Waterloo station (Indiana)

Waterloo
Waterloo station building in June 2016
Location	485 West Van Vleek Street Waterloo, Indiana
Coordinates	41°25′54″N 85°1′30″W / 41.43167°N 85.02500°W / 41.43167; -85.02500Coordinates: 41°25′54″N 85°1′30″W / 41.43167°N 85.02500°W / 41.43167; -85.02500
Owned by	Town of Waterloo
Line(s)	Norfolk Southern Railroad
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	90 free spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	WTI
History
Opened	1858 November 11, 1990
Rebuilt	1883 June 24, 2016
Traffic
Passengers (FY2016)	20,515
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Elkhart toward Chicago Capitol Limited Toledo toward Washington, DC Lake Shore Limited Bryan toward New York City or Boston South Station   Former services   New York Central Railroad Corunna toward Chicago Water Level Route Butler toward New York City Auburn toward Fort Wayne Fort Wayne Branch Summit toward Jackson Amtrak Elkhart toward Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian 1998-2003 Toledo toward New York City

Waterloo is an Amtrak train station in Waterloo, Indiana. Waterloo is a small town of under 2,500 people; the station primarily serves the vastly larger population of Fort Wayne, which is some 25 miles (40 km) to the south. The station opened in 1990; in 2016, the former New York Central Railroad station building was moved and reopened for passenger use.

In 1858, the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad completed its Northern Indiana Air Line from Toledo, Ohio to Elkhart, Indiana. A number of towns had been platted along the route, including Waterloo in 1856. The first passenger office for the town was merely a boxcar placed along the track.

In 1883, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad built a new wooden depot, serving both the east-west Air Line and the north-south Fort Wayne and Jackson Railroad. By 1914, both lines were under control of the New York Central Railroad. A freight derailment in 1957 destroyed a trackside bay window. Passenger service on both lines was discontinued in the mid-20th century, and the north-south route was abandoned altogether.

The line passed to Penn Central in 1968 and Conrail in 1976. In 1984, the station building was moved 1,000 feet (300 m) east to protect it from Conrail's intentions to demolish it. The town renovated it as a community center.

From May 1971 to January 1972, Amtrak operated the Lake Shore through Waterloo. The Lake Shore Limited resumed service on the route on October 31, 1975. Neither train stopped at Waterloo or the other small towns along the line.