| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Corydon, Indiana |
| Reporting mark | WBCR |
| Locale | Indiana |
| Dates of operation | 1997– |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
TheWabash Central Railroad (reporting markWBCR) is ashort-line railroad that operates betweenVan Buren andCraigville,United States, crossing aNorfolk Southern Railway line inBluffton. It was owned byRMW Ventures, LLC and began operations in 1997, replacing theIndiana Hi-Rail Corporation on an ex-Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad line.
As of 26 October 2023,New Era Railroad LLC has purchased the Wabash Central.
The line was completed in about 1880 by theDelphos, Bluffton and Frankfort Railroad andFrankfort, St. Louis and Toledo Railroad, predecessors of theToledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad (Clover Leaf).[1] In about 1990,[citation needed] theIndiana Hi-Rail Corporation leased from theNorfolk Southern Railway the portion of the old Clover Leaf betweenDouglas, Ohio andVan Buren, Indiana.[2] After that company went bankrupt, the new Wabash Central Railroad acquired the portion west of Craigville, beginning operations in December 1997.[3] (Another portion, in Ohio, went to theDelphos Terminal Company, and the rest was abandoned.) TheBig 4 Terminal Company bought about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) at the Craigville end in 2003 to conductswitching services.[4]