The Wabash Railroad, Follow The Flag

While the Wabash Railroad was never a large carrier its legendary status far surpasses its size. The Wabash was a Midwestern carrier connecting Buffalo, New York with cities such as Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City and Omaha. At its peak it was only a little over 2,000 miles in length but its bridge line status, markets it served, and high speed freight service made it a quite successful railroad, especially during its latter years. Eventually the Wabash was swept up in the merger mania beginning in the late 1950s and after a long stint of PRR ownership it eventually became part of the sprawling Norfolk & Western system in the 1960s.

Of course, the Great Western was not the only component of the historical Wabash. Two other railroads would also make up the railroad, which included the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railway and Toledo & Illinois. The TW&W was actually a merged railroad of two lines, the Toledo & Illinois and Lake Erie, Wabash & St. Louis, with the T&I building to connect Toledo with the Illinois/Ohio border and the LEW&StL building to connect Attica, Indiana with the Great Western. In 1856 the T&I and LEW&StL merged to form the TW&W and soon after included the Great Western. After the TW&W fell into receivership in the 1870s it emerged in 1877 as the Wabash Railway Company.

The final component of the classic Wabash included the North Missouri Railroad, which was chartered in 1851 to connect St. Louis with points west, eventually reaching Kansas City in the early 1870s. Unfortunately costs of construction were a heavy strain on the railroad and it fell into receivership being reorganized as the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern in 1872. It was also during the 1870s that the Wabash’s future would come to be shaped by famed (or perhaps notorious, depending on your point of view) rail baron Jay Gould. Attempting to create a true transcontinental railroad, and already controlling the Union Pacific at the time, Gould gained a majority interest in both the Wabash and StLKC&N seeing both as the Midwestern link to his future “shore to shore” system, and renaming the new railroad the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific.

By the early 1880s Gould had built the Wabash into a formidable Midwestern system by reaching Chicago and Detroit with route miles surging to over 3,500. Alas, however, this is where Gould’s dream began to die. In 1884 the Wabash was out of cash and fell into bankruptcy and Gould eventually lost all control of the railroad. While the railroad’s former lines began to be auctioned off a group of investors and shippers managed, in 1888, to hold together much of the original Wabash lines and reorganizing it as the Wabash Railroad Company in the spring of 1889 (and which would become a recurring theme throughout the early 20th century).

Following its latest grand dreams going awry and the Great Depression, which found the railroad once again (and for a final time) reorganized as the Wabash Railroad Company, the Wabash began to be known as a high-speed Midwestern rail artery and became highly diversified in its traffic base ranging from auto parts to produce, a trait that many continue to remember it for even today.

The Wabash Railroad never had an extensive passenger fleet although it did provide high-quality service with names like the Banner Blue Limited and Midnight Special. Most legendary, however, was the Wabash Cannon Ball, which operated between Detroit and St. Louis. The train's status was so popular with the general public that it survived right up until Amtrak in 1971 after the N&W attempted to discontinue it in the 1960s!

During the mid-20th century, the Wabash Railroad was under PRR control for over 30 years beginning in 1932. However, the Pennsy was ordered to relinquish its majority stock ownership in the 1960s when it planned to merge with the New York Central. With the Norfolk & Western and Nickel Plate already in serious merger discussions it was decided to allow the Wabash to be included with the N&W and NKP. In 1964 the Wabash and Nickel Plate became new divisions of the N&W and the Wabash-controlled Ann Arbor Railroad was handed over to the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton. Today the Wabash Railroad continues to live as its former main lines remain an important artery for operator Norfolk Southern.

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For an all-time diesel locomotive roster of the Wabash Railroad please click here. Also, for an excellent listing of EMD-built diesel locomotives, including those owned by the Wabash please click here. Lastly, please click here to locate preserved Wabash diesel locomotives.

The American Locomotive Company

The Baldwin Locomotive Works/Lima Locomotive Works

Electro-Motive Division

Fairbanks Morse

General Electric

For a more complete roster of Wabash steam locomotives please click here. Also, for information regarding surviving Wabash steam locomotives please click here.

Notable Wabash Railroad Passenger Trains

The Bluebird

Banner Blue: (Chicago - St. Louis)

City of Kansas City: (St. Louis - Kansas City)

City of St. Louis: (St. Louis - Denver - Cheyenne - Los Angeles)

Des Moines Limited: (St. Louis - Des Moines)

Detroit Arrow: (Chicago - Detroit)

Detroit Limited: (St. Louis - Detroit)

Kansas City Express: (St. Louis - Kansas City)

Midnight Limited: (St. Louis - Kansas City)

Omaha Limited: (St. Louis - Omaha)

Pacific Coast Special: (St. Louis - Pacific Coast)

Red Bird: (Chicago - Detroit)

St. Louis Limited: (Detroit - St. Louis)

St. Louis Limited: (Des Moines/Omaha - St. Louis)

St. Louis Special: (Kansas City - St. Louis)

The Midnight: (Chicago - St. Louis)

"Wabash Cannon Ball": (St. Louis - Detroit)

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