{{Short description|Former Amtrak commuter train}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}} {{italic title}} {{Infobox rail service | box_width = | name = ''Calumet'' | logo = | logo_width = | image = Valpo Local trains at Valparaiso station, August 1980.jpg | image_width = 300px | caption = The ''Calumet'' and ''Indiana Connection'' at Valparaiso in 1980 | type = Commuter rail | status = Discontinued | locale = | predecessor = Unnamed Conrail service; previously Penn Central Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad | first = August 30, 1869<br />October 29, 1979 <small>(Amtrak)</small> | last = May 3, 1991 | successor = | operator = | formeroperator= Amtrak | ridership = | start = Chicago | stops = 7 | end = Valparaiso | distance = {{convert|44|mi|km}} | journeytime = 1 hour 20 minutes | frequency = Daily (weekdays only) | trainnumber = 321, 324 (''Indiana Connection'')<br />322, 323 (''Calumet'') | class = | access = | seating = | sleeping = | autorack = | catering = | observation = | entertainment= | baggage = | otherfacilities= | stock = | gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg}} | el = | speed = | owners = | routenumber = | map = {{Amtrak Calumet}} | map_state = }}
The '''''Calumet''''', also commonly called the '''''Valpo Local''''', was a {{convert|43.6|mi|km|adj=on}} passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and Valparaiso, Indiana.<ref name="chron1869" /> Despite Amtrak's mandate to provide only intercity service, the ''Calumet'' was a commuter train. Transferred from Conrail in 1979, the full route was shared with Amtrak's ''Broadway Limited'' until 1990; the ''Calumet'' was discontinued the next year.
==History== thumb|left|Valparaiso local train entering Chicago in 1964 {{Annotated image | image = PCRR VALPO LOCAL 19721029.png | image-width = 450 <!-- choose any width, as you like it. It doesn't matter the factual width of the image--> | image-left = -2 <!-- crop the left part. Be aware of the "-" minus symbol --> | image-top = -20 <!-- crop the upper part. Be aware of the "-" minus symbol --> | width = 220 <!-- crop the right part. That will be the width of the image in the article --> | height = 330 <!-- crop the below part. That will be the height of the image in the article --> | float = left | annotations = | caption = October 1972 Penn Central timetable showing the Valparaiso local service }}
The service first ran August 30, 1869, by the Pennsylvania Railroad on its Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, its main line from Pittsburgh west to Chicago. It was formally called the '''Chicago–Valparaiso Accommodation''', but was usually colloquially referred to as the "Valpo Local" or "The Dummy".<ref name="chron1869">{{Cite web |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |title=PRR Chronology - 1869 |url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1869%20June%2004.wd.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204033451/http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1869%20June%2004.wd.pdf |archive-date=February 4, 2012}}</ref> From April 1, 1871, until January 1, 1920, the Pennsylvania Company operated the line.<ref name="corphist">{{Cite web |title=Corporate Genealogy - Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago |url=http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Prr/Corphist/pftw_c.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20020111202814/http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Prr/Corphist/pftw_c.html |archive-date=January 11, 2002 |publisher=Interstate Commerce Commission}}</ref> After that it returned to direct operation by the Pennsylvania Railroad until February 1, 1968, when the PRR was merged into Penn Central Transportation. By that point, the route operated as a rush-hour commuter service,<ref>{{Dorin-Commuter|p=153}}</ref> with two trains traveling from Valparaiso to Chicago at 5:55 AM and 6:35 AM and two trains returning from Chicago to Valparaiso at 5:00 PM and 5:40 PM.
{{Chicago–Valparaiso Accommodation|collapsed=y}} With the May 1, 1971, startup of Amtrak, all Penn Central intercity trains were taken over by Amtrak, but Penn Central continued to run commuter trains in several metropolitan areas, including the Valpo Local.
The bankrupt Penn Central merged into Conrail on April 1, 1976, which continued operations until 1979, at which point Amtrak took over.<ref name="calumetends" /><ref name="metrafan">{{Cite web |title=Chicago Commuter Equipment from the Recent Past |url=http://hometown.aol.com/metrafan/ros70s.html}}{{unreliable source|date=April 2021}}</ref><!--did they name it then?--> The route was also served by the daily ''Broadway Limited'' to New York City, and on October 1, 1981, the daily ''Capitol Limited'' to Washington, DC, began using it. At first the Valpo Local was served by two daily trains, the ''Calumet'' and the '''''Indiana Connection'''''; the ''Indiana Connection'' was discontinued first.
