Whitley County, Indiana

In Columbia City, Indiana there are a few poles still standing along the old Pennsylvania Railroad mainline now (CF&E) that ran between Pittsburgh and Chicago. This pole line was abandoned shortly after Amtrak left the line in 1990 and the railroad became dark territory. On this pole there are 15 different insulators, possibly more if I could read the embossings, and 8 different CD styles.

In 1972 my friends and I started insulator hunting along this railroad around the Fort Wayne, IN area. Sometimes we would ride our bikes over 20 miles to get to our destinations. By the year 2000, I had covered every mile of this railroad between Crestline, Ohio to Plymouth, Indiana.

After all these years I was able to acquire over 135 different glass insulators for my collection from this line alone. Some of my best finds were CD 145 H.G.CO. Petticoat beehives in the colors of yellow green, apple green, cornflower blue, and the narrow skirt style. These were all found in the 70's. A very large variety of CD 145 "Crown Embossed Brookfields" (CREBs), many in the nice green colors. Most of these were found in the 70's, and a few in 1997-1998. CD 162 Hemingray No 19s - 18 found in the true green with 16 found just east of Ada, Ohio. The 16 Hemingray No 19s found just east of Ada, Ohio were found in 1998 and at that time I was able to sell and mostly trade book value of 400-500 dollars apiece. The other 2 were found in Fort Wayne in the 70's, and weren't worth much more than a common aqua one back then. CD 151 H.G.CO. in cornflower blue. I found 2 of these beautiful cornflower blue ones in 1998 around the Bourbon and Etna Green, Indiana area. CD 1070 Hemingray-109s in orange and yellow amber. These were all found in the 70's around the Ohio and Indiana border, and a few found in Fort Wayne. These insulators would be my best finds along this railroad between 1972 and 2000.