Fort Wayne, Van Wert and Lima Traction Company
The Fort Wayne, Van Wert and Lima Traction Company, later known as the Fort Wayne–Lima Railroad, was an interurban railway which operated between Lima, Ohio and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Operating from 1905 to 1932
History
[edit]The company was organized in August 1902 in Lima, and consolidated with the nascent and formerly competing Lima, Delphos, Van Wert and Fort Wayne Traction Company in 1905 to complete the right of way between the two cities.[1] Construction had begun by December 1904,[2] and the line between Lima and Van Wert, Ohio, was put into service on January 1, 1905.[3] Operations in Indiana between Fort Wayne and New Haven, Indiana, commenced on September 19, 1905.[4] Through service was delayed by lack of ballasting between New Haven and Monroeville,[5] but this was overcome on November 1 after a preview ride between Lima and Fort Worth by city officials and prominent businessmen from towns along the line the previous day.[6]
Ohio Electric Railway would go on to lease and operate the line starting on September 1, 1907.[7]
The company entered receivership in 1920 after going bankrupt, and the line was thereafter operated by the Indiana Service Corporation, later the Indiana Railroad, for the receivers.[8][9] The system remained independent until service ceased on June 30, 1932.[8]
Rolling stock
[edit]As one of three interstate electrified routes between Indiana and Ohio, freight cars were made to be interoperable with mainline steam operations.[10]
After abandonment, some cars went to the Oklahoma Railway.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Bates 1958, p. 28.
- ^ "Pushing It Along". The Lima Times-Democrat. December 20, 1904. p. 2. Retrieved March 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cars on the new Lima line will be running by midsummer". Fort Wayne Daily News. May 5, 1905. pp. 1, 15. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ^ "The First Car to New Haven". Fort Wayne Daily News. September 19, 1905. p. 10. Retrieved March 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Through cars to Lima". Fort Wayne Daily News. October 16, 1905. p. 7. Retrieved March 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Interurban cars running to Lima". The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel. November 1, 1905. p. 5. Retrieved March 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Marlette 1980, p. 135.
- ^ a b Bates 1958, p. 30.
- ^ a b Middleton 1961, p. 158.
- ^ Middleton 1961, p. 384.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bates, Roy M. (1958). Interurban railways of Allen County, Indiana. Allen County–Fort Wayne Historical Society.
- Marlette, Jerry (1980). Electric Railroads of Indiana. Hoosier Heritage Press.
- Middleton, William D. (1961). The Interurban Era. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-003-8. OCLC 4357897 – via Archive.org.