on those railroads.
The Amtrak station in town is no longer in use - The closest station looks to be in Michigan City.
Over on the west side of town, you have a couple of diamonds (green arrows), and a crossover (blue arrow).
If I ever get any additional information, maybe the page will develop into a real guide.
Acknowledgements:
Google Maps
Bing Maps
Wikipedia
Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
More into on Valparaiso is here
http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/valparaiso.htm Info and Pictures of the
Amtrak station are from this page
Valparaiso is about 20 miles southeast of Gary, and about 50 miles from Chicago. There are no major hiways leading into town.
I-94 and I-80/90 are to the north, although I-80/90, the Indiana
Tollway, does not have a convenient exit for Valparaiso.
I-94 to the north does, it's exit 26, which you then take IN 49 south into town.
From I-80/90 to the west of town, take exit 23 in Portage, and then
go south on Willowcreek Road till you hit US 6 - take a left.
Go a little over a mile and take a right onto Wolf Rd/N county road 450
W. When you get to IN 130, hang a left and follow the tracks into town.
From I80/90 on the east side, get off at exit 39, which
is US421, and head south. In about a mile and a half in Westville,
bear to the right onto IN 2, and take that into Valparaiso. It turns
in LaPorte Ave in town.
As of late 2012, the city was trying to figure out what to do with the
old GTW depot off of Calumet Ave, as CN has obtained a demolition
permit to tear it down. The full article from the blurb below is
here.
In October 2013, Google Streetview car cameras caught the depot, however, when they
rolled through in June 2019, it was no longer with us..... :-(
Passengers have long since stopped getting off
at the train depot next to the Canadian National
tracks on North Calumet Avenue, but
preservationists are hoping to save the
century-old station from the wrecking ball.
The city's Historic Preservation Commission is
meeting today in hopes of finding someone
interested in acquiring the building and moving
it. The railroad no longer needs the building
and obtained a demolition permit to remove it.
Those interested in saving the station have
called for the preservation commission's help.
The city's preservation ordinance can delay
demolition up to 45 days to seek ways of saving
any structure of historical significance. A 1991
survey of county buildings by the Indiana
Historic Landmarks Foundation and the state
Historic Preservation Office classified the
depot as "notable." Tiffany Tolbert, a
consultant to the foundation from the city
commission, said the railroad line was one of
the earliest in the city. Research by Larry
Clark, of the Valparaiso Public Library's
genealogy department, showed the depot was built
around 1904 after a fire that destroyed the
second depot at that location. It was
considered as the possible site of a depot for a
proposed extension of a South Shore commuter
rail line to Valparaiso before city officials
settled on the former Amtrak station location.
The railroad used the depot for storage for many
years, but now wants to tear it down before it
falls into disrepair. "We've been in talks
with the city since the issue of demolition came
up, and we're trying to come up with a plan to
find someone to buy it and move it," Tolbert
said. "The railroad has agreed to delay
demolition to at least the end of November. It's
in pretty good condition, but the railroad is
not using it and they would like to clear the
site." A spokesman for Canadian National
declined comment. Clark said the depot
originally served the Peninsular Railroad in the
1870s before it was bought by the Chicago and
Port Huron Railroad. A link ran past the former
Valparaiso Technical Institute to the Baum's
Hotel on the site of what is now the Franklin House.
Location of the former Amtrak Station
GPS Coordinates: 41.46721, -87.06684 (GPS coordinates on the Trainweb page are incorrect)
Foot of Lincoln Way West, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Amtrak's Calumet, which stopped in Valparaiso, was discontinued on May 4, 1991.
The Broadway Limited and the Capitol Limited both used to come
thru Valparaiso, but were rerouted thru Waterloo IN in November 1990.
According to the Wikipedia page, the old structure burnt down, date unknown
- HOWEVER, paying attention to the early 80's pictures below (and my standard
Wikipedia disclaimer), the shelter is shown in those early pictures of the old
station structure, so I'm not buying what Wikipedia is selling :-).
Wikipedia is claiming the burnt down station was replaced by the bus style
shelter. While there is nothing here anymore, it looks like a nice spot to
take pictures from - and you can grab something to eat too!
There are no picture credits mentioned on the Trainweb page these pictures were found on.
2013
2024
1981
1982
1983
1988
Two Diamonds and a Crossover
For a little more substance in your pictures, you might
want to check out these locations on the northwest side of town. They are
all signaled to some degree.
Walkerson, Plymouth, LaCrosse, Union Mills, and N Judson
look like they would have been terrific railfan spots back in the time, with
three roads hitting each town at the same spot!
Disclaimers:
New format 10/26/23: Please check out my disclaimer page for my standard
dribble and contact info here