Riley, Indiana

The spur from the CSX main line southwest of Terre Haute to the Chinook Mine, just past Riley, is totally in place but hasn’t seen a train in over twenty years.  In early 2005, a wrecked Operation Lifesaver Caboose sat on the edge of a golf course without trucks, just a few feet from the line.  Another CSX caboose sat on the spur about a half mile from the main, and had seen more than its share of graffiti.  The signal light on the spur shows red for going to the main and hasn’t been green in an awfully long time.

Update:  11-15-06 - I read on the Internet recently that the papers were being filed for official abandonment of the spur from Terre Haute to the mine, past Riley.

It looks like this route may not be with us much longer.  I was told on a trip to Indiana earlier this year by a gentlemen that does surveying work for some of the railroads, that Indiana has a new law requiring all rails and equipment to be removed after a line is abandoned.