Norfolk Southern’s former Wabash Lafayette District

Norfolk Southern recently implemented precision scheduled railroading system-wide on their manifest trains.  This video shows the trains and operations on NS’s Lafayette District west of Lafayette, Indiana for over twenty-four hours in October of 2019.  PSR on this Detroit and Fort Wayne to Decatur, Illinois traffic lane has resulted in fewer but longer trains and the first use of distributed power in nearly fifty years on this line.  Where we videotaped, this superbly engineered, high-speed former Wabash line constructed over one hundred and sixty years ago follows the Wabash River mostly near the top of the valley and then crosses the Wabash at Attica, Indiana where we spent the night.  Trains from Detroit, Fort Wayne, Bellevue, southwest of Cleveland, the Southeast via Muncie and Frankfort, Indiana, and the East Coast take this line to Decatur and to the major rail centers and connections at St. Louis, and Kansas City.  This line hosts an eclectic mix of manifest, intermodal, auto and unit trains along with the last remaining RoadRailers.  Although there are fewer auto parts and finished autos through here than there was before the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009, this line still sees nearly solid trains of auto parts cars and continues to deserve the moniker – automotive artery.