Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1897 — Monon Improvements. [ARTICLE]

Monon Improvements.

Its Grades Reduced and Sharp Curvatures Eliminated. Indianapolis Journal: The current number of the Railway and Engineering Review contains a cut of the improvements the Monon has been making in vicinity of Cedar Lake in straightening curves and reducing grades, whiclrshows that this improvement will enable the company to quicken the speed of its trains and increase the number of cars on its freight trains to such an extent as to soon overcome the cost of the improvement. The work includes the elimination and reduction of curvatures, the cutting down of grades, renewing rails, reballasting the track and fitting up picnic grounds at Cedar Lake, $50,000 having been expended at that point. Much credit is due to Ferd Hall, chief engineer of the road, who has planned and carried out these improvements. Between Chicago and Monon all rails sixty pounds per yard, in a total trackage of twenty-six miles, have been replaced with seventy-five-pound rails. Some sixty-seven-pound rails still remain between these points, but none of lighter weight. Between State Line and Monon twenty miles of track has been reballasted, and between Monon and Indianapolis thirty miles, in all of which the material used has been gravel. In addition to this all pile or wooden bridges of short length have been either replaced with pipe culverts and filled in or open culverts with masonry, walls have been substituted.

By raduction of grades it has been possible to increase the freight train-loads from twenty-eight to forty cars. The work of changing location and reducing grades has been done principally at three points, namely, Rensselaer, Lowell and Cedar Lake.