Some THI&E Stop Species

Some THI&E Stop Species

by Art Peterson

All photos from the Krambles-Peterson Archive

With a peak of 403.42 route-miles, much of it coming from four predecessors, plus extensions made by Terre Haute Indianapolis & Eastern (THI&E) after acquisition, and a total of 600 defined stops on its lines (in full disclosure, not all were individually counted; but Stop 1 was Indianapolis, while Stop 600 was Sugar Creek, and it looked like there were a lot of numbers to fill in between those two extremes), it shouldn’t surprise anyone that there was considerable variety in styles of structures used for the various stops.

Here are four examples. What is unusual about these is that three of the four were on the Indianapolis & Plainfield Electric line, linking its namesake cities. This 14-mile line opened on September 15, 1902. The fourth station species was on the 25-mile, THI&E-built extension to the I&P line, which extended service to Greencastle from 1907.

Some of these photos were taken by THI&E’s Acting Chief Engineer, Don Walker, but not all images are attributed. Surviving records indicate that the road did maintain a card file on its stations and other structures, noting frequency of painting or varnishing work, etc.

What’s interesting about the timing of the bulk of these survey photos (the majority date to May 1926) is that this date coincides with the period when the Electric Railway Journal noted (mid-June 1926) that Sam Insull had been discussing the inclusion of the THI&E into the Indiana Electric Corporation (a predecessor concept for IR) with the road’s principal stockholder, Randall Morgan. Mr. Morgan’s death in late May 1926 delayed these discussions a bit, though the Journal noted the process resumed mid-summer.

It's purely speculation, but the structures survey may have been done as part of the determination of the valuation of the THI&E properties to be included in what would ultimately become IR.

THI&E Ben Davis Station - May 1926

The Ben Davis area of Indianapolis was named after the Superintendent of the paralleling Vandalia Railroad (PRR by the time of this photo). The PRR line is to the photographer’s back. On the THI&E, Ben Davis was 6.5 miles west of Indianapolis and was assigned Station Number 395. A June 1928 THI&E timetable shows that there was suburban traffic between Ben Davis and Indianapolis. The 5:00 pm trip out of the Traction Terminal was due here at 5:25, had six minutes to turn around, and returned to the Traction Terminal by 5:57. [Ed. note: Check out that neat speeder! It almost looks like it was cobbled together using a motorized velocipede similar to IRM's Adams Motor Car.]

THI&E Six Points Stop - May 1926

If you went 3.6 miles west of Ben Davis, you’d come to the Six Points area (the name is still used today). This simple shelter served as THI&E Station No. 402, also known on the road as Stop 11 on the Brazil Division.

The Six Points name refers to a road intersection and the crossing of the Vandalia Railroad at this location. Curvature on Highway 40 and an odd-angle crossing of the railroad were a hazard for years. It was not until after IR’s Terre Haute rail service had been abandoned that the awkward geometry finally got straightened out.

THI&E Boys School Stop - Undated - D.H. Walker Photo

The Indiana Boy’s School was located about 0.4 miles east of Plainfield and opened in 1867, though the “Boy’s School” name only came into use from 1903. The school was replaced by another facility/program in 2005.

This view looks west towards Plainfield (see the “Plainfield Siding Mileage Board” partially obscured by the freight platform) and Don has captured a westbound interurban receding in the distance. Boy’s School was THI&E Stop 411.

THI&E Fillmore Station - May 1926

There’s an interesting sag to the front side of the Fillmore Station building, though there’s no record of what was done to keep the door on that side of the structure functioning. Note the portable substation on the siding behind the station THI&E Station 429).

Around the time of this photo, the first train of the day from Fillmore was the 6:05 am train to Indianapolis. Service ran every 1 to 2 hours thereafter, with the last train being the 12:35 am train to Greencastle.

A closing note: there were more substantial THI&E stations along this section of line (especially where the station coincided with a substation location).

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