CSX Indianapolis Line Subdivision, a.k.a. The Bee Line

More than 24 hours worth of video on CSX’s former Conrail and New York Central line between Cleveland and Indianapolis around Union City on the Ohio – Indiana border in October of 2019 was shot and edited down for just the action. This line carries all of CSX’s traffic from the East Coast and upper Midwest to Indianapolis and East St. Louis. Recently, some automotive traffic from the East for Louisville was re-routed via Indianapolis and the Louisville and Indiana Railroad to Louisville, instead of taking the congested “Short Line” from Cincinnati to Louisville. Most of this is loaded and empty auto racks which are classified at Louisville.

Beginning in early 2017 when Hunter Harrison arrived at CSX, there have been dramatic changes in operations as many hump classification yards were closed and trains combined or discontinued. The result has been fewer but longer trains that will be on display in this video. This line is known today as the Bee Line, as in honeybee, ostensibly because it runs in a relatively straight line between Cleveland and Indianapolis. But the original nickname was only the letter B, referring to the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine and Bellefontaine and Indiana railroads who met at what would become Union City in 1853. The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Panhandle Line used to cross the Bee Line in Union City, Indiana at grade.