by Richard W. Jahn/photos by the author
Madison Railroad began operation in September 1978. The railroad operates the remaining segment of Indiana’s first rail line, the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad, which dates back to 1836. The railroad was the oldest in the Pennsylvania Railroad system west of Harrisburg, Pa.
Madison Railroad, with its headquarters at 1121 West JPG Woodfill Road, Bldg. 216, in Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana, has been owned and operated by the City of Madison Port Authority (CMPA) since 1981. The line was condemned from Penn Central in order to maintain rail service to the community. Since then, over $18 million has been spent on track and bridge upgrades to ensure reliable and quality service to customers.
Madison Railroad operates a 25-mile main line extending from Madison northward to North Vernon, Indiana, strategically located between the three metropolitan areas of Louisville (Kentucky), Cincinnati (Ohio), and Indianapolis (Indiana). Commodities handled include polyethylene, coal by-products and steel.
ABOVE: The Madison Railroad shops are located in the sprawling industrial park, just north of Madison, Ind. The facility is on the site of the former Jefferson Proving Grounds. Three of the railroad’s EMD SW-type locomotives can be seen in this aerial view.
In addition to the main line, the Madison Railroad owns and operates 14 miles of trackage within a 3,400-acre industrial park in the former Jefferson Proving Grounds north of Madison. The site offers extensive railcar and locomotive storage. Madison Railroad has partnered with First Flare, which flares tank cars prior to change of service, repair, cleaning, lease return, or scrapping. Madison Railroad has also entered into a partnership with Road & Rail Services to perform contract repairs on freight cars, including the autoracks shown in the photos.
The Madison Railroad operates on former Pennsylvania Railroad trackage, which was known for its astounding nearly 6% grade dropping down from the Madison bluffs to the Ohio River shore. Measuring 7, 012 feet long and descending 413 feet on a 5.89% grade; 500,000 tons of rock and earth were moved in construction. Completed in 1841 and for a time operated as a rack railway, it is still considered to be the steepest standard gauge main track ascended by wheel-adhesion locomotives in the United States.
ABOVE: On August 9, 2023, Madison Railroad excitedly unveiled locomotive CMPA 3634 in its new paint scheme, a tribute to the Pennsylvania Railroad and all of the hard-working men and women who, for the past 182 years, have worked tirelessly on the rail line operated today. The railroad arranged a night photo shoot in North Vernon with its repainted GP10 3634 on October 24, 2023. This view with a short train and a red caboose is along Madison Avenue at Second Street, south of the CSX diamond.
“Madison Hill” was plied by two specially designed EMD SD7s with additional ballasting and automatic sanding. These engines continued to serve on the hill under Penn Central, were subsequently acquired by Conrail (9998 and 9999) and saw their last days of operation as hump shove engines at Allentown, Pa.
Madison Hill is still intact and is owned by the City of Madison Port Authority. It was placed out of service following the demise of once-booming rail-to-water transloading. The last customers weren’t river related; one was a scrap yard, and the other was the Clifty Creek power plant which was the final user and last move.
In 2022, Madison Railroad purchased 22-acres in Madison dedicated to expanding regional rail transloading capabilities. In 2024 it will begin serving a new scrap steel customer, Red Ball Recycling, in Madison’s industrial park, and will make further transload improvements including the construction of nearly 3,000 feet of new track. The compa-ny has eight employees, totalling 84 years of experience…