In General
Getting Here
Map
Sights
Signals
Floobydust
USGS Maps

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In General

Location / Name:
North Vernon IN, Jennings County

What's Here:
ex B&O Depot
the Madison RR
Diamond Crossing with Tilting Target Signal
CPL Signals (for the time being (as of 7/2017))
CSX Yard
An A-7 Corsair II at the Amvets Post #7 Hall

Data:
GPS Coordinates: 39.006896, -85.624729 (at the diamond)
Phone A/C: 812
ZIP: 47265

Access by train/transit:
None

The Scoop:

North Vernon is about 15 miles east of Seymour IN, and is on the CSX mainline, Indiana Sub-Division, that runs between Cincinnati OH and Washington IN.

The diamond was a junction between the former Pennsy and B&O Railroads. 

The diamond is protected by a particularly old form of signaling, called a tiling target.  This type of signal used (mostly) a piece of wood, that could be placed in either a horizontal or diagonal position.  Timetables and/or rulebooks would then illustrate which railroad had the right-of-way in which position.  More information on this type of signal can be found here.

On the west side of town is a five track yard (was 6 tracks at one time).

I hear the Chessie Steam Special with RDG 2101 came thru here back in 1977.

Since the diamond, tilting target, and depot are all in the same spot, it is hard to get a picture of one without the others in it :-)

During the "old" days, the New York Central RR also came into town on a track that came in at roughly 1 o'clock in relation to downtown.  Very little is observable of the R-O-W, especially if you are casually looking for some evidence of it from the ground.  From the air, you can see a definite tree line.

  

The Pennsy track north of the diamond now ends adjacent to Walmart up by State Road 3 and North 2nd St.  Heading south, it goes as far as Madison, passing thru Dupont, about a 24 mile ride forming the mainline of the Madison RR.



Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd
Tim Vermande
Sunil Gupta and http://www.lockonaviation.net/

Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffersonville,_Madison_and_Indianapolis_Railroad
http://abandonedonline.net/locations/railroads/madison-indianapolis-lafayette-railroad/
http://www.ahgp.org/in/madison-and-indianapolis-railroad.html


Getting Here

From Indianapolis, take I-65 south to exit 50, US 50, and head east almost 13 miles on it to the center of town.  Exit 50 is about 61 miles from downtown Indy.

From Louisville KY, head north on I-65, and take exit 50..... about 50 miles from downtown.

From Cincinnati OH, take I-74 west to exit 134 at Greensburg (~60 miles from downtown).  Head southwest on IN-3.  In about 6-1/2 miles from the interstate, IN-3 will turn left and head south - take the left turn and stay on 3 (State road 46 goes straight, you DO NOT want it).  IN-3 will take you into North Vernon.  It's about an 88 mile trek from downtown Cincinnati.


Map





Sights


  Former B&O Depot

GPS Coordinates: 39.006740, -85.635022













  Former B&O RR Caboose

GPS Coordinates: 39.006681, -85.625226
Located behind the police department building and across the street from the depot.











CSX Diamond











CSX Yard







The Madison RR

http://www.madisonrailroad.com/











Former B&O Depot

The B&O depot is in the foreground, and the old PRR depot is off to the right.



North Vernon IN - Brownstone Rd

About a mile and a half from the diamond in North Vernon, the signal and structure are both gone. (I'm guessing this is the same spot?)

  



Signals


  The Tilting Target Signal at the Diamond

One person I have spoken with surmises that the B&O may have installed this signal in lieu of going to the trouble of putting in a tower here.







 







  Signal Location, East of Town

This location is about 3600 feet from the diamond.





  Signal Location, East of Town

Former location of two sets of CPL signals on a bracket post.  About 1300 feet east of the diamond.







 

 

 



  Signal Location, West of Town

This location is about 2900 feet from the diamond.







Floobydust





  The Veteran's Memorial



State Street Overpass




 

North Vernon Police Department



 

 


North Vernon Fire Department

  Built in 1989, Station 1 is located along IN-7 in downtown North Vernon

  On Buckeye St.

  Engine 1

  Truck 1 - 1996 E-One Hurricane 95' Tower Ladder - 1500gpm/500gal

 














Historical USGS Maps


Courtesy of the University of Texas Library, click here for their index page.





Disclaimers:

I love trains, and I love signals.  I am not an expert.  My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page.  This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.

Please Note:  Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.  For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, myindexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.

If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct.  Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)

My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning.  Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented.  Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost!  I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches.  ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them.  If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads.  Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.

Aerial shots were taken from either Google Maps or www.bing.com/maps as noted.  Screen captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it! 

By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous and/or other stuff.

Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given!  Please be NICE!!!  Contact info is here


Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.

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