Due to Conrail's desire to abandon part of the former PRR main line, the ''Broadway Limited'' and ''Capitol Limited'' were rerouted respectively onto the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and New York Central Railroad lines on November 11, 1990, leaving about half of the ''Calumet'' route with no other service.<ref name="atlas">{{Cite magazine |last=Schafer |first=Mike |date=June 1991 |title=Amtrak's atlas |magazine=Trains}}</ref> Amtrak announced that it would discontinue the ''Calumet'' on December 31.<ref name="visclosky">{{Cite web |last=Visclosky |first=Peter J. |date=September 18, 1990 |title=Keep Commuter Rail on Track |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r101:E19SE0-264: }}{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Representative Peter J. Visclosky introduced a bill to require Amtrak to continue operations until July 1, 1991 to allow time for the State of Indiana to consider subsidizing the route.<ref>http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c101:H.R.5660.IH: H.R. 5660]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The date was changed to May 6 and the mandate was included in an amendment to the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, signed into law November 28, 1990, by U.S. President George H. W. Bush.<ref>[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d101:SN03012: S. 3012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704103614/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d101:SN03012: |date=July 4, 2016 }}</ref> Indiana decided not to pay the required $1.5 million per year<ref name="subsidy">{{Cite news |date=November 22, 1990 |title=$1.5 million annually needed to keep Valpo-Chicago Amtrak |work=The Times of Northwest Indiana |url=https://groups.google.com/group/rec.railroad/browse_frm/thread/7f19517849363d79/fdb0e8f7c69d8e27?lnk=st&q=valparaiso+amtrak&rnum=3&hl=en#fdb0e8f7c69d8e27}}</ref> (equivalent to ${{format price|{{inflation|US|1500000|1991|disp=eq}}}} in {{inflation year|US}}) and the weekday-only ''Calumet'' last ran Friday, May 3, 1991.<ref name="calumetends">{{Cite news |date=May 4, 1991 |title=Amtrak Ends Calumet Service |page=2 |work=The Star Press |location=Muncie, Indiana |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25629154/amtrak_calumet_may_4_1991/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=January 12, 2019}} {{open access}}</ref><ref name="dummyup">{{Cite magazine |date=July 1991 |title=Arrivals and Departures |magazine=Trains}}</ref>
Commuter service from Chicago into northern Indiana is still provided by the South Shore Line, operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District over its own alignment, whose closest stop, Dune Park station, is {{convert|15|mi}} from Valparaiso, closer to Lake Michigan. The ChicaGo Dash express bus to Chicago, which operates during weekday rush hours, has for its Valparaiso terminal a parking lot adjacent the former rail station.<ref name="VALPOtransit">{{Cite web |title=VALPOtransit |url=https://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/488/Valparaiso-Transportation |access-date=January 24, 2017}}</ref><ref name="FranklinHouse">{{Cite web |title=Franklin House: About Us |url=https://franklinhousevalpo.com/about |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104171155/http://franklinhousevalpo.com/about |archive-date=November 4, 2017 |access-date=January 24, 2017}}</ref>
On August 1, 2004, the Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad started freight operations over the old route of the ''Calumet'' and beyond.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicago Fort Wayne & Eastern |url=http://www.dhke.com/schs/schs233.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070923095238/http://www.dhke.com/schs/schs233.htm |archive-date=September 23, 2007 |website=Doug's Railroad Place}}{{unreliable source|date=April 2021}}</ref>
A study was conducted in 2017 to assess the return of service to Valparaiso, with the new service potentially running as far as Fort Wayne and northwest Ohio.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zorn |first=Tim |date=December 23, 2016 |title=Study to look at reviving rail passenger service to Chicago with stops in Valparaiso, Gary |work=Post-Tribune/Chicago Tribune |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-new-train-service-bid-st-1227-20161223-story.html |access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref>
==Station stops== The ''Calumet'' and ''Indiana Connection'' were assigned numbers between 321 and 324, with odd numbers running westbound and even numbers eastbound. Trains made the following station stops (some of which closed prior to Amtrak's takeover of the route):<ref name="timetable">[http://web.me.com/willvdv/chirailfan/tt7pc.html March 3, 1971 and April 30, 1972 timetables]</ref>
{|class="wikitable" |- !State !Municipality !Station !Notes |- |rowspan=4|Illinois |rowspan=4|Chicago |Chicago | |- |Englewood |Closed 1973–74<!-- appears on April 29, 1973 timetable, but not October 27, 1975 --> |- |{{stn|South Chicago}} |Closed 1950–55<!-- appears on August 6, 1950 timetable, but not October 30, 1955 --> |- |State Line |Closed 1972–73<!-- appears on October 29, 1972 timetable, but not April 29, 1973 --> |- |rowspan=11|Indiana |Hammond |Hammond–Whiting |Opened 1982 |- |rowspan=2|Whiting |Whiting | |- |Standard |Closed 1972–73<!-- appears on October 29, 1972 timetable, but not April 29, 1973 --> |- |rowspan=2|East Chicago |Mahoning |Closed 1975<!-- appears on October 27, 1975 timetable, but not October 31, 1976 --> |- |Indiana Harbor | |- |rowspan=3|Gary |Buffington |Closed 1972–73<!-- appears on October 29, 1972 timetable, but not April 29, 1973 --> |- |Gary |Located at 5th Ave. and Chase St. |- |Broadway | |- |Hobart |Hobart | |- |Wheeler |Wheeler | |- |Valparaiso |Valparaiso<ref name="FranklinHouse" /> | |}
==See also== * ''Michigan Executive'', another discontinued Amtrak commuter rail line
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} {{commons category multi|Valparaiso Local|Calumet (train)}} *[http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group=19900401a&item=0052 1990 timetable]
{{PRR named trains}} {{Former Amtrak routes}} {{Public Transportation in Northern Indiana}} {{Chicago Rail}}
Category:Former Amtrak routes Category:Pennsylvania Railroad west of Pittsburgh Category:Transportation in Porter County, Indiana Category:Transportation in Lake County, Indiana Category:Transportation in Cook County, Illinois Category:Railway services introduced in 1869 Category:Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad Category:Railway services discontinued in 1991 Category:Conrail Category:Penn Central Transportation