The Beech Grove Shops is a railway maintenance facility in Beech Grove, Indiana, outside Indianapolis. Beech Grove is Amtrak's primary maintenance facility.[1] It also contains a very large freight yard.

Rebuilt GE P40DCs 817 and 824 at Beech Grove in 2010.

History

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The shops were originally constructed in 1904–1908 by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis Railway (the "Big Four"), servicing a network stretching across the Midwest into Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The facility was used as the company's repair shop for steam locomotives and passenger and freight cars.[1]

The Big Four was acquired by the New York Central Railroad (NYC) in 1906, but operated as an independent business until it was formally merged with its owner in 1922.[2] The facility passed to Penn Central Transportation in 1968 when the NYC merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Penn Central declared bankruptcy in 1970.[1] Amtrak purchased the facility from the bankrupt Penn Central in April 1975.[3][4][5]

On September 20, 2002, an F2 tornado hit the shops, damaging Coach Shop 3, which was going to be torn down after the tornado; it had been used to overhaul Superliner passenger cars until 2000.[citation needed]

In the early hours of May 2, 2021, two storage buildings on the site were destroyed by a fire.[6]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Beech Grove shops- Amtrak: History of America's Railroad". Amtrak. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  2. ^ Beech Grove HEP Conversion Program Results in Like-New Car for Passengers Amtrak News August 1, 1980 page 10
  3. ^ Beech Grove Purchase Gets Green Light Amtrak News March 15, 1975 pages 1, 8
  4. ^ Miracle at Beech Grove Railway Age February 1985 pages 53, 56
  5. ^ Amtrak (August 27, 2012). "Beech Grove shops". Retrieved 2012-11-25.
  6. ^ "News photos: Fire destroys buildings at Amtrak's Beech Grove shops (updated)". Trains. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
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  Media related to Beech Grove Shops at Wikimedia Commons

39°43′11″N 86°4′40″W / 39.71972°N 86.07778°W / 39.71972; -86.07778