CSX Adds Monon to Heritage Fleet (UPDATED, 1/29)

CSX No. 1897 is the ninth in a series of heritage locomotives to roll out of the Class I railroad's Waycross, Ga. paint shop. (CSX photo, via LinkedIn)

CSX recently revealed its latest heritage locomotive—a tribute to the Monon Railroad—fresh out of the Class I railroad’s paint shop in Waycross, Ga.

The Monon Railroad, known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway, operated almost entirely in the state of Indiana from 1897 to 1971.

“The Monon Railroad ran from Chicago down to Louisville but most of it was in Indiana,” explained CSX Carman Jason Merritt, who assisted with the heritage project. “Eventually it merged with the Louisville and Nashville Lines and was later absorbed by CSX.”

The locomotive, CSX No. 1897 (recognizing Monon’s founding year), is the ninth in a series of heritage locomotives to roll out of the shop as a “way of reinforcing employee pride in the history of the railroad” and sharing it with the public.

CSX previously unveiled units commemorating New York Central, Atlantic Coast Line,  Louisville & Nashville (L&N), Baltimore & Ohio (B&O), Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O), Conrail, Chessie System and Seaboard System.

“A lot of hard work and planning goes into each project,” said Merritt. “We want to get these right, so we take pride in what we do, from the wash rack to moving them out the door.”

The Monon unit will join the other commemorative units in revenue service on CSX’s 20,000-mile rail network that spans 23 states.

“Here is a sneak peek of our ninth ONE CSX Heritage locomotive…another great job by the team in Waycross. Here is the Monon version,” wrote President and CEO John Hinrichs in a LinkedIn post. “We are so proud of our history at CSX.”

Watch the video below to learn more about the new CSX Monon heritage locomotive.