Fort Wayne and Jackson Railroad

The precursor of the Fort Wayne and Jackson Railroad was the Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad, which was incorporated on January 26, 1869. That company consolidated two older companies, the Jackson, Fort Wayne and Cincinnati Railroad of Michigan and the Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad of Indiana.{{sfn|Meints|1992|p=76}} Construction began the same year, and the company completed a {{convert|35.4|mi|adj=on}} from Jackson, Michigan, to Reading, Michigan, on November 22, 1869. A further {{convert|20.4|mi}} from Reading to Angola, Indiana, was completed on January 17, 1870. The final {{convert|41.8|mi}} from Angola to Fort Wayne, Indiana, was finished on December 5, 1870.{{sfn|Meints|2005|p=247}}

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway leased the company in 1882. This lease was later assumed by the New York Central Railroad (1915) and Penn Central Transportation (1968).{{sfn|Meints|2005|pp=247–248}}

Much of line was abandoned in 1973, following the Penn Central bankruptcy:

• Waterloo, Indiana–Pleasant Lake, Indiana
• Jonesville, Michigan–Bankers, Michigan
• Haires, Michigan–Horton, Michigan

These abandonments left four sections of the old line: yard trackage within Jackson, a branch from Jonesville to Horton, a branch from Bankers to Pleasant Lake, and a branch from Fort Wayne to Waterloo.{{sfn|Meints|2005|p=247}} In 1976, several small sections within the vicinity of Fort Wayne, Jackson, and Waterloo were conveyed to Conrail.{{sfn|USRA|1975a|p=268}} The lines between Jonesville and Horton, and Auburn and Waterloo, saw little traffic and was abandoned.{{sfn|USRA|1975b|pp=162; 418}}{{cite web | url=https://www.in.gov/indot/files/Rail_STBFilings.pdf | title=Indiana Railroad Abandonments | accessdate=January 7, 2023 | page=7}} The new short-line railroad Hillsdale County Railway took over the section between Bankers and Pleasant Lake.{{sfn|Lewis|1986|p=99}} In 1981, the city of Auburn established the City of Auburn Port Authority to purchase the remaining {{convert|1.7|mi}} that connected the city with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and then leased the line to the B&O (now CSX Transportation).{{sfn|Meints|2011|p=79}}{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Jeff |date=September 26, 2021 |title=Shortline railroads provide vital links |language=en |work=The News Sun |url=https://www.kpcnews.com/newssun/article_620166dd-d7b0-5fe0-a5aa-8fabe1a69235.html |access-date=2023-01-07}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Lewis-Shortline-1986}}
• {{Meints-Companies}}
• {{cite book | last=Meints | first=Graydon M. | title=Indiana Railroad Lines | location=Bloomington, Indiana | publisher=Indiana University Press | date=2011 | isbn=978-0-253-22359-3}}
• {{Meints-Lines}}
• {{cite book | title=Final system plan for restructuring railroads in the Northeast and Midwest region pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 | year=1975 | author=United States Railway Association | author-link=United States Railway Association | location=Washington, DC | url=http://multimodalways.org/docs/govts/federal/executive/Agencies/DOT/USRA/FSP/FSP%20VI.pdf | oclc=2889148 | volume=1 | ref={{Harvid|USRA|1975a}} }}
• {{cite book | title=Final system plan for restructuring railroads in the Northeast and Midwest region pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 | year=1975 | author=United States Railway Association | author-link=United States Railway Association | location=Washington, DC | url=http://multimodalways.org/docs/govts/federal/executive/Agencies/DOT/USRA/FSP/FSP%20VII.pdf | oclc=2889148 | volume=2 | ref={{Harvid|USRA|1975b}} }}

Category:Defunct Indiana railroads

Category:Defunct Michigan railroads

Category:Railway companies established in 1879

Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1976

Category:Railroads transferred to Conrail

Category:American companies established in 1879

Category:Companies affiliated with the New York Central Railroad