MOUNT VERNON, Ind. — The Mount Vernon Railroad, a partnership between OmniTRAX and the Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon, marked its grand opening on Tuesday with ceremonies including a ribbon cutting and a visit by local elementary school students to see the two locomotives they named in a context. OmniTRAX will serve as switching operator for the port-owned railroad, which has 8 miles of trackage on port property and handles an average of 25,000 railcars annually. It serves a 500-acre site targeted tor large-scale development. The port is currently investing $25 million to support steel, automotive plastics, energy and other heavy industry relying on barge and rail transportation.
Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock said in a press release that the partnership “creates a ‘mega-modal’ opportunity like we have never see in the 60-eyar history of our ports” and “creates a unique opportunity to support the Southwest Indiana economy and drive future large-scale multimodal development.” OmniTRAX Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Higgins called the Mount Vernon port “a hidden gem that provides unparalleled access to America’s agricultural and industrial heartland.”
The railroad’s two GP38-2 locomotives were named “Power Paws” and “Wildcat Express” by students in a contest last year. In addition to seeing those locomotives on Tuesday, they also learned about the port and railroad safety.
Located on the Ohio River in the westernmost part of the state, Mount Vernon is 19 miles west of Evansville, Ind. The port includes 10 barge berths and storage for 500 barges, along with a 53,000-square-foot transit shed and piers for transloading bulk and heavy-lift cargo.
The original charter for the Evansville & Peoria Railroad was to build to the port in Mount Vernon, Indiana as part of taking over the Chicago & Southern Illinois in 1879.
But the Peoria, Decatur and Evansville (PD&E) bought out the charter to the E&P RR in 1880 and moved the terminus to Evansville.
The Evansville & Terre Haute constructed a branch line from 1882-1883 to Mount Vernon. They were absorbed by the Chicago & Eastern Illinois in 1911 which was challenged by the Illinois Supremem Court (RR won).
The L&N then bought the C&EI and served the port along with the Southern which went west to St Louis. This is now the EVWR (Evansville Western).